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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 8, 2006 BRETHREN |
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Frontline Devotion for Wednesday, March 8, 2006 by Penny Risen
Have you ever tried to draw up a family tree --- one that includes not only your immediate clan but also all your cousins and spouses and their offspring? Tough, isn’t it? I had to think hard about my extended kin when a cousin asked me to write an encouraging note to her teenage son for his Confirmation at their Protestant church.
So follow me on this: The young man is the son of my husband’s cousin, but this cousin’s father was a cousin to my husband’s father’s (or maybe it was his mother) father … and they were not mainline Protestant back then, but were an intermarriage of Catholic and a Quaker-related sect called the Dunkards. No matter; these brethren enjoy each other’s company, loyally keep in touch, and are not scattered past the Mid-Atlantic region which makes visiting easy and fun. I married into this bunch and got a HUGE new family tree to keep track of.
In writing this letter to my young cousin, the bottom line was: “We’re kin and we love God.” Joining a church, I reminded him, is a lot like expanding the branches of your family tree. The reach of these brethren is wide and loving and forgiving, just like God’s loving embrace around us. We are responsible for each other as much as God is responsible for us and watches over us.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your offspring
after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your offspring after you … And I'll be their God."
--- Genesis 17: 5-8
We have a deal, a covenant, God tells Abraham in love and generosity. I’ll bless you and be your God --- you are My people. In several sweeping discussion with Abraham, God sets in motion hundreds of years of physical and spiritual journeys. Scholars tell us that from Abraham emerges Judaism, Christianity and Islam, three of the world’s major religions. God expects Abraham to look out for his family as any good father would, as well as follow God’s precepts and lead by example. Abraham is charged with being a visible sign to all that God is active on Earth through His people.
This Old Testament covenant may seem mighty removed from us in 2006, but its charge is real to us and new leaders in Christ like my teenage cousin. As God loves us, He expects us to love and act in mercy toward others. Jesus repeats this charge in the Gospel of Mark --- “Love your neighbor as yourself” --- as being second only in importance to love of God. As a member of God’s family, service to others comes with the job just as much as worshipping with his mom and dad, I reminded my cousin in the letter. We are brethren, and tasks like feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are Christian duties plain for any man or woman to see. Whether our Christian background can be traced to rural mission churches like the Dunkards, or huge cathedrals in Europe our family tree is from the same loving roots. Like Abraham before us, we should be a visible sign of God’s grace to all people. Bound together in God’s promise, and with His covenant of unconditional love, our family can make a difference.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, You speak plainly to me and my brethren to show mercy and caring to all people. Help me to reach out beyond my home church and comfort zone to bring Your blessings and Good News to those in need. Thank you for giving me forebears who were not afraid to share who they were as Christians. 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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