|
|
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Emmanuel January 25, 2010 |
A daily |
Frontline Devotion for Monday, January 25 2010 by Fritz Foltz
I John 3: 11-17 This is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
When we returned from Florida, my wife, Faith Ann, pushed me to check on Emmanuel, our foster child. Years ago she brought him home when he was abandoned in the migrant fields. He stayed six years. Now he often returns to his homeland, Haiti, to develop some land or work with a team from Water for Life. Faith Ann wanted to make sure he was not in Haiti during the earthquake or, if he was, that he got out afterwards.
Imagine my surprise when his e-mail reply was, “I’m going into Haiti tomorrow. My team will be entering through the Dominican Republic to do what we can. We are taking in some doctors. I’ll translate wherever I am most needed.” I was praying for him to come out of danger and he was going in, voluntarily.
I thought of him while reading today’s lesson, a wonderful, maybe the best, summary of the Christian lifestyle. Today many explain love with evolutionary psychology. It usually goes something like this: when our ancestors settled down to farm, they realized they would have to consider their neighbors’ needs in order to survive. It was a win- win “if I help you, you’ll help me” situation.
It makes a lot of sense. If only we who are so obsessed with competing in order to survive would ponder it more often. However, Christianity goes beyond this. Our love is best defined as compassion- the willingness to suffer for another person by sharing our goods when she is in need or giving our life when he is endangered. That love always surprises us, as it did me when I read Emmanuel’s e-mail.
Keep praying for him. Keep praying for the people of Haiti. Keep reminding yourself that 48% of her people did not have clean water before the earthquake. Keep praying for a long, long time.
Let us pray: Take care of Emmanuel, Father, and take care of all the people in Haiti. Come, fill our hearts with your love that we might be the surprise that inspires people in this self-centered society. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.