Jesus Only: Part OneSample

Week 1, Day 5 - Thursday 

Measuring Growth: Love Is Better Than Knowledge

Maybe like me, you “grew up in the church.” You have memories of Sunday School flannel graphs, sword drills, singing your books of the Bible, memorizing verses, VBS in the summer along with Bible camp, youth group retreats, and being present for more than one “altar call.” Growing up in the church gives you a lot of knowledge about Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity in general. Knowledge is awesome. It gives us tools, and helps form our worldview. But is knowledge all we need?

When I was a college student, I spent one of my spring breaks on an urban missions trip to inner-city New York. Some of our time there was spent reaching out to the homeless population at night. We would load our backpacks with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bottles of water, and walk around Manhattan looking for homeless people to talk to and pray with. We did this in groups of two or three, and one night, I was paired up with a guy named Matt. As we walked around the city, we came upon a homeless man huddled in a doorway. We approached and asked him if he was hungry. “Nah,” he replied. 

“Can we pray for you?” We asked him. 

“Nah, I’m good,” came his reply again. 

I was ready to move on, but Matt had one last question for the man. 

“Is there anything we can do for you?”

The man paused. “Well, I need a pair of socks, if you have any socks.”

Suddenly, my stomach clenched. I didn’t know what to do. “Socks” was not something we had in our backpacks. And I was using the pair I currently had on! I didn’t want to give up those! I’d probably get a blister… 

As I stood there frozen with indecision, Matt sat down on the curb, and started taking off his shoes. For him, there was no indecision or hesitation. In that moment, he knew that giving this man the socks off his feet was the best way to show him Jesus’ love, and so that’s what he did. 

Despite all I knew about the Bible and Christianity from growing up in the church, when it came time to actually show someone the love of Jesus, I failed. Despite all my knowledge, I had a lot of growing to do.

Knowledge is important, but love is our true measure of spiritual growth. Love for our neighbor, love for our enemies, and love of Jesus.

Reflection Questions:

Who in your life can you show the love of Jesus to this week? What is one practical way you can do that?

Is there a gap between how much you know of the Bible and the practice of your Christian faith? How much do you love others? What is one specific step you will take this week to close that gap?