Daily Devotional
What Do We All Need?

May 1, 2022

Ponder This

Love is not giving others what they deserve but giving them what they need. A well-known preacher into an airport restaurant. The waitress came out and she was not very friendly. She said, “What do you want?”

“Well, I’d like some breakfast.” So he gave the order. She went back into the kitchen, came out again with a bad look on her face, slapped the food down, and said, “You want anything else?” He said, “No, ma’am. That’s fine. Thank you.” So she turned and went away. He ate his breakfast, filled out the check, and left a $20.00 bill on the table.

He turned and started to walk out and the waitress said, “Hey, you! You left some money on the table.” He replied, “Well, don’t they tip around here?” She said, “Wait a minute. You left a twenty-dollar tip after the way I treated you?” He said, “Yes, ma’am.” She asked, “Why would you do that?” He said, “I was watching you. I could tell you were hurt. You must have some problem, and I just thought I would show you some love.” She began to cry. She said, “You don’t know the problems I’ve had. I left a child today sick. Coming to work, my old car broke down. The boss got all over me for being late. Yes, I’ve had some problems.” And this conversation gave the man an opportunity to share the Gospel with this lady. Do you know what that is? That’s Christ-like love. That is not giving her what she deserved; it was giving her what she needed, and what she needed right then was love.

• How has God shown you even more love in Christ than the example in today’s devotion?
• How might you display this love to others?

Practice This

Take action to show love to someone else today by giving not what is deserved but what is needed.