Devotional Thought of the Day:

20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”  John 14:20-21 NLT

After we sin, God wants to show us (if we only listen to Him rather than Satan, which is something sin makes much harder to do) the compassionate face of the father of the prodigal son to keep us from despair. Thus we are doubly surprised if we listen to God: first, by how serious sin is when we feel it is not so bad; and, second, by how forgiving God is when we feel only how serious sin is. We should remember these two faces and turn to the one Satan is hiding and God is offering at all times.

There are many things that God spoke through the prophets, his servants, which he wants us to hear. But how much more would he have us hear those which the Son spoke, to which the Word of God, who was in the prophets, bears witness through his own voice; now not simply ordering that the way of his coming be made ready, but coming himself, showing us and opening to us the way, so that we who previously were wandering, blind, and reckless in the shadow of death, should be illuminated by the light of grace on the journey of life and keep to the way with the Lord as our leader and guide.

Cyprian, one of the early church leaders ( about 250 AD) makes an interesting point about treating the words of Jesus as more important than the very important words of scripture. ( As a side note, similar thinking would lead to why we have Bibles with Christ’s words in red today) Apart from the idea that God gave us all the words in scriptures, there is a point I want us to see.

Jesus came himself. And that changes our lives.

He illuminates our darkness. He breaks through our stubbornness, thru the walls we build up to hide our brokenness, through the hell that is smothering us and forgives us and heals us.

Kreeft reiterates it, in his discussion of seeing the way God communicates with us, how He wants us to stay away from the sin that will crush us, and how he mercifully cares for us when we realize how serious sin is.

We need to trust Him, even when life is painful, when life makes no sense when we don’t want to keep going, but we want to run.

There are times we don’t like what God has set into being, what He has established. When what He has called us to do, or be does not seem like it could possibly be. Yet we need to trust in Him, more than our own emotions, more than our own unbelief.

This is what we do, we realize His love for us, we realize His care for us… and we find ourselves in peace that defies logic, as we do…

Peter Kreeft, The God Who Loves You Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004), 190.

Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen, On the Lord’s Prayer, ed. John Behr, trans. Alistair Stewart-Sykes, Popular Patristics Series, Number 29 (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004), 65.