From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day 12: Fasting Isolation
“It’s a small world”—a familiar phrase I hear quite frequently when talking with people. It is not unusual to meet someone at an unexpected place or find out that one shares a friend or an acquaintance with another person. Just yesterday, I met for the first time and spoke with someone who knew a mutual friend and actually worked with this person for over a decade. It was just a very fun conversation and journey of discovery. How good of God to connect us and help us see how we have in some ways shared an interrelated life without realizing it until down the road.
Yesterday, in our devotional, we briefly pondered the lives of blind Bartimaeus and the tax collector, Zacchaeus. Let’s consider these two social outcasts—who were dismissed by their culture—just a bit longer. Both Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus were from the same town. Perhaps they silently encountered one another every day: maybe wealthy Zacchaeus walked by the blind beggar Bartimaeus on his way to work. One thing we know, these men were isolated from successfully integrating into the joy of the communal gatherings. Yet, an encounter with Jesus changed all of that for these two.
As Bartimaeus is praising God for his sight, the people witnessing the miracle praise the Lord. Zacchaeus wants to see what is going on in the streets, climbs up into a tree where he gains an invitation to dinner from Jesus, and all of them gather in wholeness. No longer are they isolated even though their faith in Jesus is a very personal experience. Their individual response to faith in Christ brings them into a communal life with many, many others. They are restored.
Today, we will fast isolation, because the enemy tends to be very active in that realm where he keeps people as emotional prisoners. Human beings were never created to live completely alone; it’s unhealthy. Not only does the Holy Spirit live in believers, we live and move and have our being in our Christ. Obviously, we are connected by and through God’s love; so, let’s share it.
Take time to call a friend, meet someone new when you stop for coffee, take a walk and enjoy a conversation with a neighbor you meet but rarely see; nurture what it means to live as a whole in Christ. Share your love of Jesus! Perhaps today you will hear yourself say, “It’s a small world!” We are connected and until we are purposeful about engaging with others, we will fall short of God’s revelation of Truth. We are a part of a beautiful love story written by our holy Creator.
John 14:15-22 NLTJesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[Counselor, Encourager, Comforter] who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
t the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping us spiritually see how we are all interrelated in life. Every person is valuable and needs to be gathered into your love. We can help one another, because our weaknesses and strengths are different. Help us grab ahold of love and share life, together. Create in us a longing to share love, speak Truth, and join in a communal mindset of living each day in Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.