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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Thursday, April 1, 2004 Everything |
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Frontline Devotion for
Thursday, April 1, 2004, by Penny Risen
Scripture:
Galatians 5:16-17;
Galatians 6:7
Somewhere between high school and college, our priorities often shift.
What once was:
“Which look best on me: boot cut jeans or low rise?” or “Maybe I’ll ask my cute
lab partner out for coffee.”
And soon becomes:
“Tomorrow, I’m going to change the world!”
Life’s purpose shifts to “do unto others,” not only the selfish “do it for me.”
Out on our own, many of us find a streak of activism in ourselves. We join
groups with a common goal for good or ones that propose altering society. In
order to put other’s needs first, we deny or delay our own needs for something
larger. Maybe we choose to march, or we fast, serve, write letters, rally, lobby
and raise money. Mostly, though, we plan and dream for our future.
We tell ourselves: Tomorrow, I’m going to change to world with (PICK ONE) my
music, my art, my words, my heart; my skill as a lawyer; my compassion as a
doctor; my energy as a teacher; my reach as a scientist; my curiosity and
passion for dozens of other disciplines --- and even with my sense of Christian
charity, love and spiritual conscience.
Of course, we soon find that we need a balance, between “for me” and “for us.”
We find we really can’t change the world all by ourselves, only a tiny bit at a
time if we are lucky. By denying our own needs and continuing to give, won’t we
soon suffer a sort of spiritual burnout? Maybe being a servant continually to
the greater good will make us weary, feeling unappreciated. After all, we
reason, we are only human.
But in a few of us, once powerful energy of activism and love may turn into
bitterness and cynicism.
The older we get, for some it becomes:
“I can‘t be everything to everyone. I need to look out for only me.”
Or as “Peanuts” cynical Lucy declares:
“I love humanity; it’s people I can’t stand!”
Paul sees this same spiritual peril and burnout in early Christians of Galatia.
In his letter, he recalls that Jesus Christ gave everything He had for us as our
loving Savior. He denied us nothing of His earthly body in His final days on
earth, giving it up to suffering and death for our sins. We still are His
priority and we belong to Him.
The ability to live the life of love, Paul says, comes from God’s Spirit and His
strength. And putting selfishness aside to love our neighbors is the first order
of business for us as His disciples.
“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then
you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness,“ Paul preaches in Galatians 5
(from The Message Bible translation). “For there is a root of sinful
self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit
is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are opposed to each
other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way
according to how you feel on any given day.” A heavy thought to ponder during
Lent, this expectation of sacrifice and duty put at odds with our God-given
freewill and sense of self. Paul asserts: Ignoring the needs of others is like
ignoring God.
Sure, it’s a tall order: Attempting to live out our Christian beliefs everyday
and put God’s love into action. But when we are poor in spirit, and weighed down
with too many “me” issues, we know that Jesus did give everything for us. He
denied no burden as too heavy to save us poor, selfish sinners. We can ask Him
to lift us up again, to renew our sense of Christian activism, and maybe to find
ways to change a little bit of the world together as a family of faith.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, I’m a selfish being in a selfish world. I long to
walk with You on the side of righteousness. Show me how to love others and to
deny myself, not just when it’s convenient but whenever You need it of me.
Amen.
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