asbc seek devotionals 2025 2 - Flipbook - Page 84
DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL | ALFRED STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
Day 40: Relationship:
Three Degrees
REV. DR. MARCIA NORFLEET
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law…and if
there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.”
– Romans 13:8, 9f NKJV
There are varying degrees of relationship, which call for varying degrees of trust. Not
everyone is allowed to know me intimately, just as I am not able and do not have the
capacity to know everyone intimately. There are people I have met and those I will never
meet who feel they know me and my colleagues via YouTube and social media. It would
not be wise to trust anyone and everyone with the information and experiences I share
with my confidants. However, I love everybody, as everyone is my neighbor.
Jesus had throngs of people around Him as He preached in the region, most of whom He
did not know. Many followed Him, including men and women, and because He healed,
preached, and taught them, they felt a false sense of closeness to Him. Moreover, the
Bible documents that Jesus sent out 70 into the regions with instructions to prepare the
way for Him. He called 12 to help with His ministry, teaching and preparing them to
take up the mantle behind Him. Out of the 12, there were only three in His inner circle:
Peter, James, and John. He granted them access to witness His struggles in ministry, His
transfiguration, and become His confidants. Notice that each group became smaller.
Although there were degrees of trust and access, Jesus loved everyone and showed His
love by going to the cross.
We are commanded to love everyone as we love ourselves, even our enemies. Healthy love
does not want to see harm come to another because we would not want harm to come
to ourselves. There are no degrees of love, just types of love. One can love others as
neighbors/strangers, friends, enemies, family, or romantically, but the foundation is the
same. Love your neighbor as yourself.
JOURNAL
REFLECTIONS
What is your capacity to love yourself?
84
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your love and the relationship you
consistently pursue. Amen.
