Daily Devotion 12 August 2020

Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.

John 10:10 ‘What Jesus Offers to Us’

I have come that you might have life, in all its fullness.

Do you ever envy the life someone else lives and wish you were like them? It is certainly tempting to think that way. Is it because they are a famous singer, sports person, wealthy, or good-looking? Yet when you hear some of their stories they don’t always appear that attractive – no privacy for the famous, the media constantly probing into their private life, good looks don’t last for ever, a sports life is a short one, and the wealthy worry about losing their money and never know who their real friends are.

Instead, do you ever consider what you might be; what God might like you to become, if you gave Him the chance. Zacchaeus thought he knew what he wanted, but Jesus had other ideas, and through a simple conversation changed this selfish, corrupt tax-collector into a generous, self-denying benefactor. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He sees the possibility of a better life for the ‘woman at the well’, for the fallen woman weeping at his feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee, for Peter who denies him to save his own skin but is welcomed to a new life on the seashore in that resurrection appearance.

Jesus has a long list, and each of us are on it. He comes knocking on our door, looking up our tree. We are on the list of a man who says he comes not to condemn us, but to save us, to ensure we are able to live life to the full. He invites us to the feast, to gather round a table, and as we eat and drink, to remind ourselves what it cost him to live this life to set us free. He endures the mocking, the humiliation and agony on a cross – for us, and he still says that life in all its fullness comes not from grasping, but from giving.

His command is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourself. It is when we follow in his way, when we take on board the truth of his teaching, that we then really will have ‘life in all its fullness!’!

Prayer:

Father,
forgive us when we fall prey to worldly ways
and ignore your call to love others as much as ourselves.

Help us to embrace the teachings of Jesus,
to follow in his footsteps,
and face the challenges of life like him.

Grant us the power of your Holy Spirit
to help open up opportunities for others to live a fulfilling life. Amen.

Reflection © 2020 Roger McAvoy.
Image © ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com.

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