JUNE 2, 2026

  “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” 

― Mother Teresa

2 CHRONICLES 7-9

 17“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’19“But if you^a turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you^b and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^c who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

JOHN 13:1-17

 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him... 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

JOURNAL 

The more I sit with these passages, the more I realize that God's blessing has never been about accomplishment, status, or success. Solomon built a magnificent temple, possessed incredible wisdom, and led one of the most prosperous kingdoms in history. Yet God warned him that all of it could become rubble if his heart drifted away. The blessing was never the temple. The blessing was never the kingdom. The blessing was God's presence. The blessing was walking faithfully with Him.

Then I look at Jesus in John 13. John makes a point of telling us that Jesus knew all authority had been given to Him. He knew exactly who He was. He knew where He came from and where He was going. Yet instead of demanding service, recognition, or honor, He wrapped a towel around His waist and washed the feet of His disciples. The more I think about it, the more I see that this is what true power looks like. Power is not domination. Power is not control. Power is not getting my way. True power, when it is centered in love, serves. It kneels. It sacrifices. It restores.

That realization keeps bringing me back to what I believe God has been revealing to me about my own mission. Love. Build. Restore. Love people where they are. Build what is good, true, and beautiful. Restore what is broken so it more fully reflects the heart of God. But I am also realizing that I cannot give what I do not first receive. I cannot love from an empty well. I cannot build from fear. I cannot restore others while living disconnected from the One who restores me. Everything begins with receiving God's love, God's grace, and God's acceptance. It begins with acknowledging my own emptiness and my need for Him.

Only then can I become a conduit of His Spirit. The more I reflect on 2 Timothy 1:7, the more I see that it is not simply a verse about courage. It is a description of how God works through us. We receive His Spirit and then we share His Spirit. We receive His power, love, and discipline, and then we become vessels through which those things flow into the lives of others. If I try to manufacture those things on my own, eventually my service becomes self-serving. It becomes about recognition, validation, outcomes, or proving something. But when I receive them from God first, service becomes an overflow rather than an obligation.

I am also beginning to understand why fear creates so much resistance in my life. Fear focuses on outcomes. Fear asks whether I will succeed, whether I will fail, whether I will be accepted, whether I will get the result I want. Love focuses on action. Love simply asks what the next faithful step is. Fear hoards. Love gives. Fear protects. Love risks. Fear compares. Love creates. Fear seeks to be served. Love seeks to serve.

Mother Teresa's words remind me that in the end, life will not be measured by achievements, titles, money, accomplishments, or recognition. It will be measured by love. Did I feed the hungry? Did I clothe the naked? Did I welcome the stranger? Did I use the gifts, opportunities, and relationships God entrusted to me to love, build, and restore? Those are the things that last because they reflect the very nature of God Himself.

Today is God's gift to me. What I do with it becomes my offering back to Him. My calling is not to control outcomes or guarantee success. My calling is to receive His love and then allow that love to flow through me. To become more of the person He created me to be. To use whatever power, influence, talent, wisdom, or opportunity I have in service to others. To love. To build. To restore. The outcome belongs to God. The action belongs to me. My responsibility is simply to receive and then give, trusting that His power, His love, and His discipline are more than enough for whatever He places in front of me today.

6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline 

- 2 TIMOTHY 1:7