Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 22:25-28
Ps 22:25-28
From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
Matt 5:43-46
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
As the children of God, we are to stand out in this world. Not just to attract the attention of people for the sake of attracting attention, but we are to be so different in our attitude that others cannot help but notice. Instead of bitterness or revenge, like Jesus, we show love, even to those who mistreat us. Almost everyone is kind to those who are kind to them. We are to be kind to the unkind.
If we are to follow Jesus in this way, we need to teach our children by example and in word that we do not hit someone just because they hit us. We do not talk badly to or about someone just because they did that to us. We teach them not to fight, even when being mistreated. And yet, it is not unusual to hear parents tell their children to do just the opposite, to fight back and to hit back.
We are to be pacifist and teach our children to be pacifist. We are told to seek peace, to be at peace with everyone (as much as is possible). When the soldiers came to the garden to arrest Jesus and Peter started swinging his sword, Jesus told him to put it up because those who live by the sword will die by the sword. He said that we are to overcome evil with good. Love when despised. Forgive even when the infraction is intentional. That is how he loves us.
O God, creator and giver of life, thank you for showing me how to love my enemies, to offer good to the bad, and to sacrifice for the greedy. Thank you for giving your Son to die for me when I do not deserve your mercy and certainly not so great a sacrifice as Jesus on the cross! Fill me with your love so I can show this kind of love to others, no matter how they treat me. Help me forgive, even when they don’t ask or admit they have done wrong. Be with all of your people that we can be more like Jesus in all we do and say. I pray in his name.
Robert
