Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 John 3:17-19

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence..."

Verse 16 says that we ought to lay down our life for our brothers, which means we must have a merciful heart. Verse 17 says that we ought to show pity on our brothers, which means we are the key to letting the river of God's love flow. In the parable of Good Samaritan preached by Jesus, there was a man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, but he was beaten up and injured by bandits. A priest went by, saw the man and just kept on going; a Levite went by, saw the man and also kept on going. Finally, a Good Samarian saw him, stopped to wrap his wound and brought him to an inn to be healed. The Lord asked the teachers of lawyer, who was this man's neighbor?

The Lord preached this parable because the teachers of law asked Him this question: You said we ought to love our neighbor, so who is our neighbor? Notice that he asked the Lord who is their neighbor, but the Lord asked them who are the man's neighbor. In other word, the Lord was telling them: Sorry, your question is wrong! You shouldn't be asking who my neighbor is, but rather who is the neighbor of the one who was wounded. When we are asking who our neighbors are, we are still being self-centered, and we won't be able to see the needs of others.

When we are asking who our neighbors are, we won't see the needs of others. When we ask who are the neighbors of those who are hurt and broken, suddenly we must face one question seriously - Should we be their neighbor? This is not only true in personal life, but also in missions. I have noticed that Chinese churches always seem to be reaching out to the Chinese people, because we always think that if we don't take care of the Chinese, who will take care of them? We, however, neglect the Great Commission of the Lord, which asks us to go to the nations. If the Lord asked us who are the neighbors of all nations, do we have the heart of mercy to take a step forward?

Pray with Pastor Tong Liu

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Lord, we thank you because you love us and you sacrificed for us. We are will to care for people around us, not only the need of the Chinese people, but also people of all nations. When you saw many people in need, you had mercy on them, and in the same way may your love flow out from our life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!