God of the earth and sky, bring forth love, peace, and joy to the life of this dear reader in ways that bless this reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Today's text is from Romans 12:9-21: (I thought you'd like to read this in The Message version of The Bible) 9 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. 10 Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. 11 Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, 12 cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. 13 Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. 14 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. 15 Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. 16 Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. 17 Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. 18 If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. 19 Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." 20 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. 21 Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
God made humans to run. We don't all like to run, and running, as we get older, gets harder and less pleasant to do. Nellie and I are reading a great book together on running called "Born to Run." This is a book about the Tarumara Indians of Northern Mexico, across from Cuidad Juarez, near El Paso. These folks, according to the book, always run. They have to. It's what feeds them and now, thanks to the dangerous presence of narco-trafficers, keeps them safe and alive. Sections of the book also have gotten scientific and tries to explain how our feet and bodies developed the ability to run for the same reasons as the Tarumara, food and life. Paul, in this interesting version of the Bible, in verse 9 says we must "run for dear life from evil;" and "hold on for dear life to good." While that's an old expression meaning to cling hard to something, in Paul's way it means the same. For us to be the people God wants us to be we must learn to run away from evil and to hold on to what we know is good for our lives. Paul begins by saying our love must be real and the kind of love that places others and their needs before ours. Christians are (or should be) caring people that place others first. In many of the discussions and debates raging in our nation, I wonder why we ever called ourselves a "Christian nation." For others we are a greedy, self-centered one, concerned more about ourselves than we are for the poor and neglected.
Look at Paul's list: Don't burn out. Keep fueld and aflame. Be alert servants. Cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times. Pray all the harder. Help needy Christians. Be inventive in showing hospitality. (Doesn't sound like we have much room to "look out for number one" does it?) Bless your enemies. No underbreath cursing. Laugh. Share tears. Get along with others. Don't be stuck up. Be a friend to all, especially those who struggle in making or having friends. Don't blow yourself up with pride. Don't hit back. Seek the beauty in others. Seek no revenge. Don't get even. Leave it to God. Do things that blow away your enemies minds and hearts by doing good.
Wow. Talk about dear life. Our life is precious and dear and becomes more so when we follow what Paul has shared. Put God first, then put God's people, especially needy people next. This fulfills the Great Commandment and pleases the Lord. It's not easy, but it sure is dear.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank you for life and thank You for the things that make this life indeed dear. May my actions show that I belong to You and that You are guiding and blessing me for the good, so that others may have dear life. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
