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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 15, 2005 The Urge to Flee |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, March 15, 2005 By Anne B.
Crawford
Matthew
26:47-56
It happened over a year ago. My husband and I stopped in at a local hair
salon for haircuts before the holidays. The place was busy with clients
and hair stylists. I got seated before my husband and suddenly there was a
commotion. A woman near me started ranting that my husband was a thief,
claiming she saw him put something in his pocket that wasn’t his. She
was loud and drew attention from the staff and customers. While my husband
steadfastly, and rather hotly, denied doing any such thing, the woman continued
to berate him and threatened to call the police. She didn’t and
eventually she stormed out of the shop. What was I doing all this time
while my husband was being wrongly and publicly accused? Nothing. I
just sort of sat there a bit dumbfounded and frightened about the whole
unfolding episode.
Jesus’ disciples were dumbfounded at his arrest in Gethsemane. Their
beloved teacher was being hauled off on trumped up charges. Did they
protest? Did they fight off the mob that had come to take him away?
No – the disciples did not. Scripture says they “deserted him and
fled” (Matthew 26:56).
It may have been a natural reaction, but I’ll bet it also produced a lot of
guilt. I’m sure they all believed they’d stick by Jesus and defend him
to the end. But the urge to flee when things got really dicey was just too
great.
Have you ever made a promise to hang in there for someone or something, no
matter what? In the case of my husband’s encounter with the woman in the
hair salon, I was outraged at her accusation. But I didn’t jump into the
fray to defend him. Here’s the man I’ve pledged to love and honor and
support in good times and bad, and I just sat there thinking that all I really
wanted to do was disappear – to get myself out of the situation.
The stakes are much higher when it comes to issues of our Christian faith.
We have to fight the urge to flee or be silent when our faith is assailed.
We must call on God’s strength through the Holy Spirit to remain steadfast
when trouble comes and we are faced with uncomfortable challenges to our call to
remain true to Christ. When you get the urge to flee in a matter of faith
– stop – and take time to pray for strength to address whatever is going on,
faithfully.
Dear Father – your promise to love us and be with us is eternal.
Increase our faith so that in times of testing we will not flee from you, but
turn to you for strength and comfort. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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