O Lord, be Thou the vision and future of this dear reader in whatever she or he may be facing today and all days; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Romans 12: 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. (The Message)
Yesterday in many parts of the country it was the first day of school. Those of you who are on FaceBook may have seen pictures of those going on their first day of school. Our grandson, Liam, 2, went to his school and did not cry, which I think may have made his mom cry. He was ready and he was learning about dinosaurs and wasn't all that ready to leave school when she picked him up. It made her laugh because for as long as she can remember everyday when I would pick them up or see them when they got home, no matter their age, I would ask, "What did you learn in school today?" Usually their reply was, "Nothing." I would immediately ask, "You didn't learn about dinosaurs?" No, sir. "Volcanos?" No, sir. "What kind of school are you in??" Yes, even in high school we had that routine. One thing I worried about for my kids and perhaps you worry about yours is bullying. Not every child is in Sunday school every Sunday. Not everyone has the solid spiritual foundation that perhaps you're trying to instill in your child(ren). Not everyone will see this great passage from Paul about how to act. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone read this list and learn from it? Even Christians?
We all have room to grow in our relationship with God and with others. We should never reach a point where we can say, I am comfortable or I have done enough. I don't love enough as I should. I don't think I have learned quite how to "love from the center," because "I" usually get the in way. Loving from the center of who we are means putting God and others first. That is a difficult thing to do. We don't always want to be number two in anything and we're just out for what we can get for ourselves. And that flies right in the face of what our Lord taught us.
May we today learn from Jesus and those who write about him, like Paul, about how to live. May it rub off on our children and we pray on their friends and schoolmates.
PRAYER: Loving God of love and peace, may I today be as Your Son taught. May this passage from Your Word be a list of how I should be and live. May my life be a positive force in the lives of those who are in need of it. Bless and protect all of our children and their schools. May we come closer to that which You would have us be and live. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
