Have you ever felt like your responsibilities far outnumbered the hours in your day, but you intentionally chose to add more to your to-do list anyway? Or you already had several projects you were committed to working on but when more opportunities presented themselves you just couldn’t pass up one more accomplishment? If so, I get it. If not carefully monitored, this can tend to be my go to way of life. Instead of thinking I’m physically invincible, I start to think I’m faster than time itself…and when this happens, something always falls through the cracks or the quality of every project suffers. Here in this passage, the church was growing rapidly. So rapidly that the workload was becoming unmanageable for the apostles. They knew they were responsible to preach the Word, but they also knew that they were responsible to care for their fellow believers. Caring for our neighbors takes time. Lots of time. What’s great though, is that instead of trying to do it all, they wisely chose friends to help carry the load. They could continue to be diligent in their preaching and teaching, but by way of their co-laborers, their neighbors were loved well.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:30-31
I wonder, am I the only one that, as I plan how to spend my time, forgets to follow the apostle’s example and prioritize caring for those around me? Am I the only one who gets caught in the web of busyness only to realize I’ve not loved well? I’m guessing probably not. Let’s take time to remember what it means to be a Christ-follower and take note from the leaders of the early church. How can we work together to love our neighbors well?
VC Devotionals 