???? Read
Psalm 90; Isaiah 1:24–31; Luke 11:29-32
???? Focus
Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
Luke 11:29 “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”
✟ Devotion
What does it mean to be an evil generation? The reality is that it seems that every generation is evil, of one sort or another.
Some of the evil is ignorance. Some of the evil is selfishness. Some of the evil is…just evil.
The long-held tradition in Western Christianity is that pride (or selfishness) is the root of sin (and thus evil). Perhaps the current understanding of what pride and selfishness is wrong. It could be that, for me at least, pride (nor selfishness) really seems to fit.
What if it is solely not being satisfied with the steadfast love of God?
All of us have experienced the brokenness of the world in some form or another. The majority of our experiences involve other people. Those experiences are generally about how those people didn’t love us as we needed to be loved in the moment.
Does that mean they didn’t love us? No. Does it mean they did love us? No.
Too often we evaluate love, even God’s perfect love, by measure how we perceive the love of others. As a consequence, the need we have for love is often unfulfilled and we often look at expressions of love with a perspective that falls far short of God’s love.
???? Reflection
Think about the people in your life. How do you love people? How does that come out, or is expressed? Do you think they understand the way you love them as loving?
⏏️ Act
As you go about the day, think of how people love you by their words and actions. If you conclude that they don’t love you, what about what they did (rather than their position or role) that caused you to feel unloved. Evaluate how you express your love toward others with the same measure that you just used.
???? Prayer
God, as we ponder what it means for us to express our love towards others, help us to love others as you do. As we measure our acts of love or the acts of others, help us to look to you as the true measure of love. Amen.
