A Love the Lasts
Good Morning Friends,
Today on the road to Pentecost we continue our contemplations on what the Holy Spirit does in our daily lives. And let me tell you my experience is that it does a lot more than we realize to lead and guide us, to convict us of sin, to teach us what to say and write, and to have a heart for worship. It is all that, but I am beginning to see this relationship in our lives as something that also pours out into community as a marriage with grace in A Love the Lasts.
Scripture: I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:18-19 (NRSV)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
Message: Jesus says to ask and so this morning I am asking, as an act of faith, for a better understanding of how the Spirit of Truth guides us and sanctifies us as we collectively gather in work and play and worship and study to experience life. I am praying, as I write, that these words would be a guide to me and others of the way Jesus would have us to go.
Now many of you are in various situations where maybe you’re mediating a conflict or you’re in the middle of a difficult situation and there are different opinions and perspectives and personalities you say, “I don’t know what the truth is here.” It is in just those situations that the Holy Spirit does its work on the pride of individuals until they realize that they cannot do what they have set out to do alone. On Sunday I will be singing in the choir, but if I am singing the right notes to the wrong song believe me I will soon learn a lesson in humility. In such situations we need help…we need the help of the Holy Spirit to love us into the joy of a community singing the same song at the same time. The truth we are seeking is discovered when we give back something that is larger than our individual lives. Here we share in a heart of love big enough for all the world and discover in it the wisdom of the Spirit of Truth. Friends, this love is unmerited. It is often unsought. It is universal, unbounded and unknown and unbroken but get this….it is also unending. So whatever challenge you face, face it forward. Do not be fearful. God’s love does not end. Friends, do not just love but remain in love letting your actions show it not just to your neighbor but your neighbor’s, neighbor’s, neighbor’s, neighbor to the ends of the earth.
Pray our hearts and minds are open to receive the blessing of a relationship with the divine. Pray we realize that we need help. Pray we realize that there is no such a thing as a joyless Christian. Pray we realize that
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life in the love of God. Pray we realize that the loving relationship between Jesus and the Father is also a relationship of love that can be experienced between Jesus and us all through the Holy Spirit. Pray we care for others in ways that keep the commandment of love and in it discover the return and growth in us of joy, peace and love. Pray we share. Pray we care. Pray we have a love that lasts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 