Popular

Our need for love and appreciation is written deeply into our nature. We want to be seen and accepted by those around us. But, in this broken world, humans are selfish, and human attention is fickle. Popularity can tease those who don’t find it and wreck those who do. Jesus knows about popularity. As a human, He understands people. He knows personally that they can crown you one day and crucify you the next. So, during His ministry on earth, how did Jesus deal with that oh-so-human desire for attention and acceptance? How did He deal with popularity? Instead of relying on the opinions of humans for worth and acceptance, Jesus went to the Father; He “entrusted himself to the one who judges justly,” even in suffering (1 Peter 2:23). Yet Jesus was not detached. He cared. He loved. He had a mission to accomplish for our sake—one that would make a way for us to escape the trap of finding our worth in what others think of us instead of in the One who made us. He made the ultimate sacrifice to beat sin and death, all because He so loved us (John 3:16-17). In Christ, we are loved and accepted, no matter what we face (Romans 8:38-39). And, in that acceptance, we are free to love others instead of comparing ourselves to them. A prayer: “Lord, I entrust my heart to You, loving others with abandon as I accomplish Your mission for my life. Remind me I am secure in Your great love, which will help me show that same love to each one You bring into my life today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” • Trent D. Schrock • God created us to be in community (Genesis 2:18). But the fall into sin broke our relationships with God and others (Genesis 3). How has Jesus made a way for our broken relationships with God and others to be reconciled? To dig deeply into this topic, check out Romans 5, 2 Corinthians 5, and Colossians 1. • To what length have you gone in the past to “earn” the love and attention of those around you? • Read Romans 8. How can the truths from this passage help you rest confidently in God’s love for you in Christ? How can this confident rest help you love others? Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 (CSB)

Read Verses:

John 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:22-24