Love in Action – Week of February 21, 2022

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.

Romans 12:9-16a

Ministry is not for the faint of heart. The NIV entitled this section, “Love in Action”. So often, as teachers, we focus on our students and their families. I’d like for us to use these verses and apply them to our faculty.

Think about the people that you work with and what it would be like if everyone was…

“…devoted to one another in love. Honoring one another above yourselves.” (v.10)
“Never lacking in zeal, but keeping spiritual fervor…” (v.11)
“…joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (vs.12)

Think of the work a faculty can do when they…

“Live in harmony with one another.” (vs. 16)

Do you lean on your faculty members? If not, try it. God has put you with a group of people to do his work. If you don’t have a large faculty, lean on your school board, a pastor, or a mentor.

Throughout your ministry there will certainly be times when you are persecuted, have cause to rejoice, or go through a rough time and mourn. What a blessing it is not to have to go through all of that alone.

Sometimes we find ourselves putting our heads down and just doing the work that’s right in front of us. Lift up your head, dear friend. Try to notice a co-worker that you could encourage. Make it a point to smile at them when you see them in the hallway. When you feel like no one understands what you’re going through, just know that they might be the ones who understand the most.

The Lord has put the people in your life for a reason. Live in harmony with them. When they rejoice, rejoice with them. If they’re struggling, lift them up. Spur them on in their ministry. Pray for them.

Love in action takes work. It takes time. It takes intentionality. Ask the Lord to help with this. Ask Him to instill in you these qualities so that you can be a productive part of your group, reflecting God’s love to those around you.

Maybe your faculty is great at this. Praise God!

Maybe your faculty could use some work. Pray to God!

You are a team, put together, by God, to do his work.

May God bless you in all of your efforts.

Prayer

We all are one in mission; we all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united by Christ, the Lord of all.
A single great commission compels us from above
To plan and work together that all may know Christ’s love. Amen
Christian Worship ’93 566:1

A Question to Consider:
How can you be a light to someone on your faculty? Think of some ways and plug them into your calendar for the rest of the year. Then, put your ideas into action! That’s love.

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Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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