God of strength during the journey; refresh and renew this dear reader in all they face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from 1 Corinthians 4: 1 Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. 2 The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. 3 It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. 4 I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment. 5 So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of - inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. (The Message)
My church in Houston, El Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd) United Methodist Church, was started by the youngest daughter of an important man in Texas history, Jose Policarpo "Polly" Rodriguez. In my high school estimation, she was "ancient" when I met her, but I'll never forget her taking our delegation to annual conference in Kerrville, to her childhood home near Privilege Creek. The church that her dad built by hand is still standing and in great shape. It is made of Hill Country stone and yes, the roof has been replaced several times. The ruins of her home were what caught my attention. I was, like I said, a high school student and she was telling me of the times they were attacked by Indians and she showed us how her daddy had fired from inside the house to protect them. The walls of the house were thick and the windows were fan-shaped to allow the rifle to swing from side to side as needed. After his death in 1914 neighbors burned down the house believing a fortuen could be found in the walls.
Among his many accomplishments, Polly was a guide for many years, having been named Head Guide of the US Army by General P. Smith. In 1877, he became a guide like the one Paul mentions, as he was ordained a Methodist pastor, building the chapel that bears his name in 1822. What a life! And ours can be the same if we truly know that we are guides, not guards. We know the amazing truth of God's love and we're called to share it with others. We can guide people from darkness to light; from death into life.
PRAYER: Amazing God, help me to take seriously the call to guide people from an existence to a life lived abundantly. Forgive me the days I have guarded my faith or worse, when I guarded my sins. Thank You for Your love; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
