“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-8 NKJV)

It’s easy to give God thanks when good things come our way; but how often do we give Him thanks for things that He does for others, or for the people that He brings into our lives who are in need? Many people have a tendency to focus more on what they want to get out of life, while neglecting to take notice of the needs of people who are less fortunate than they are.

The irony here, of course, is that those who fail to take notice of the needy are more in want than they are. For they may have more than these in terms of worldly possessions, but their hearts are far from God, which means they lack what is most important in life. That is, love.

Listen, it makes no difference how wealthy we are or might become in this world, or how highly people might esteem us; all of these things will pass away in due time. Nevertheless, the one thing that will remain is love. And if we really know love then we won’t fail to take notice of those who are in need, because we will be by their side, edifying and building them up in the name of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, we will thank God for all of the wonderful opportunities that He has given us to cross their paths. And we will learn the lessons of love that God desires to teach us through them, living in such a way as to be forever grateful to Him for bringing them into our lives. Thus we will walk blamelessly in Jesus Christ.

• Go back to: Articles on Christian Living
• Go to the next article: The Devil’s Sandbox