Kevin Jordan, a freshman at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, became ill in January 2010 and required a kidney transplant. His kidneys were functioning at only 8 percent, and doctors said he needed a transplant immediately. None of his family members were a match. So, his baseball coach, Tom Walter —without hesitation—volunteered to donate his kidney. “When we recruit our guys, we talk about family and making sacrifices for one another,” Walter told USA Today before the surgery. “It is something we take very seriously. I had the support of my family, Wake Forest, and my team. To me, it was a no-brainer.”

Deuteronomy 6-7 – An Act of the Will

Coach Walter’s example of sacrificial love is what Moses had in mind when he told them to love God with all their heart. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses instructed them to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength. This command was so important that they were told to teach it to their children, to write it on the doorposts, and to make signs.

Is it possible to command somebody to love? Our culture seems to think this is a mysterious and amazing emotion that you either have or don’t have. The Bible teaches something very different about love. For the believer, love is an act of the will: We choose to relate to God and other persons lovingly no matter how we may feel. Christian love means that we treat others the way God treats us. In His love, God is kind and forgiving toward us, so we seek to be kind and forgiving toward others (Eph. 4:32). God wills the very best for us, even if it demands sacrifice on our part. Love isn’t simply a feeling; love leads to action. “God so loved … that he gave” (John 3:16).

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete love God wholeheartedly and desire to love others according to the virtues of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7.

Bible Memory Verse – “The secret things belong to Yahweh our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29 (LSB)