Eastertide
April 17, 2016
Scripture Reading: John 10:22-30
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’
–John 10:27-30
It’s a God thing. Ever say that and mean it? When the perfect intersection of life and faith meet and both are better for the meeting, it is a God thing. I do not think it is something that we can create or duplicate as needed. It is not like a scientific experiment that we repeat under the exact same circumstances enough times that we can project a high probability of it happening every other time we repeat it. Our certainty measure comes from faith in that which is hoped for but not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) It results from the surety that God is active and present in our lives working toward the kingdom with attributes of wholeness, oneness, and justice.
You may have noticed, if you read these devotions regularly, that I stumble around trying to get the right name for God in relation to the subject with which I am dealing. There are some areas about which I have no problem. God is the creator. Jesus is the friend, the example of how to love. Christ is the redeemer. The Holy Spirit is faith’s energy. I find myself falling back on the Lord when two or more characteristics meld into the one I am referencing. Our ancestors in the faith struggled with this also. God in three persons blessed trinity. I have actually become comfortable with the flexibility of God. Isn’t that a part of God’s omnipotence?
The important thing, I think, is to acknowledge God’s work in our lives so that God can continue to grow our faith. After all, how else can we let God know we love the Lord?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the grace of your presence in the everyday aspects of our life of faith. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.