Your Daily Devotional for December 9, 2007

 

December 9,  2007

 

 

Considering Others

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

 

John 19:26–27

 

 

As we read our verses for today, notice what Christ did as He was dying. Looking down, He saw His mother, and in great concern that no one would care for her, He asked the disciple standing next to her to care for her and treat her as his own mother.

 

Even as Christ was dying, He saw the need of His mother. He wanted to make sure that His mother was well cared for before He died. This consideration for others was not just seen at Calvary but throughout His life as well.

 

His earthly ministry was about others. We saw yesterday in Luke 19:10 that "the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Christ came to earth for the purpose of helping others find the way to Heaven. He cared for the needs of the sick, crippled, maimed, and others. Christ spent His time helping others.

 

He also was considerate of His disciples. He spent time with them, mentored them, exhorted them, taught them, and loved them. He instructed them in the way they should live and taught them the truth about God's Word so they could reach others. He was reaching out to them so they could, in turn, reach out to others.

 

We all could admit that we don't love others as much as Christ did. And sometimes it takes a tragedy to make us love others. A popular magazine reported that in the wake of the September 11 tragedy, over four hundred couples withdrew their divorce documents in just ten days.

 

It sometimes takes pain to help us realize that we need to love others. But Christ doesn't want us to wait until we are hurt to realize the importance of loving others. John 13:34 says, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." That verse really puts things in perspective. We are to love others as much as Christ loved us. He gave His life for us!

 

Even in Christ's time of suffering, He was thinking of others. When was the last time you thought of another before yourself? When was the last time you took time to help someone else? Christ commands us to love one another! Take time right now to ask Christ to help you be considerate of others.

 

Daily Bible Reading

Daniel 11-12 • Jude

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