Something Needs to Change by David PlattSample

Day 4: Loving God and Others

When you became a follower of Jesus, you entered an eternal community composed of people from every corner of the globe. Though the church we heard about in the Himalayas may be different from ours, those brothers and sisters are similar to us in their commitment to what matters most: an abiding love for God that manifests itself in committed care for people. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus shows us what it looks like to love people out of reverence for God. 

The parable of the good Samaritan is not chiefly about helping people in need. It’s about our need for a new heart, filled with undivided love for God and unselfish love for others. That kind of heart can come only through the transforming work of God’s grace. Once we grasp what God has done for us in the gospel, we will stop seeking to justify ourselves like the teacher of the law and embrace the physical and spiritual needs around us and meet them in Jesus’ name. 

What might look different in your life if you loved other people as much as you love yourself? 

All of us have shown the kind of love the Samaritan showed to the injured man. The problem is, we typically show that level of care only for ourselves. The Bible teaches us that a better, more satisfying life comes when we give ourselves away for others, as Jesus did for us in the gospel. 

The gospel, not guilt, motivates us to help our neighbors in need. The gospel came to us when we ourselves were needy and desperate. Once you realize that you’re the one in need, you don’t try to justify yourself. A heart changed by the gospel obeys not from obligation but from the fruit of God’s work in our lives.