1 John 3:17 If any one of you has material possesions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you? ...let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
If we are looking to really love God we need to begin with treasuring what is closest to His heart. God is not so very impressed by our words. He already knows what is inside our hearts. Every day God makes a new way for us to learn to love him.
One day a man was walking along a back road in Israel. There he was caught, robbed and beaten by thieves and left behind for dead. Three people were given the chance to learn to love God. First God brought a priest by the man, but when he saw him he decided not to get involved and he crossed to the other side of the road. Then came a person who was a student of God's word and he did the same. Finally God brought someone that religious people thought was their enemy. He stopped when he saw the wounded man, and began to take care of him.
Whatever our past failures, the good news is that we have a new opportunity today. God will keep working in our hearts if we allow him. Let's ask him to soften us today. We never know who we will meet just around the next corner. That person on the side of our road is Jesus in disguise!
