Senior Living - April 3

God’s greatest commandment to you

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27

A pastor once told the story of the public library in his town that had a system called “Dial-A-Tale.” With this system, anytime a young child wanted to hear a story, he could call the number and a voice would read a short story to the listening young ear. However, the number the children were to call was only one digit different from the pastor’s number.

Because small fingers often make mistakes, the pastor would receive frequent calls from a child listening for a story. After several unsuccessful attempts to explain a wrong number to the small child, he felt he had only one alternative. He obtained a copy of Three Little Pigs, and set it by the phone. And whenever a child would call, he would simply read them the story.

The pastor gives us a great example of what it means to put others first before ourselves. He didn’t, as you might have thought, change his telephone number to avoid the invasion of his privacy. But instead, he used the situation to give joy to others.

As Christians, part of our greatest commandment is to put others before us—considering their wellbeing first and thinking of ourselves second. So today, find ways you can consider others better than yourself, and you’ll reap the rewards of obedience!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would help you put others first when you’re tempted to think of yourself.

Questions for Thought

Think of a time when someone put you first and himself second. How did that make you feel?

How can you be more intent on considering others better than yourself in your daily life?

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