Thursday, November 19, 2020
Given this Beauty,
To be Fearless in All Things or to Fear and Love God at All Times,
For which do you think God created the universe?
Psalm 34:9
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.
Luke 14:17
At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.”
Words of Grace For Today
To Fear God; this is the ancient, constant beginning of awareness of God. We lived on the plains, lived in caves, hunted for food, were hunted as food. Fear kept us alive. We could not understand many things of the world around us. We came to know that God created us, that God who created us was an awesome power, more fearful than the animals that hunted us for food. It took generations for us to begin to understand that God loved us, and that fear alone was inadequate a response to God’s love. We needed to fear and love God.
To fear and love God; this is the beginning and the end of all our lives and our purpose in creation.
While food does not come our way freely so that we must work constantly in order to have food to survive, God provides the food of life that nourishes us beyond the basic physical needs. For God created us hungry for truth, order, understanding, community, and love.
God sets the table for us again and again, to come and eat so that we can know truth, see and maintain order and gain a fuller understanding of the universe and our places in it. God feeds us so that we can dance our way through the challenges of community, and so that we can love as God loves us, freely and unconditionally.
Fear drives us. Love draws us. Together they help us sustain life for ourselves and those with us, and hopefully for all people.
How will you live this day, and all the days you have on earth?
Will you be fearless in the face of all challenges, diving headfirst into Evil’s temptations to be your own godlet?
Or will you fear and love God, the God who created the universe, and loves you and all people, and all creation, unconditionally?
If we fear and love God we can do no other than commit ourselves to living out the gifts God gives us, by promising:
to live among God’s faithful people,
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper,
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.