Receive Others in Love – No Stumbling

"And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” Matthew 18:5-7

Receive a child just like you would Jesus Himself. That is good advice for any one at any age. Greet everyone with the same honor and respect that is deserving of Jesus Himself. Age, gender, nationality don’t matter…the love of Jesus is utmost. Sure we all have preferences and tend to treat family and friends with special deference…but my mother and a couple of other people I’ve met in my lifetime have had the attitude that a stranger is a friend you just haven’t met yet. My Mom could talk to anyone…and she often did. When she died the church was overflowing at her Memorial Service because she treated everyone with love, respect and genuine interest in their lives. I didn’t give her the total respect she deserved—I miss her and regret that I didn’t honor her more. I hope that if your parents—especially your mothers—are still living that you will respect them with the love of the Lord. Don’t be a stumbling block to others or to yourself.

RSVP: Jesus is inviting us today to receive others as we would receive Him. To treat others with the same level of respect that we would give the Son of God…God Himself. How will you respond to Him today?

Prayer ~ Jesus, You are deserving of our love and respect. Help us to show others the same love that you have shown us.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.