Devotional 2-25-08

Belonging To Community

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16) NRSV

The days of Lent are days of personal reflection in order to recognize and confess our sinfulness, to repent, to be penitent, as we strive to develop a more intimate relationship with God our Father, through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. If I were an artist, I would paint these days a shade of gray – indicative of the feeling of loss we experience as we endure these 40 days of “sacrificing something for Lent.”

This Lenten Season, however, I’m so thankful we’re centering attention on our Vision and Mission Statements. This focus has encouraged me to live these 40 days of Lent in the belief that my relationship with God will be deepened, strengthened, and best demonstrated, by my offering a sacrifice of love daily, deliberately. These acts of love are offered prayerfully; that my words, attitudes and behavior will be spoken, conveyed and carried out as an expression of my loving obedience to Christ. We are all recipients of Christ’s love, and He tells us the world will recognize us as His disciples by our love for one another (see John 13:35). Responding in love – regardless of how I’m feeling about the person or situation – adds a glimpse of color, the color of His love, to my previously dismal palette. I cannot respond in any other way, if I want to live my life as Christ’s disciple.

May the small sacrifices of the heart, willingly offered in Christ’s name, be pleasing to our heavenly Father:

• welcoming someone we don’t know as one of our own
• sharing out of our abundance and out of our poverty
• listening with compassion
• striving to do right rather than needing to be right
• serving with humility
• comforting someone’s sadness
• celebrating someone’s joy
• praying with one another, for one another
• refusing to judge anyone
• loving someone else simply because we know the love of Jesus
• ____________________________( your turn to fill in the blank )

May His blessing be on each act of love, creating an ever widening circle of belonging known as Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, a covenant community transformed by God’s grace to share the love of Christ with the world.

Loving Father:
May the sacrifices of our hearts be rooted in the love, compassion and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remind us how important it is that we belong to You and to each other. We pray that You will hold us in love and keep us in peace all the days of our lives. Amen.

Linda Summers