16.August.2026
Yesterday we started with the horizontal, friendships, loyalty between people, what it looks like when someone withdraws love the moment it costs them something. Today we start in a different place. We start with God first, because the vertical relationship, the one between you and Him, is what everything else flows out of.
Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. Matthew 22:37-38
All. Not most. Not when it’s convenient. All of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind. That kind of love doesn’t leave room for hedging when it costs something.
And it will cost something. There will be moments when loving Him fully means a decision that threatens your comfort, your safety, even your life. That’s when you find out what you actually believe and what He means to you.
Daniel knew the decree. Anyone caught praying to anyone but the king would be thrown into the lions’ den. He kept praying anyway, three times a day, exactly as he always had, because his love for God didn’t bend to threat.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood in front of a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal, given one final chance to bow to an idol. They refused, telling the king plainly that even if God didn’t rescue them, they still would not bow.
Esther risked her own life going before the king uninvited, something that could have cost her everything, because she understood she’d been positioned for such a time as this.
None of them made the choice about their own safety. Every one of them chose honoring God over self-preservation, because they knew what they believed beyond the shadow of a doubt, and they were willing to make any sacrifice because of their love for Him.
That’s what real love gives freely. Not just discomfort. Sometimes everything.
Today is my mother’s birthday, and I want to honor her here, because a mother’s love is one of the clearest pictures we have of sacrificial love. It’s rare. It’s significant. It gives without needing anything back. It shows up at 3 a.m. and stays up all night without complaint. It sacrifices sleep, comfort, even her own needs, simply because her love demands that of herself.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
That’s what real love looks like, whether it’s God laying down His life for us, three men refusing to bow even in the face of fire, a queen risking everything for her people, or a mother pouring herself out for her child, even in prayer at 2am in the morning. Real love isn’t measured by the words attached to it. It’s measured by what we’re willing to give freely.
If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, you can do that right now. Pray this with me:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I confess that I have sinned, and I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose again on the third day. I ask Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Make today count and see you tomorrow.
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