Amazing God of peace and order, order the life of this dear reader so that they may know your peace; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Romans 9: 1 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. 2 It's an enormous pain deep within me, and I'm never free of it. I'm not exaggerating - Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It's the Israelites . . . 3 If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I'd do it in a minute. They're my family. 4 I grew up with them. They had everything going for them - family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, 5 to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes! (The Message)
Many have been the households where one person in it loves the Lord and cannot do enough for Him, and the others could care less. One has to quietly get up Sunday morning without waking others so that they may attend church and worship God. The other will sleep in and not worry about missing anything. They sing praises to God yet they carry that burden in their hearts, that perhaps one day it will take hold and God will be real to them. Imagine carrying the weight of an entire nation. Such was Paul's dilemma. He would rather take a curse so that they might live in the fullness of life than know that many were not interested in hearing about God's love through Jesus Christ. "They have everything going for them," Paul says, "Think about what they have - the family name and family connection, the glory of God's acts in their history, the covenants that God made with them, the revealed truths that no one else has enjoyed; the worship and praise of God in their past, and the promises God has made and has fulfilled in them - not to mention that from this race has come the Son of God, the Messiah of us all!
Our job is to continue to pray and to demonstrate God's love to those who still don't get it. We may be okay with an hour or two separation each Sunday but the day will come where an eternity will separate us from loved ones because they chose comfort and convenience over the Christ of love.
PRAYER: Loving God, I lift up those, and sometimes I include myself, who don't get it. I'm as guilty as others for sometimes choosing the easier way. Forgive me, but help me live a life and share the words that may just make a difference in someone else's life. I pray this in the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
