May I confess something to you, brothers and sisters, today? This devotional almost didn’t happen. Now, I’m not saying that there wouldn’t have been A devotional offered, but it wouldn’t have been THIS devotional. For many minutes, I sat staring at my laptop screen this Monday morning, just struggling to put anything on the page. And then I found myself perusing my files for past devotionals, wondering if I could copy and paste my way through this self-induced writer’s block. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say (I always can find something to say), it’s that I just lacked the energy or effort to put words to the page.
It was as I was skimming through my past devotionals, looking for a quick fix, that I found myself overwhelmed by a sense of conviction. It was as if I could feel Christ standing over my shoulder and saying (with sarcasm in his voice), “Must be really hard to find something to share with others about me today.” Though this may seem a tad dramatic, there is some truth to Jesus’s imaginative scolding. Christ has promised to be with us always, “Even to the end of the Age” (Gospel of Matthew). Which is certainly a long time and includes the present moment! How quickly do we forget God’s presence among us in ALL aspects of our lives? And, if you like me, you can become complacent.
This scenario reminds me of a quote by the Reverend Oswald Chambers, “The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.” The simple act of composing a new devotional for the week is not work; it is relationship building. It is another opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.
