Monday, February 13, 2017

Today’s Scripture Reading  |  1 John 2:3–11
Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness. (NRSV)

Reflection
“By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he walked.”

Jesus walked this earth as a servant who cared for the sick and the suffering, the least and the lost. He did so with humbleness and a willing meekness that led to his own suffering and death on the cross. Yet he was not always meek, and he challenged authority whenever he saw that authority being used against innocent and powerless people. Jesus was a simple carpenter from a small town called Nazareth, yet through his life, his teachings, and his sacrifice on the cross he transformed the world.

As followers of Jesus, baptized into his ministry, we are called to “walk just as he walked.” Like Jesus, we are called to care for the least and the lost, and, as Jesus said, “to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.” This is never easy, nor should it be, but we never go alone; Jesus is always with us. He is with us when we care for a sick or grieving person. He is with us when we study and learn new things. He is with us when sing and pray. He is with us whenever we call upon him and need him. He is with us even to the grave and as we enter into heaven. Walking with Jesus will lead to challenging moments, but those challenges will lead to an ultimate and greater reward: being one with Jesus, one with God, one in unending love and light.

Prayer
Loving God, help me to walk with you, to know you, and to embrace you so that you may embrace me, know me, and walk with me in an unending love. Amen.

Written by John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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