MEDITATION:
Written by Jerry Bridges (1929-2016), an author and speaker. He was a staff member of The Navigators, a college ministry. This is an excerpt from his book “The Fruitful Life.”
When Paul lists those godly traits he calls the fruit of the Spirit, he puts Love first – very likely to emphasize its importance. Love is the overall grace from which all the others grow. Indeed, love binds all the other virtues together in perfect unity. Devotion to God is the only motivation acceptable to God for the development and exercise of Christian character. But devotion to God finds its outward expression in loving one another. Or to state it another way, our devotion to God is validated by our love for other people…We cannot truly love God without loving one another. To recognize that there is someone I do not love is to say to God, “I do not love you enough to love that person.” This is not to deny the reality of spiritual struggle in loving a particular person, because it often exists. I am referring to the attitude of not even wanting to love the person, of being content to allow a lack of love for someone reside in my heart unchecked and unchallenged.
PRAYER:
Written by Jill Weber, is a contemporary spiritual director and the director of Houses of Prayer.
God, may I be an agent of your scandalous love and mercy toward all who don’t deserve it — which includes me. I receive your mercy. I yield myself to your grace, and I am blessed.
Pathways Press.com 
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