If you knew you had one month to live what would you do with the time you had left? Would you travel to an exotic place? Would you go on a wild spending spree at the Galleria? Would you cancel your health club membership? Maybe you would punch your annoying neighbor in the nose. A survey had this one question: If you had one month to live what would you do?  By a margin of 4 to 1 the number one answer to the question wasn’t travel or a spending spree or punching your neighbor in the nose. The vast majority of people, who knew they had a very limited amount of time before they died, would want to spend that time with people they love. So, how do we deepen the most important relationships in life, no matter how much time we have left to live? In Psalm 90:12, Moses wrote, “Teach us to realize how short our lives are. Then our hearts will become wise.” That should be a prayer for us just as it was for Moses. “God, teach us to know how short our lives are in light of eternity so we can have wisdom to pursue what truly matters in life.” Most people would probably agree that deepening the relationships with the ones we love is one of the most important things we can do with the time we have left on this earth. 

Scriptures – Exodus 20:14; Psalm 90:12; Matthew 7:3-4, 7; John 8:2-3, 6-11; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:13; 1 John 3:18

Verse – My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No, our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do.     1 John 3:18

Thought – There is a story in John 8 that gives us insight into some things we need to do if we’re going to strengthen and deepen relationships in life. In the story, a woman is caught in the act of adultery by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. These two groups were the self-appointed spiritual police of their day and they were trying to trap and discredit Jesus. They wanted to force Him into one of two answers to their questions hoping that He would be discredited no matter what He said. Jesus turned the trap back on them when He said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” After His question, Jesus stooped down and wrote two times in the dust. We don’t know what He wrote but we do know the spiritual police walked away from the confrontation. By walking away, they were acknowledging they didn’t belong to the group labeled, “without sin.” That is a large group because no one who has ever lived, except for Jesus, could honestly say they were without sin. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees couldn’t say it to Jesus in John 8 and we can’t say it to Jesus now. In Romans 3:23, the Bible reminds us that, “All of us have sinned.”

Questions  – 1. Do you have a bucket list and if so, what is #1 on your list? 2. What would be your best guess of what Jesus wrote on the ground in the story of the woman caught in adultery? 3. Have you ever suffered with “plank in eye” disease? Explain. 4. What small acts of love are most important to you?  5. How hard is it for you to admit your faults and shortcomings?

Response – Look for opportunities to become a master of small acts of love. Don’t concentrate all your focus on your family but be open to let God use you to touch others who desperately need some acts of love in their lives.

Prayer  – Dear Lord Jesus, help me to be a person who loves other people with acts of love. Never let me forget how much You loved me by Your death on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. Help my relationships be more genuine and healthier because I love like I am forgiven. In Your precious name I pray, Amen.