OTHERS OR US?
Today’s message will begin and end with a prayer. Between those prayers will be a question for you to ponder, followed by a suggestion for you to pursue. Hopefully, you will answer the question and heed the suggestion.
First, the prayer:
Lord, help us to take responsibility for someone other than ourselves.
Help us to walk with you, not alone, but in the company of others.
Enable us to look at perfect strangers and, in your name, call them
sisters and brothers. Give us the insight to see the needs of others as claims
upon our lives. Lord, help us to take responsibility for someone other than
ourselves.
Now, the question:
Who might that someone be, other than yourself, for whom you need to take responsibility?
Pick a person. Name a name. See a face.
Finally, the suggestion:
Having identified that someone, determine what you will do for that person and be about it.
Don’t put it off. Do it sooner rather than later.
Let us pray: Gracious God, don’t let us stray from taking the time to be there for someone who needs us. Don’t let the pressures of daily routines rob us of the joys that freely flow from touching another with your compassion, care, and love. Remind us that your love knows no bounds and neither should ours. Amen.
Daily Message Author: Eric Wogen
Pastor Eric Wogen was born in Chicago, Illinois, and claims mid-western roots, even though he lived in many different places while growing up due to his father’s employment with the Pennsylvania Railroad. A graduate of Radnor High School in suburban Philadelphia, he received an AB in History from Gettysburg College and a MDiv degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. His first call was to a wonderfully affirming congregation in Sellersville, PA, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Ridge Valley, where he joyfully served until being called as Assistant to the Bishop of the Southeastern Synod (LCA). He returned to parish ministry in 1979 when he was called to serve St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hanover, PA. After more than twenty years at St. Matthew, he was called by St. Armand’s Key Lutheran Church in Sarasota, Florida to be its pastor and served there until his retirement in 2008. Full Bio
