Devotional for the Week

Love Is All We Need

Devotional for the week of November 3, 2024

“Love God and love your neighbor” seems simple enough, right? This is the most important part of faith—more important than any ritual, offering, or sacrifice we could ever perform. Figure this out and you are not far from the kingdom of God. And yet, here we are over two thousand years later, still deciphering what this really means.

Despite what the wider culture would have us believe, love is not easy. It is the deepest act of vulnerability we will ever experience. To love someone is to see them fully as they are and continue to say yes to relationship with them despite all the imperfections.

In worship we often begin with confession, admitting we are messy and that we fail to love God and one another. Then we hear words of absolution, as if from God’s own mouth: “You are forgiven. You are loved. Whatever your sins may be, they are not a permanent reflection of who you are.” Even though we struggle mightily to love, God continually loves us.

Grounded in God’s loving forgiveness, we are sent back out into the world to mirror this forgiveness for others. And when, by the help of God, we are able to do so, we experience a taste of the kin-dom of God.

This week, you are invited to rest in God’s love. May you know and delight in the truth that there is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. And here’s a challenge, if you so choose: Attempt to forgive someone. Perhaps someone who cuts you off in traffic, or a family member who has harmed you, or a friend who has shut you out. Perhaps that person who comes to your mind when you can’t sleep. Or maybe the one you need to forgive is yourself. Think of this person and hear these words of promise: “You are forgiven. You are loved. And today you are near to the kin-dom of God.”