Love God, Love Others, No Matter What

November 2, 2020  - By Rachael Milner

Well-Watered Women Blog-Love God Love Others No Matter What

Love God, No Matter What

Tomorrow is an important day in America. Thousands of folks across the nation will cast their vote for a new President. This election season has brought to light many fears and uncertainties that might have otherwise remained hidden but were likely there all along. I know I’ve had my fair share of worries about what the coming months will look like. There are many believers who love God and want to follow and trust him in every season, but the world is running fast in the opposite direction. And it seems like the “leaders of the pack” don’t look much like Jesus.

What Now?

So what are we to do? Who are we to trust in, support, and follow?

Friends, this is an easy question—and much like the Sunday school answers you might have memorized as a child, the answer is obvious. It’s Jesus. Not in a cliché way, but simply in the knowledge that this world is not our home. Our hope and security and confidence will always be shaken if we try to place them in a fallen, broken, sinful human.

So, we may not know how to feel about tomorrow, but there are a few things we do know. Scripture provides direction on how we are to keep on living, regardless of the outcome November 3, 2020 might bring.

Love the Lord completely.

Mark 12:30 reminds us of our first and primary calling as God’s children: Love God. With all our hearts. All our minds. And with all our souls and strength—everything that’s in us. Love God more than we love our beliefs, our security, our hopes, and dreams in this life. When we do this, it shapes our hearts and allows us to rest securely in the God of peace that cannot be shaken. It changes how we live the day-to-day and it allows us to love others authentically. Which brings us to the second thing.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Mark 12:31 immediately follows up with the call to love outwardly. This is not limited to the people who line up with what we believe, those who agree and support the same candidate, or those who think just like we do. “Neighbors” come in all shapes, sizes, and belief systems—and Jesus doesn’t distinguish here to love only those we deem worthy of receiving our grace. Jesus dined with sinners, welcomed prostitutes to the table, and loved the outcast. He extended mercy to those who wanted him dead. And he calls us to follow his example, even when it’s extremely difficult.

Pray for the President and other government leaders.

Did you know that when 1 Timothy 2:1–2 was written, Nero was emperor? I’ll spare you the specifics, but Nero was no fan of Christendom. He captured, tortured, and killed many believers of the Early Church. And yet, Paul writes to believers that they should pray for the king and all those in high positions so that they “may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

I wonder what Paul would say to us today. I would be willing to bet that his vision of a peaceful, godly, dignified life did not include angry social media posts, hate speech, or bitterness and resentment if “the other side” wins. However, I think he would tell us to get on our knees, cry out to God, and pray for his people to rise up and love others radically. And I think he would encourage us to flourish and thrive even if a season of persecution was upon us—after all, he rejoiced in prison and his sufferings. So we pray. We seek God’s face and listen to his voice.

Live a godly life.

1 Timothy 2:2–4 reminds us that God desires for all people to be saved. Some might never put their trust in him, but we are not the ones who get to decide. We are told to love God and love others, so that others may see how we live and long to know the God that we serve. This is our calling regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. Elisabeth Elliot reminds us to “just do the next right thing” and seek God more than anything else.

Pray for spiritual revival.

Psalm 85:6–7 speaks of the revival of the people—those who love God but need to be reminded that we can rejoice in the sovereignty of our Father, even when the circumstances of our nation are unsteady. God’s steadfast love will not change on November 3 or any day that follows. The people of God, now more than ever, are going to be challenged to choose God or choose this world. May we be women of God who are committed to knowing him and making him known—to our neighbors and the nations, tomorrow and for every day to come.

Friends, as you go about your week, we want to give you some encouragement to listen to and meditate on while we wait for the outcome of tomorrow’s events. This Give Me Jesus playlist is all about the true King: Christ the Lord.

We also created some lock screens to use this week in an effort to point our eyes to Jesus. You can find all of our lock screens and other inspiration here.

May God be glorified in all that we say, do, and believe.

Resting in Christ, Rachael

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