Monday, April 11, 2016

Devotion - Monday, April 11

I stayed up too late last night watching a movie.  It was one my wife had seen while I was away this weekend.  She knew I would appreciate watching it, so she recommended it to me.  It was about Church life in Ireland in the 1950's and 60's.  I am glad I saw it, but it was disturbing.

It was the assumptions about God and piety which disturbed me.  Prevalent throughout the movie is an understanding of God as one to whom we must prove our devotion.  God is the angry one who must now be convinced of our willingness to suffer for our sins.

This presentation may not have been as stark had I not just returned from a weekend with the students who have agreed to guide LCM at Clemson.  They laughed and sang and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to be together as God's people.  They planned the fall calendar as a way to share with others the goodness of God's presence on our campuses and in this world.

Jesus says that he came to serve, not to be served.  And yet, the institutions of the world tend to find ways to turn this back around.  Surely, having been overcome by God's grace, we will reply and respond.  But never with a sense of duty or obligation.  

Jesus brings a deep sense of joy into our lives.  If that joy is not there, it may be something other than the way of Christ.

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