“The
world and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; the earth and all who live on
it are His.” (Psalm 24:1 TEV)
Life on earth is a trust. This is [one of the] metaphors
for life we find in the Bible. Our time, energy, intelligence, opportunities,
relationships, and resources are all gifts that God has entrusted to our care
and management. We are stewards, or managers, of whatever God gives us. This
concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of
everything and everyone on earth.
We
never really own anything during our brief
stay on earth. God just loans it to
us while we’re here. It was God’s property before you arrived, and God will
loan it to someone else after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.
-- Rick Warren in “What on Earth
Am I Here For?”
#4382
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and
today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)
There’s a delightful story told about
Lloyd Douglas, author of “The Robe.” He enjoyed visiting a little, old, violin
teacher in a shabby, small, walk-up room he proudly called his studio.
Douglas liked to drop in on him because
he had the kind of lovely wisdom about life that refreshed him. One morning, Douglas
stopped by to see the old man. “Well, what’s the good news today?” he asked.
Putting down his violin, he stepped over
to a tuning fork suspended from a silk cord. He struck it with a smart blow
with a padded mallet. That, my friend, is ‘A.’ It was ‘A’ all day yesterday. It
will be ‘A’ all day tomorrow, next week, and for a thousand years.”
That story tunes our minds to the ‘A’ of
true joy. Like Christ, who is its only source, joy is the same yesterday,
today, and tomorrow. It is artesian, never changes, and is consistent irrespective
of people or circumstances. At the same time, joy is not a quality we can find
by searching or earn by effort. It comes from something -- really Someone
else.
-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in
“If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems?”
#4381
Jesus
said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if
you love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NIV).
In a
contagious world, we learn to keep our distance. If we get too close to those
who are suffering, we might get infected by their pain. It may not be
convenient or comfortable. But only when you get close enough to catch their
hurt will they be close enough to catch your love.
-- John Ortberg in “Love Beyond
Reason: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart”
#4380
“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross
and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24 NIV)
Reality is hard, it’s messy, it takes us
unawares, and it happens to be precisely where we live. The point of this
pilgrim path is to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus, right in the middle of
routine stuff -- good, bad, and ugly.
Jesus didn’t promise to make anything
easy, but He does promise to be our faithful companion along the way.
-- Derek Maul in “The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian”
#4379
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in
humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to
your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you
that was in Christ Jesus,…” (Philippians
2:3-5 NRSV)
Thoughtfulness is the beginning of great
sanctity. If you learn this art of being
thoughtful, you will become more and more Christ-like, for His heart was meek
and He always thought of others. Our
vocation, to be beautiful, must be full of thought for others.
-- Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
#4378
