Eastertide

May 14, 2021

Scripture Reading:

1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Much chatter in our lives makes the discernment of what is of God and what is not hard. We fall prey to being manipulated by someone else’s ideology rather than identifying God’s truth. Messages are honed to target our areas of vulnerability. One word or image hits us like a tiny shock wave designed to enhance our support of or discredit a product, an issue, or a candidate. Some persons have very successfully adopted this form of communication in selling their understanding of God’s message. How do we discern the testimony of God?

One of the most powerful messages we receive is that we are not good enough. Whether we are told we need whiter teeth or a bigger house or more money, we are constantly barraged by media offering ways to improve. The problem that results from being persuaded that we are not good enough is that humans tend to compare ourselves with others so that if we think we are better than someone else, that somehow raises our good-enough status. In our heart of hearts, where God’s testimony rest, we know that is not true, and we think less of ourselves for it. God’s testimony at creation was that God looked on humankind and called it good, which is true today as much as it was on the first day.

Humans tend to cluster in groups of like-mindednesses. The strength of one’s group enhances the power of influence. Whole societies develop based on similarities of human testimony. Such groups choose to integrate their testimonies for the betterment of all or battle for dominance, with one group pressing its testimony on others. As I write this, the Israelis and the Palestinians are bombarding each other toward determining authority.

God’s testimony in Jesus Christ is that we are to share our witness to the world wrapped in God’s love and the love of one another.

Prayer: Lord, as we are called to be witnesses of your love, instill in us the wisdom to live your love in ways that open doors of understanding and pathways to peace. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.