"40 Days of Love" in American Sign LanguageSample

Love Looks, and Love Listens
By Rick Warren

“Treat everyone you meet with dignity.” (1 Peter 2:17 MSG)

Loving like Jesus means you must value others the way Jesus values you.

You are a child of the king. God created you, and Christ gave his life for you. The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:19, “The ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ” (NLT). How much are you worth? Look at the cross. Jesus was willing to die for you. God was willing to give his Son for you. That’s how valuable you are.

Jesus wants you to give that kind of value to everybody else — even the people you can’t stand. Christ says, “I love them this much (arms spread wide on the cross). So I expect you, my child, to love these people the same way I love them because I died for them, not just you. Treat them the same way I treat them. Value them the way I value them.”

The Bible says, “Treat everyone you meet with dignity” (1 Peter 2:17 MSG).

How do you do that? One way you treat others with dignity is by looking at them, giving them your attention, and listening to them.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Mark 10:21. Jesus was walking down the street, and a young entrepreneur came up to him and asked him a question. Jesus responded that he “looked at him and loved him” (NIV). He looked, and he loved. You can’t love without looking!

When your waitress serves you or the grocery store cashier tries to speak with you, and you don’t give them your attention, you’re not being very loving. Love looks, and love listens.

Think of and even write down the name of someone you know with low self-esteem. Then, determine this week to show acceptance to that person and affirm his or her value to you and to God. When everybody else treats that person like an outcast or like she doesn’t matter, you can make her feel like she matters because she does. She matters to God, so she should matter to you.

Talk It Over

Who in your life needs to know that he or she matters to God and to you?

How would you rate yourself at giving others your undivided attention? What will you do to improve in this area?

Make a point today to give your attention to someone you might normally overlook. What is that person’s reaction?