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Love God… And Others

By: Mark Jones

READY

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”—Matthew 22:37

SET

One of the hardest things about sports is balancing everything that comes with it. You need to balance your time, sleep, and diet patterns, just to name a few. This goes for relationships too: parents, kids, spouse, and friends are all significant relationships. In sports you also have teammates and coaches, and maybe even relationships with administrators. That’s a lot of people to make time for.

If you are a believer in Jesus and in His work on the cross that saves you from your sin, then your first and foremost devotion should be to Christ and to God through Him.

In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was. He said in verses 37-38, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment.” But Jesus did not stop there. In verse 39, He adds, “The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving those around you is important, but it’s not as important as loving the Lord.

When we love someone, we want to know them better. That holds true for God too! When we spend time reading the Bible, we learn more about Him, and He speaks to us through that. When we pray, we find comfort and guidance.

Matthew 6:33 says to seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness first, and the needs of life will be met. When we focus on our relationship with God through Jesus, every other relationship falls in line.

When you care about people, you want to know them well, so you can love them better. Loving God is the same. You should want to know the One who created you and sent His Son to die for you as closely as possible. When you do, the most important relationship you have will be strong.

GO

1. Who is the most important person in your life?

2. How can you help that relationship to grow?

3. What do you personally need to do to grow in your relationship with God?

WORKOUT

• Matthew 22:34-40
• Matthew 6:25-33

OVERTIME

Father, I read in Scripture that You love me. Thank You for loving me. Help me to seek You more and learn to love You deeply. In Jesus’ name I play and pray, amen.