Ordinary Time 
Pause
What does it take to trust? Sometimes it’s experience over time; sometimes it’s a deeply moving event that takes place in a single moment.
To believe in God and in Christ revealed through Jesus, it sometimes takes an act of the will and a commitment to remain true to your faith.
Through it all God remains constant—at your side and within your heart. Trust that to be true in these next few quiet moments.
Listen
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:22–23
Think
It’s hard to love some people. It’s different for everyone, but maybe for you it’s that teacher who’s always a little rude. Or maybe it’s the guy that always wants attention. Or perhaps it is the girl in your youth group who’s a little weird.
Today we’re invited to make a choice, one that is rooted in obedience to Christ’s example of love for us. If you’ve decided to follow him, then you’re called to do more than tolerate others; you’re called to love them deeply.
After all, you’re both loved by the same God who came to this earth so you might know that deep love firsthand.
Share it today.
John Woods
Pray
Caring God, who showed us compassion on the cross, open my heart to loving others fully, so that I might be obedient to your calling. Amen.
Go
Be true now in what you hold to be trustworthy;
Be honest now also when you are unsure.
In any and every case, Jesus remains
Close and steadfast with an enduring love,
A love that always shows up.
