SEPTEMBER 12, 2025

   “I must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is no true love in me, and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.” 

― Mother Teresa

PROVERBS 21-22 

25The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work.

26All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing. (21:25-26)

2 CORINTHIANS 4

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

JOURNAL 

When I think of this, I see that the call to give is not just about money or time. it is about my heart being daily reshaped by God’s Spirit. Paul wrote that though our bodies may be wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. That renewal is not for my comfort alone but to equip me to serve, to love, to sacrifice in a way that reflects Christ. The temporary burdens I carry are not wasted; they are working out a glory that far outweighs them. That eternal perspective frees me from clinging to what I see and anchors me in what is unseen (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).

Every morning is another surrender. Yesterday’s obedience doesn’t carry into today; I must choose again to lay down my pride, my selfishness, my fears. If I don’t, my heart drifts, and the cravings of the flesh quietly take back control. This is a daily battle, but it is never a battle I fight alone.

Jesus tells me clearly: Remain in My love… keep My commands… love one another as I have loved you. Then your joy will be complete (John 15:9–12). That commandment is not abstract; it is lived in the grit of sacrifice and obedience. And though it may feel painful at times, it is the very way His joy takes root in me.

In light of Charlie Kirk’s tragic death, I cannot escape the reality of how sacrifice and suffering intersect with love. It seems twisted that such loss can stir others to deeper faith, courage, and obedience but it does. Somehow, in the mystery of God’s ways, even what the enemy intends for harm can become a channel for God’s power and love. I wish it were not through pain that His strength is revealed, yet I know it is undeniable. My role, then, is not to make sense of it all, but to abide, to remain, and to keep loving, even when it costs me.

 9As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

JOHN 15:9-12