Let the inner movement of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous.
Be devoted to tenderly loving your fellow believers as members of one family. Try to outdo yourselves in respect and honor of one another.
Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him.
Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.
Take a constant interest in the needs of God’s beloved people and respond by helping them. And eagerly welcome people as guests into your home.
Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.
Celebrate with those who celebrate, and weep with those who grieve. Live happily together in a spirit of harmony, and be as mindful of another’s worth as you are your own. Don’t live with a lofty mind-set, thinking you are too important to serve others, but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble minded. Don’t be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all.
Never hold a grudge or try to get even, but plan your life around the noblest way to benefit others. Do your best to live as everybody’s friend.
God,
Sometimes my head and my heart get focused in the wrong direction. Instead of seeing those You have created – the people all around me – as brothers and sisters who are dearly loved by You, I see them as competition I need to get the upper hand on, problems I need to solve, or something I could never live up to. I create this false sense of who I am and who they are and in the end I try to be someone You have not created me to be at all. I make myself big in order to gain control over situations, thereby bulldozing over people, or I make myself small, minimizing all that You have given me. Today, help me to be “exactly human-size.” Help me to honestly recognize where I am in my journey and to have Your eyes to see the journeys of those around me. Help me not to miss out on the opportunities to love and be loved in the ways You designed since the beginning of time. Amen.
