This Week’s Devotional: Panning for Gold

Week 1 - January 1-6th, 2024

This Weeks Daily Reading:

Reading, January 1-6th, 2024

This week’s devotional:

Panning for Gold
by Sue Hersey

Scripture:

For everything we know about God’s word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. 

— Galatians 5:14 (The Message) 

Reflection:

Using this Bible reading plan gives you a golden opportunity to experience God’s entire word by reading a small portion each day. Not to boast, but I’ve done this a number of times, myself, and have learned there are certain themes that keep popping up throughout Scripture. It seems that God thinks certain messages are so important they bear repeating over and over. I’m thinking in particular about God’s sentiment in the verse quoted above. It doesn’t matter which Bible translation you choose to read from: it could be the old King James Version, the New International Version, the English Standard Version, or The Message that I’ve quoted from here. Whether you’re reading in the law of Moses, the poetry of Psalms or Proverbs, the words of Jesus, himself, or the letters his apostles wrote to the early Christians, you will find this same piece of advice stated one way or another: “Love others as you love yourself.” You’ll also find that this verse is included in this week’s Bible readings (on Jan 5, to be precise). What is commonly known as “The Golden Rule” – something I learned as a child (and I hope they still teach this to kids today) – states the same thing in different words: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12). 

So, how do I know whether I’m treating others with love, as I should? The test for this is fairly simple and can be easily applied to whatever situation I’m in: I ask myself whether I’m doing what I would like other people to do to me. It doesn’t take much imagination to stop and think of what I’m doing and make this comparison. Think of it just like cooking! My husband, Bruce, and I enjoy cooking together, frequently making things like soups and stews without a recipe but pausing and tasting along the way to see how we are doing. Do we love it or not? Often, we find we need to add some kind of seasoning or adjust our ingredients to make it taste the way we like it. At times we realize we do not love what we made and vow to do it differently the next time. If we do love it, great! Let’s eat and be sure to remember how we made it so we can make it the same way again.

We can test our behavior toward others in a similar way. Anytime we’re interacting with other people – whether family, friends, or even someone you’ve never met (like that driver who cut you off in traffic) – we have the opportunity to consider how we really should be acting. How did we feel when people were caring or generous or forgiving toward us? We loved it, of course! That’s the sign of a good way to treat others. We’re all familiar with the hurt, anger, or disappointment we feel when slighted. That should clue us in on what behaviors to avoid. If in doubt, here is a great online resource that can help you test whether you’re being truly loving toward your neighbor in a variety of situations: https://www.soulshepherding.org/do-you-love-your-neighbor-take-this-self-test-to-find-out/

Of course, love is a gift from God. He loved us first and, as people loved by God, we should reflect that love toward other people. Enjoy your foray into reading the Bible and take time as you read through it to notice all the ways God reveals his amazing love for us. It’s like panning for gold – a real treasure to last a lifetime! 

Prayer: 

Dear God, I know it’s a huge undertaking to start reading your word, and so I ask for your help along the way. Open my eyes to see all the ways you love me – those precious nuggets of gold! Help me to reflect that love toward others and let there be love behind all my actions (even with people that are hard to love). I call on your Holy Spirit to guide me. Help me to become more like your loving Son, Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen