APRIL 9, 2014
Loved
To Love
Read: Deuteronomy
10:12-22
Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of
Egypt. —Deuteronomy
10:19
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s
life was at risk every day he stayed in Hitler’s Germany, but he stayed
nonetheless. I imagine he shared the apostle Paul’s view that being in heaven
was his heart’s desire, but staying where he was needed was God’s present
purpose (Phil. 1:21). So stay he did; as a pastor he offered clandestine
worship services and resisted the evil regime under Hitler.
Despite the daily
danger, Bonhoeffer penned Life Together—a book on hospitality as ministry. He
put this principle to the test when he lived and worked in a monastic community
and when he was imprisoned. Every meal, every task, and every conversation,
Bonhoeffer taught, was an opportunity to show Christ to others, even under
great stress or strain.
We read in Deuteronomy
that just as God ministered to the Israelites who were leaving Egypt, He
instructed them to imitate Him by loving and hosting strangers and widows
(10:18-19; Ex. 22:21-22). We too are loved by God and empowered by His Spirit
to serve Him by serving others in countless ways each day through kind words
and actions.
Who on our daily
journey seems lonely or lost? We can trust the Lord to enable us to bring them
hope and compassion as we live and labor together for Him.
That I may serve Him
with a full surrender,
My life a crucible,
His eye the test,
Each hour a gift from
Him, the gracious Sender,
Each day a pledge to
give to Christ my best. —Anon.
The more we understand
God’s love for us the more love we’ll show to others.
Insight
It is interesting to
note that when our Lord faced His temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11),
all of the verses He quoted are from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16,13).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
