Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Bible in a Year: Psalms 27-29 | Acts 12

I am currently knee-deep into my second semester of college. After attending a Christian school and then being homeschooled for several years, my classes have already left me with many interesting stories. The other English majors live in a vastly different way than I do, and it has been an eye-opening experience to glimpse the world from their perspectives.

This can be difficult when their viewpoints challenge my faith. However, when I feel confused about my role in all of this, I keep reminding myself of the way Jesus loved others while he walked on the earth.

Jesus had a reputation for spending time with people frowned upon by the religious leaders - people who did not live according to the model God set out in the Jewish law. Jesus didn’t condone their choices - but that didn’t stop him from showing up to their parties, stopping for them in the street, or calling them by name. He met them in the middle of their sin and brokenness and loved them through it.

He instructed his disciples to love people in the same way:

John 13:34
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

Jesus said this immediately after Judas left to betray him. Judas was a friend whom Jesus had chosen and loved, even knowing that he would turn on him eventually. Despite the intense suffering Judas’ choice would soon cause, Jesus welcomed him into his closest followers.

Jesus calls us to love people in the same way, despite the differences in their lifestyle or the ways they disrespect or hurt us. All of God’s children have the potential to become representatives of his love for the world.

This doesn’t mean we need to agree with everything someone says. This doesn’t mean we should participate in sin. And this certainly doesn’t mean we should stay in situations that are harmful or abusive.

However, we can show up and be fully present, rather than distracted. We can choose to listen instead of getting defensive. We can care about the issues others are facing and the victories they are achieving.

This is the kind of love Jesus is inviting us to experience - a love that we receive from him and then have the honor of pouring out for others.

Questions:
Do you have any relationships that are challenging? Who is God encouraging you to love this week?

Next Steps:
Keep on the lookout for people who are different from you throughout your day. Allow yourself to humbly listen to their perspective.

Make space in your schedule for loving others sometime this week. This could mean leaving your phone in a different room to have a focused conversation, asking someone questions about something they are passionate about, offering to finish a task when they are stressed, or simply praying for them.

Prayer:
Father, you love me in a way that I cannot comprehend. Please give me the grace and the compassion I need to love the people you’ve placed in my life. I can’t do this on my own. Continue to pour into me and remind me of your example. I love you. Amen.

This post was written by Lydia Snyder, a South attendee and regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.