Responding with Love
This devotional was written by Jim Burns
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. —Philippians 2:3-4
Babe Ruth is one of my heroes. He hit 714 home runs during his baseball career. But along with being the home-run king, he was also the strikeout king. In one of Babe's last major league games, the Braves played the Cincinnati Reds. The great Babe Ruth was no longer as agile as he had once been. His game that day was filled with costly errors and strikeouts. As the Babe walked off the field after a dismal inning, the crowd stood and booed their disapproval of his play. Just then a little boy jumped over the railing onto the playing field. With tears streaming down his face he threw his arms around the legs of his hero. Ruth didn't hesitate for a moment. He picked up the boy and gave him a hug. Suddenly the booing stopped and a hush fell over the entire ballpark. In that brief moment the baseball fans saw two heroes: Ruth, who in spite of his horrible day still cared about a little boy, and the small child, who cared about the feelings of another human being. Both had melted the hearts of the crowd.
How is your sensitivity toward other people? Do you take time to care about the needs of your friends and family? Sometimes we get so absorbed with our own personal problems we forget that there is a hurting world around us that needs our attention. The strange thing about it is that when we give love and concern to others, we usually forget about our own problems! Make someone feel special today.
GOING DEEPER:
1. According to Philippians 2:3,4 how are we to consider others? Why is it good to be concerned about the interests of others?
2. Who can you make feel like royalty today? How can you show them that you care about them?
FURTHER READING:
Romans 12:10; Galatians 5:26; I Peter 5:5
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