Verse: Matthew 5:46-48
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Devotion
Sometimes when I'm in a social setting I ask myself, "I wonder who Jesus would be talking to right now?"
It is so easy to just always talk to the people we always talk to. To stay in our circles of comfort. To be surrounded by people who are like us. But Jesus puts his finger on this. He asks aloud, "is this really love?" or is it just convenience?
When I ask this question to myself, sometimes it will challenge me to go and talk to the person I wouldn't normally talk to. In many social situations if you step back you'll see who the "in" people are and who the "not so in" people are. What if we purposefully went and "greeted" them?
As Christians who believe that each person is made in the image of God we should be able to look past whatever exterior differences we may see and find the person inside. Sometimes this looks like sitting with someone at a social function that you don't really know. Sometimes it looks like going out of your way to talk to that co-worker or classmate who most people don't really talk to, or maybe they are slightly socially awkward, or less "cool." Sometimes it will look like not ignoring the people we tend to walk past and avert our eyes from, but instead making eye contact, greeting, and loving them.
As with most of what Jesus says, this stuff is just as challenging today as it was 2000 years ago. How can you apply this truth to your life today?
Author: Christian Dunn