Love — the agape unconditional kind of love — is the stuff that songs have been written about.  Most of them have been written in praise of Christ for the church.  There have also been secular songs written and sung about love being the only thing the world needs and the power of love to change things.  It is spoken of as the primary and secondary commandment coming from God — that we should “Love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.”  And yet, for all the songs that have been written and sung, for all the decrees that have come down from God and messaged to us by prophets and Christ, we seem to be unable to make manifest the love between us that God requires.  And yet, our failure to bear the fruit of love that God commands does say something about our faithfulness, doesn’t it.  If our main thing is to represent the image of Christ present in the world, serving God in faithfulness as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed, then it appears we have failed miserably at being faithful.  It appears so.  But isn’t it our faithfulness and our efforts to show the world God’s love that keeps Christ’s church alive?  Isn’t it our efforts to bring justice to our communities representative of Christ’s love to help the least of these God’s children?  And the truth is, none of that could happen if it weren’t for some of us living up to and into the image that Christ has set before the world.  And yes, we have some challenges.  But love still remains to strongest force on this earth.  And it is our faithfulness — sometimes challenged and sometimes weak — that continues to show the world that there are still some who are being true to Christ to the glory and praise of God.

• What do you believe makes it so difficult to be true to Christ and love others?
• What will it take for us individually and as a church to be more true to Christ in our ministry?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, lead us and guide us in our faithfulness to be true to Christ. Strengthen us to love others under the most difficult of circumstances as proof of our faithfulness to You.

         We have been born of a human legacy of people for whom intelligence and wisdom has been a prized trait.  The list of those who have come before — Socrates, Aristotle, DuBois, Nietzsche, Chardin and others have all added their collective wisdom to the pages of history and intellectualism.  We even live today with those who believe they are smarter, wiser, and more informed than anyone else in the world.  And yet, even with all of the accumulated wisdom and intelligence — including AI — only those whom God has called have been entrusted with the wisdom of God that comes from the Holy Spirit.  It can’t be learned in books, but the knowledge of God can be found in a book.  And it can’t be explained logically.  It requires faith — something that is as invisible as air yet has the ability to move mountains.  It’s not something that can scooped up in a moment of living but requires an ongoing relationship with the One who imparts the Holy Spirit and spiritual wisdom to those who seek it.

         The wisdom we have that comes from God has been entrusted to us as a sacred mystery.  Any act of faithfulness demands that we be true to the Christ who has claimed us as his own and given us the ministry of foolishness — to tell the story of Christ crucified — God’s wisdom to those who are wise enough to believe it.  It’s required of those of us who have been given this trust to prove ourselves faithful and be true to Christ.

• What does “Being true to Christ” mean to you as an act of faithfulness as God’s servant?
• Where do you find you need help in living out your faithfulness and being true to Christ?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Precious Lord, fill me with wisdom from on high that I may faithfully and wisely respond with the mystery to which I’ve been entrusted.

         A story is told of a man named Robert Kupferschmid, an 81-year-old with no flying experience who — because of a tragic emergency — was  forced to fly an airplane.  He and his friend — the 52-year-old pilot were flying together when the pilot suddenly slumped over and died at the controls.  Robert got on the radio and pleaded for help as the nose of the plane began to dive.  Two nearby pilots heard the call and gave Robert a steady stream of instructions of climbing, steering, and — the scariest part — landing.  Emergency vehicles were called out to the airstrip, and after a very bouncy landing, the plane ended up in a soggy patch of grass next to the runway.  Robert Kupferschmid listened to those instructions as if his life depended on them.  It did, and his faithfulness thru obedience saved his life.

         Faithfulness is a two-way street.  In many ways, it’s a call to obedience.  We desire it in our friendships.  When we have a true friend, we expect that the faithfulness to the friendship goes both ways.  And it’s no different in our relationship with Christ.  Jesus has called us his friends (John 15:13-14).  The shift in our personal relationship with Jesus doesn’t eliminate our role as servants of God.  Nor did it change Christ’s role as a servant of God.  And still, a significant part of the role of faithful stewardship is being an obedient servant or at the least, a faithful friend.  It’s in listening to God and being obedient that we can weather the storms and floods of life.

• When has there been a time when your faithfulness as a steward of God and Christ proved to be a lifesaving or life-changing experience for you?
• How can you use this experience as a witness to the mysteries that God has revealed to you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, open my heart and will to become a more obedient servant of Yours. Let my obedience become a witness to the mysteries of faithful stewardship to others as I live true to who I am in Christ.