“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” — Galatians 5:14
Henrietta drove by the animal shelter and had an idea. She saw a calico kitten and a chihuahua puppy in separate pens. She knew it wouldn’t be normal for a cat and a dog to be friends, but Henrietta thought it might work since they were both so young. So she adopted both of them and brought them home to her family. Though they had some scratches and cuts from a few fights over food and toys, the little ones learned to live in the same yard in peace.
When Jesus chose 12 men to be His disciples, it wasn’t easy to develop them into a unified group. When Jesus overheard them arguing about who was the best, He told them to forget about themselves. “An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest'” (Luke 9:46-48).
On another occasion, Jesus shocked His disciples by washing their feet. During ancient times, the lowest servants washed people’s feet when residents or guests came home from work or from a long journey. Peter spoke for the rest of the disciples when he argued with Jesus about washing their feet; they didn’t think a leader should serve others. “After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:5).
After watching Jesus live unselfishly for three years and give His life on the cross for our sins, most of the disciples became unselfish men who served their generation for Christ. They laid aside their personal plans and shared the Gospel everywhere. “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'” (Galatians 5:14).
We too should learn from and model our lives after Jesus.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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