Monday 13 March 2017

Lenten Devotion - March 13

March 13, 2017

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)



The First Article:

What des this mean? (continued)

In addition, God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and farm, spouse and children, fields, livestock, and all property - along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body and life.  God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil.  And all this is done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all!  For all of this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.

To Ponder:

People think pleasing God is all God cares about.  But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.   - Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Paying Attention:

There's a connection between having open ears, eyes, and minds and having open hearts.  To have an open heart means that one is empathetic to others, to situations, and to causes.  To have an open heart means that one is open to vulnerability, which leads to compassion.  I believe that the journey to opening my heart is a lifelong journey that works in tandem with other senses and with other experiences.

This reality is connected to who God is and how God shows up for each and every one of us.  It's tempting to believe that God shows up only in the material form.  We notice this when we talk about being blessed because of having something or because a tragedy passed us by.  The reality is that God doesn't necessarily make things happen or not happen.  God doesn't provide for some and leave others lacking.  God creates all and gives us the power to truly see one another and provide for each other in ways that reflect God's abundance.  To be heart-centered and to live a life that reflects God's desire for all of creation means paying attention and noticing how life is unfolding around us.

Prayer:

Loving God, remove the blinders from my senses so that I experience You in all whom I encounter.  Amen.

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