I was just finishing up a wonderful walk with the Lord on the beach praising and worshiping and praying to Him when I bent down to pick up a little shell. Little did I know God would birth a message in me inspired by shells.
Though I have walked on beaches on and off for decades, until I picked up that shell I had never thought about how God created shells and how He places them in the company of other shells that are all different shapes, sizes, colors, textures, ages, histories, etc. While some shells resemble other shells, no two are alike. Yet every shell seems perfectly content to be where God has placed it. It seems perfectly at peace where God has put it. And if shells could love, it seems to be perfectly loving toward all the other shells around it no matter how different they are from itself.
God’s greatest commands are to love Him with all our hearts and to love each other. We should be perfectly content wherever God places us, perfectly at peace no matter where God puts us, and love each other no matter how different the people around us, with whom we cross paths, with whom we interact, and with whom we communicate, etc.
The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that those who love Him are to obey Him. If we love and obey God, then we are to love one another no matter how different people may be than we are. No matter how different people may be in nationality, language, beliefs, personality, appearance, age, background, interests, skin color, career, personal story and circumstances, abilities, physical build, makeup, hair color, education, etc., we should be content where God has placed us, peaceful where God has put us, and should love others with the love of Jesus.
Do you love the Lord with all your heart, are you content and at peace no matter how different the people with whom you cross paths, and are you loving others with the love of Jesus?
If you have some growing in love, contentment, and peace to do, please cry out to God in repentance for where you have fallen short and for help in loving and obeying God as you go forward! Amen!
“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” 1 John 3:23 NKJV
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12 NKJV