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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 21, 2006 Wham! Wham! |
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FRONTLINE DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2006 by Fritz Foltz
Not one but two blows to the stomach. The first part of the passage stops us dead. It is so opposite of what our society teaches: We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. Our society teaches everyone in the media, in our public schools, and in all areas of our community that life is about proclaiming yourself. If you want to be successful, work as hard as you can to achieve your own personal goals. But then be sure to let other people know what you are doing. It is all about recognition. So we hear over and over someone saying this will look good on his or her resume. There seems to be no sense in doing good unless you can use it for proclaiming your own glory. And for your own sake, do not say anything silly about giving glory to God alone. The first blow is Paul claiming Christians do not proclaim themselves but Jesus Christ as Lord of all.
But before we can recover from that first blow, here comes the second, even harder: We proclaim ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. Now wait a minute. This society teaches us in the media, in our public schools, and in every other part of the community that we are we are free people. Freedom is the one and only goal. Fight for your own freedom, and everything else will follow. The last thing we want to be is a slave to other people. For your own sake, do not talk about seeking God’s kingdom first and expecting everything else will follow. The second blow is Paul claiming we are to use our freedom to serve other people.
By now most of us are bent over, struggling for breath, the breath of God.
Martin Luther pointed to this as the fundamental paradox of the Christian life. In one of his most famous writings, The Freedom of the Christian Man, he put it this way: “A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one”.
As harsh as this might seem it is simply another way to say the greatest
commandment is actually two that are actually one: Love God with all your heart
and mind and soul and your neighbor as yourself. Or to say they will know we are
Jesus’ people, because we love one another.
Take a deep breath, the breath of God.
Let us pray: We give you the glory, Father, for pouring out gift after gift upon us and especially for our freedom from sin. Show us how to use that freedom to serve our neighbors. We pray in Jesus’ name. 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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