Woody Cooper stood in the loud mob the day Dorothy Counts, a Black girl, enrolled in his all-White high school in North Carolina. Taunting her, some boys yelled racial slurs and threw trash at Dorothy, but Woody didn’t rebuke them, even staying silent when a woman cried out, “Spit on her, girls!” He later asked himself, Why didn’t you at least say something? She was just another student coming to school. Haunted for decades by his sin of omission, especially after seeing himself in a news photo from that day, Woody finally reached out to Dorothy 49 years later to apologize.
As Woody learned, showing love and support for another human being isn’t just being brave, it’s also making a choice to be like Jesus. John the apostle taught this lesson to churches burdened by false teaching about Christ and His love.
“We love because He first loved us,” John wrote. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar” (1 John 4:19-20). John recalled this great command, “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (v. 21).
Woody and Dorothy reflected that love as they became close friends. They spoke at churches and schools together. On the night before he died, she came to see him. “I loved him,” she said, “and I know that he loved me.” That’s the Jesus way. It can be our way too, as God brings us together in His transforming love.
At our school district’s championship wrestling match, children as young as eight grappled on gym mats, deploying clever holds to wrestle down their opponents and win. An ancient sport, wrestling demands a savvy combination of takedowns, escapes, pins, and other point-winning maneuvers to come out on top. One little third-grade girl—a crowd favorite—was simply faster than all her opponents, using swift moves that seemed to trick her rivals into defeat.
Jacob used tricky moves to get the best of his twin brother Esau, “wrestling” Esau out of his birthright to their father’s inheritance (Genesis 25:33) and life blessing (27:27-40). But stealing the blessing kept Jacob on the run, forcing him to flee his father’s household, depend on his cunning father-in-law, and live in fear of his brother’s wrath.
Later, he found himself alone, wrestling all night with a Man who was God Himself. “Let me go,” the Man told Jacob, “for it is daybreak” (32:25). But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v. 26). Finally, Jacob was seeking a blessing of his own, holding tight to God even until his name was changed to reflect his changed heart.
No tricky moves were needed to gain this rich blessing from God—only persistence. Jacob was learning to live in relationship with God. It’s a persistent and honest hold—a winning move God will reward.
When writing teacher Peter Turchi sees a map, he looks for the adventure it holds. “To ask for a map,” he says, “is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ ” I seized on that idea when preparing to teach a Sunday school class during Christmas on the “Faith of the Wise Men.” As I studied maps, I learned the Magi traveled some nine hundred miles—perhaps over several months—to find the Christ child, finally finding not a babe in a manger but a toddler living with His parents in a house. Their reaction after such a long trip? “They bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).
Their journey invited my students and me to plan with intention to seek Christ more fully. As Scripture tells us, when the Magi finally arrived in Jerusalem, their urgent question was: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (v. 2).
Distance didn’t deter their worship. Nor did danger or delays. Herod’s deadly demand was ironic: “Go and search carefully for the child” (v. 8). Nobody had searched more carefully for Jesus than the Magi.
We can heed the example of the wise men by seeking Christ carefully, too. Then, as we worship Him, we can expect our heavenly Father to speak to our hearts, leading us from old ways to new paths to journey with Him.
From her hospital bed, Marie Coble lit up when she saw the delivery driver whose help had likely saved her life. She’d fallen in her driveway and hit her head, causing a brain bleed. Seeing her injury, Raheem Cooper helped her while calling paramedics. Invited by family to visit her in the hospital, Raheem often brings sweet treats she enjoys to assist her recovery.
Their story brings to mind the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable is Jesus’ reply to an expert’s question on what he must do to inherit eternal life. Do “what is written in the law,” Jesus said (Luke 10:26), including “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 27). But the expert persisted, asking, “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29).
Christ’s answer describes a man attacked by robbers, left half dead, and then ignored by two people—a priest and a Levite—who passed him by. “But a Samaritan . . . took pity on him” (v. 33), bandaged his wounds, and took care of him. Seeing the hurting man in need, the Samaritan’s help was active, urgent, and without bias—looking past race or creed to assist someone he could’ve ignored.
Thus, Jesus asked, which of these three was a neighbor to the man? “The one who had mercy on him,” the expert said. Said Jesus, “Go and do likewise” (v. 37). In Christ, we too can find the compassion to help a hurting person instead of passing by. It’s a lesson for all in sharing Jesus’ love.
When I was younger, I thought it improper to ask God to help me meet writing deadlines. Other people have greater needs, I told myself. Family problems. Health crises. Job letdowns. Financial needs. I’ve faced all those things, too. But meeting a writing deadline seemed too small to take to God. I changed my view, however, after finding multiple examples in the Bible of God helping people regardless of the challenge they faced.
In one story, the Israelites were dismayed because they faced an attack at Mizpah by their enemies, the Philistines. “[The Israelites] said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines’ ” (1 Samuel 7:8). In response, Samuel sacrificed a lamb to God, crying out to Him on Israel’s behalf, “and the Lord answered him” (v. 9).
“While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites” (v. 10).
Later, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (v. 12). Samuel placed the stone to commemorate God helping His people. Ebenezer means “stone of help.”
Asking God for help is always proper. Let’s call out to Him today.
After a four-year-old boy accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar displayed at a museum in Israel, he received a kind and surprising response. The museum staff forgave him and invited him back. Roee Shafir, speaking for the Hecht Museum, said doing so heightened global interest in the restoration process and might serve to inspire the boy’s interest in history and archaeology—a healing and positive outcome.
The story brings to mind God’s compelling declaration of His forgiveness after rebellion by the Israelites. They’d rebelled against Him by begging Moses’ brother Aaron to make a gold calf for them for idol worship (Exodus 32:1). “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets [of covenant law] out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain” (v. 19).
At God’s instruction, “Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning” (34:4). When God came down, He “passed in front of Moses, proclaiming Himself, ‘The
What a profound reminder. Despite our worst sins, God still forgives. He yearns to restore us.
Early in the basketball season, the coach at our neighborhood middle school seemed to work hardest convincing his players to risk shooting the ball. “Shoot!” he pleaded from the sidelines. His players eagerly passed the ball. Dribbling was a favorite too. The season was half over before most of them would shed their doubts and try to shoot the ball to score. But “going for it” made all the difference. By obeying their coach, letting go of doubt, and trying—even if they often missed the target—they learned to win.
Jesus teaches us to let go of doubt to obey His call to make disciples. He explains, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20).
In practical terms, this can mean stepping out of our comfort to share our story of what God has done for us. Or getting involved in the lives of our hurting neighbors, showing them Jesus’ love. Such approaches work, but only if we let go and try them.
Above all, we go in Jesus’ authority to attempt what may look hard—making disciples. But we need not fear. Jesus promised: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (v. 20).
Tim’s hotel room seemed extra dark at night. What if he got up at night and slipped and fell because he couldn’t see? But when Tim did get up, he was surprised to see a bright light shining from underneath the bed—lighting his path. A motion sensor had activated it. The light only worked, however, if he got up and started to walk.
The Bible says we’re to walk with intent in God’s light. As Paul told the new believers in Jesus at Ephesus, “Follow God’s example . . . and walk in the way of love” (Ephesians 5:1-2). But what does it look like to walk that way?
First, as we step into Christ’s loving light, we turn from our sins—immorality, impurity, idolatry, and coveting. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,” Paul said, “but rather expose them” (v. 11). In the city of Ephesus, where pagan worship thrived, the apostle’s words would direct the new believers there. “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (v. 8
The benefit? The light of Jesus “will shine on you” (v. 14), lighting your path. “Look carefully then how you walk,” Paul concluded (v. 15
In her early years as a Christian author, Gayle often received winsome gifts from her publisher. Bouquets of flowers, chocolates, boxes of herbal teas. All lovely. But over time, her publisher began to send gifts with lasting value. A one-year Bible, devotionals, and prayer journals. As she used them, Gayle became a more mature believer—less distracted by frilly gifts and more committed to using her life to lead others to Christ.
This approach recalls Timothy’s growth under the mentoring of the apostle Paul.. Stressing spiritual maturity, Paul advised, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Then Paul added, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly” (v. 16). He added, “Flee the evil desires of youth . . . don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments . . . the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (vv. 22-24).
Paul’s wise advice offers believers one other key benefit. Even opponents of Christ, when they see our mature choices in Him, “come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil” (v. 26). So “growing up” in God has eternal outcomes beyond ourselves. Let’s not wait, therefore, to grow up in our faith. Others will benefit as well.
