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Monday, January 11, 2021

“…God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” —1 Timothy 2:3-4

I enjoy watching basketball and, like most fans, I have a favorite team. If the Chicago Bulls are in the game, I root for them to win, no matter what. But I also like watching the NBA Playoffs and, in recent years, the Bulls have been participants in very few playoff games. When I watch games that don’t include my team, I still tend to root for someone. But I’m not from any of those other cities, so how do I choose who to root for?

This decision involves a complex series of calculations—in theory. In reality, most of the time I just pick which player or team I really don’t want to see victorious, and I root for the other team. It’s not so much that I’m rooting for someone as it is that I’m rooting against someone else.

There’s more of this in life than we usually care to admit. In recent years, social science research has suggested the strong influence of negative partisanship in Americans’ political views. That is, we’re often driven at least as much by disliking the other side as we are by liking our own. In all sorts of areas, our minds incorrectly default to zero sum thinking, the idea that anything another person gets is by definition something taken from me. Even though the whole value of free markets is that they’re positive-sum, we have trouble remembering that others don’t need to fail in order for us to succeed.

It’s important, then, to pause and notice how different this is from the way God views the world. God’s very act of creation was positive-sum: God created out of nothing something that previously didn’t exist. In pure, overflowing love, God created all that there is.

In the act of salvation, God again gave out of his pure, overflowing love. His gift of himself was more than enough. And it was done precisely so that those of us who were far off from God might be included. God acted in order to draw his enemies close to him, to forgive them, to give them new life—to give us new life.

We have a God whose heart longs for every person to experience real, true, overflowing, eternal life. May we, as God’s beloved children, reflect the heart of our Father in Heaven. Amen.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Today’s reflection is written by Deacon Karen Katamay.

“God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” —Psalm 62:6

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet.” —Hebrews 12:12-13

There are several passages in the Bible about God being our strength. In addition to today’s verses, I am also reminded of the first verse of Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Many times we want to believe that if we have faith in God, he will protect us from all hardships and struggles, and life will be easy. But instead, the Bible is filled with examples of those who had great faith and also great suffering. Take the apostles, for example. They were beaten and stoned and scorned, and yet they never lost their faith, instead drawing strength from it to endure their hardships.

As I get older, the physical labor I used with do with ease when I was younger becomes more difficult now. I do have drooping hands and weak knees at the end of the day when I am doing manual labor, but somehow God gets me through it. Lifting boxes at the food pantry, packing up groceries for refugee families, cutting my grass, raking leaves, shoveling snow, cleaning my house, and other activities can leave me drained at the end of the day. But then I remember how blessed I am that I can still do these things and thank God that he gives me the strength to do them. God also gives me strength when my spirit is weak or I am emotionally drained. 

Yes, God is my rock and my salvation, my refuge and my strength. And for that, I am eternally grateful! Amen.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Today’s reflection is written by Jade Schwich.

O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you. —Psalm 84:12

When the wise men saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. —Matthew 2:10-11

Trust is an action word. It is something you choose or choose not to do. Christians throughout the ages have been asked to trust in the Lord. This is easier said than done. I think that part of the reason why it’s difficult is because we are surrounded by people we choose to trust and are disappointed when they do not fulfill their promises. I struggle to trust a colleague who has promised in the past to get her part of the project done and then never got around to it. Disappointments like these add up and make it more difficult to choose to trust the next time. The untrustworthiness of people can make the prospect of trusting God all the more challenging.

The psalmist writes that those who trust in the Lord are happy. The wise men who studied the scriptures learned from the prophet Micah that a ruler would come from Bethlehem to shepherd God’s people. And we see that the wise men who trusted what was foretold were filled with joy when they encountered the Lord Jesus. What can we learn from these wise men?

We learn that we can trust in the Lord because he, unlike all the other people we know, is entirely trustworthy. God has never made a promise and gone back on it. God doesn’t say he’ll do his part of the project and then play video games all weekend instead. When I put my life in God’s hands I can breathe a sigh of relief because I no longer have to rely on myself to make the tough life decisions. I trust that God’s way is the best way and his way will lead to joy and happiness. Finding it hard to believe me? Try trusting God out and see the results for yourself. I promise you it’s worth it.

As you work to trust in the Lord, I will leave you with a blessing from the apostle Paul: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Amen.