Daily Devotion (23. 9. 2026) – Following the Golden Rule

As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we become more like Christ.

Matthew 22:36-40

Most of us learned the Golden Rule in childhood: Treat others the way we want to be treated. This standard makes intuitive sense to young children, who know that if you want others to share with you, it’s wise to share with them. But as relationships grow more complicated, living this out becomes far more difficult.

In today’s passage, Jesus gives us the two greatest commandments: to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as yourself. That second one is where most of us struggle. When we’ve been hurt, our instinct is to protect ourselves or to retaliate. We may not strike back openly, but resentment has a way of coloring how we speak about people or treat them.

As believers, thankfully, we’re not left to act in our own strength; we’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to forgive even when everything in us resists. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). We can’t manufacture these qualities—they grow in us as we yield to the Spirit’s work.

Are these characteristics evident in your interactions with others—even with the people who are hardest to love? Ask the Lord to produce His fruit in you today. What He grows will always surpass what we could force on our own.

Source: https://www.intouchaustralia.org