Devotion - Tuesday, April 25

We shy away from any talk which might seem to endorse earning our way into heaven. It is often called "works righteousness."  But the New Testament is full of reminders that it is impossible to walk in the light of Christ and not live life in a particular way.

I read this morning from I John 2.  Here we are reminded that anyone who abides in Christ "ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."  In the following verses, we read "the person who loves sister and brother abides in the light." Loving our sisters and brothers is very important to the writer; very important to Jesus.

We have sort of made a game out of remembering Luther's explanation to the 8th commandment. I love to ask, at random times, for this part of the Catechism.  Luther tells us that we are to interpret our neighbor's (insert brother/sister) actions in the kindest of ways.  Loving our sister/brother means not speaking ill of them.

It also surely means never objectifying them, or seeing them merely as an instrument of our pleasure.

How can it be said that we love our sister/brother when we turn a blind eye on their hunger?

There are some brothers/sisters who seem hell bent on making it difficult for us to love them.  But remember the line from Pastor Jon's Easter sermon - "Followers of Christ don't have enemies; we have folks who are at enmity with us (paraphrased.)"

We ought not to shy away from the work of Jesus. We ought not be worried that our actions will fail to reveal our true intentions. We are to walk in the way of Jesus, and that way is loving our brothers and sisters.