Welcome to Day 160 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about finding nourishment in the Word of God to get us through the day. In each devotional, I take a variety of scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses each) and build our understanding of what they teach via their context and connecting scripture. My goal is to help you understand how to be the type of human God created you to be. Today’s passage is 1 John 4:20-21.

1 John 4:20-21

NASB	NLT	VOICE
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.	20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?	20 If someone claims, “I love God,” but hate his brother or sister, then he is a liar. Anyone who does not love a brother, whom he has seen, cannot possibly love God, whom he has never seen.
21 And this command we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.	21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.	21 He gave us a clear command, that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.

It’s easy to claim our relationship and allegiance with God when that love doesn’t cost us anything more than our attendance of our worship services. We can think that our service to God only happens within a church. It could be volunteering at the kids’ ministry events, helping in a food pantry, ushering on Sunday, or something related. Our relationship with God exists outside of the church. The real test of our love for God becomes clear in how we treat our neighbors.

How do you treat your neighbors? Do you smile at them when they walk by you? Do you scowl? Do you invite them to a conversation? Do you snap at them? Did you donate money to someone in need? Did you help pay a bill for them like rent or electricity? Did you help provide a meal? Did you help provide clothing? The list of questions could go on and on, but this is just a snapshot about how God calls on us to care for our neighbors.

We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in his image Jesus’ love reveals itself in our compassion, our generosity, and our ability to listen and help. Sometimes we think about helping others by donating tangible items like money, food, clothing, and more. However, lending your time is just as important, if not more. Lending your ears to hear about struggles someone is going through is important. Building a relationship with someone to hear their problems, understanding their needs, and meeting them above and beyond the face value of what you perceive. Sometimes we assume their needs, instead of truly asking and listening to what they need.

Next slice of bread: Manna for the Mind #161