Listen

Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.

You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!

Galatians 5:1, 13-15

Think

Kelly Johnson, an engineer with Lockheed Martin in the 1950s, created a design model called K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple Stupid. While the wording seems harsh to us today, it is a basic principle we can learn from. He sought to influence other engineers not to complicate things more than they needed to be. The simplest design is usually the best.

Throughout history, Christians have complicated faith in many ways. In Galatians 5:14 Paul gives it to us “simple.” What does the Christian life look like at its simplest? Love your neighbor as yourself.

Could it be that simple? Surely there is more!

When someone is different from you — love. When someone disagrees with you — love. When someone seems unlovable — love. We want that for ourselves, right?

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Dale Tadlock

Pray

Jesus, loving others as I want to be loved can be scary.

Help me to be willing to forgive, to extend grace, to encourage, and live a life known to always reflect the love you have for me.

May I love my neighbors as I want to be loved myself.

Amen.

Go

We are travelers on a journey
Fellow pilgrims on the road
We are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ light for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

Richard Gillard in “The Servant Song” (1977)