Pause

Finding the way to happiness is a lifelong pursuit. Happiness comes and goes, but the blessings of God always remain; they are ever-present.

Take time now to learn the pathway of blessedness that leads to the very presence of God, the source of all joy.

Listen

"Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Luke 6:30-31

Think

Jesus said to take care of people in need and treat others the way we want to be treated. And he didn’t just mean to do it because it was the nice thing to do or because it would get us a gold sticker in heaven. He said do it because in taking care of each other, we will learn more about each other. We will learn more about ourselves and more about God.

When a man asked him what the most important commandment was, Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” When we follow Jesus, we give up the idea that we must love ourselves only and we take on the idea that we love ourselves by loving others. We find ourselves, our truest selves, in loving God and loving our neighbors.

There’s a great phrase my friend taught me that she learned while in South Africa: Ubuntu. It means, “I am because we are.” It seems like many of us like to believe “I am because I am and that’s all that matters.” Instead, Jesus offers the way of Ubuntu. How will you live differently today, knowing that you are because we all are, and we are because you are?

Chris Hughes

Pray

God of mercy, you love me and have called me to love others. Help me to find myself in others and to love them because of it. Teach me to find myself in you. Amen.

Go

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

Ephesians 1:3-4