Over the TopSample

In 1996, Olympics gymnast Kerri Strug pushed through an injury to win the first team Gymnastics Gold Medal in America's history. It may be one of the greatest moments in American Olympic sports history. Despite the physical pain and mental strain, Strug focused on what was most important and helped her team achieve what had never been done.

As you follow Jesus, the hope is that you learn to have a Kerri Strug-like focus on the things that matter most to him. To help you do that, he boiled down what he cares about to two fundamental things — loving God and loving others. This will take time, and it's easy to get distracted from focusing on what matters.

In 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13, Paul gives a vision of what it looks like to overcome distraction. When you find yourself losing focus on caring for others, there is a simple thing you can do to ask for help — prayer. The next time you have a hard time loving someone, take a moment and ask Jesus for help.

This simple habit can help you maintain focus on loving God and others even when it is hard. When you ask God for help and guidance, you tap into a source of strength and love that allows you to be more generous and caring toward those around you in ways you didn't know were possible.

God is more than willing to help you learn to be generous by caring for each other.