Who can you love and serve today for the glory of God?

Romans 15:1–2 1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Praise be to our gracious God for granting us life and liberty through the gospel work of Jesus. Prisoners of sin and selfishness are delivered by God’s grace to break free from ungodly practices. Hearts darkened and ashamed by thoughts, attitudes, and actions find cleansing and forgiveness. Hallelujah!

One of the glorious fruits of deliverance from sin is finding ourselves in the life-giving flow of gospel grace and truth for the benefit of others. God never intends for us to receive the gift of new life in Jesus and then have us “go it alone.” We are now empowered to be channels of His grace and mercy to others.

We spent enough time walking with self-centered sinful mindsets (Cf. 1 Peter 4:3). God is now pressing our hearts and opening our eyes to see the needs of others. As Paul says in the passage above, this is our obligation – this is the responsibility God has enabled His people to fulfill.

We are not to be put out by the weaknesses and struggles of others. We are to prayerfully look for ways to help them and stir them up to love and good deeds. Whenever we are around others, whether they are followers of Jesus or not, we should be asking God for opportunities to love and care for them. We do this so that the transforming power of the gospel is made known as people are blessed and benefited by the words we share and the service we provide.

Being others-oriented is the natural outflow of being Christ-centered. Let’s confess and forsake the sin of self-centeredness and let’s look for the varied opportunities God will provide us to build others up.

Who can you love and serve today for the glory of God?