Day By Day #3

Day by Day #3

MORNING/MIDDAY OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:10, 15–16, 18a

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. . . . If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. . . . There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.

Devotional

For the apostle John, learning to live in the immensity of the love of God is the power and source from which we love others. God’s love is always first. Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher and theologian (1813–1855), summed it up well:

You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if You loved us first but a single time, rather than that without ceasing You have loved us first many times and every day and our whole life through. When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You—You are there first—You have loved us first; if I rise at dawn and at that same second turn my soul toward You in prayer, You are there ahead of me, You have loved me first. When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward You, You are there first and thus forever. And we speak ungratefully as if You have loved us first only once.^a

Kierkegaard captures for us a glimpse of the extraordinary nature of the love of God. So often we think we are waiting on God when the truth is that he is waiting on us. God is more different from us than the human mind is capable of grasping. His love is without strings and without conditions. He simply loves human beings, and there is nothing we can do, or not do, that will change that love. We will spend eternity in awe and wonder of this love that surpasses knowledge, a love so great that God became a human being in Jesus to die for our sins.

Question to Consider

What difference might it make in your day to remember that, in every moment you turn your heart to God—including this very moment—he is waiting for you and loving you first?

Prayer

Lord, open up and expand the container of my heart to receive the depth and breadth of your love that surpasses knowledge and flows toward me every moment of every day. And may your love then flow through me to those around me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

MIDDAY/EVENING OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:38–42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Devotional

This familiar story of Martha and Mary teaches us why it is essential to slow down to sit at the feet of Jesus if we are to love others well.

Martha is completely caught up in the demands of preparing an important meal for some very distinguished guests: Jesus and his twelve disciples. Among other things, her to-do list includes shopping for ingredients; setting a large table; prepping food; borrowing additional mats, tables, and serving plates from neighbors; cleaning the house; serving the meal; and perhaps most importantly, making sure everything goes perfectly.

But Martha is resentful, especially at her sister Mary, who sits idly by enjoying the company of Jesus. Martha is too distracted and irritated to enjoy her guests or Jesus. In trying to accomplish too much, she not only loses sight of herself but of the very purpose of all her hard work—to welcome and care for her guests, including Christ himself.

Question to Consider

Think back over the last few days. In what way(s) did your to-do list, distractibility, or perfectionism keep you from loving and enjoying Jesus or the people around you?

Prayer

Lord, help me to honor my own boundaries and limits in doing for others so that I don’t become resentful. And teach me to slow down, stop, and sit at your feet in stillness that I might love others in ways that reflect you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

^a Cited in James Bryan Smith, Embracing the Love of God: The Path and Promise of Christian Life (New York: HarperCollins, 2010), 13.