"For the love of Christ urges us on." — 2 Corinthians 5:14

In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes those words to explain his ministry — why he was out there starting churches, sharing the gospel, nurturing new believers. This wasn't even his full-time job. Paul was a tentmaker. All of this was on top of his day job. And yet he gave it everything he had.

Think about what he endured: hardships, persecution, shipwreck, imprisonment. If you ever wonder why he kept going, here it is. The love of Christ urged him on.

Notice what Paul does not say. It was not the fear of punishment that drove him. Not guilt. Not a sense that no one else would do it. He was simply compelled by love. He had experienced that love deeply in his own life, and he could not help but share it.

That is a different kind of motivation than most of us are used to. So much of what drives us — in our work, our relationships, even our faith — is fear, obligation, or ambition. Paul is pointing to something freer and deeper. A love that doesn't demand, but overflows.

My prayer for you today is simple: that you would know the depths of God's love for you in Jesus. Not as a doctrine to believe, but as a reality to live from. When that love takes root, it has a way of quietly reordering everything else.

Prayer: This is a day that you have made, O God — we rejoice and are glad in it! We praise you for a love that knows no limits, a love that goes to the cross and transcends even the grave. We praise you for your Son Jesus, who offers us life abundant and eternal. Help us to let go of whatever might be keeping us from grasping that love. Draw us into your presence, that we might know you and serve you with all that we are and all that we have. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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A number of years ago, there was an article in the newspaper about the burial of one of the Boston Marathon terrorists. Apparently, authorities had an extremely difficult time finding a location to bury this man. No one would accept the body. A woman named Martha Mullen heard about the dilemma and worked hard to find a burial plot for this man. When she was asked why she would ever do something so kind for this horrible person, her reply was simple: “Jesus told us to love our enemies.”

What a beautiful witness to Jesus’ teaching. 

Jesus did not teach us to join or condone our enemy's actions. No. But he did say we are to love them. 

I find that very difficult - and very challenging. At the same time, I know that hate has a way of making the world a little uglier, and it corrodes the soul. 

Martha Mullen didn't make headlines for agreeing with a terrorist. She made headlines for refusing to let hatred have the last word. That is the quiet, costly, countercultural work of loving one's enemies — not excusing what they have done, but refusing to be defined by our response to it. It is, perhaps, one of the most distinctly Christian acts a person can perform in a broken world.

Prayer: Loving God, you call us to one of the hardest things imaginable — to love those who have done terrible harm. We confess that mostly we don't want to. We ask not that you remove our sense of justice, but that you keep hatred from taking root in our hearts. Open us again to your undeserved grace, forgiveness, and love. And may they be ours to share with this world that is so desperately in need. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 

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According to early church tradition, the apostle James earned the nickname "Old Camel Knees" — due to the thick callouses that formed on his knees from years and years of prayer.

The letter of James in the New Testament is often categorized as Wisdom Literature. In his commentary on this letter in The Message, scholar and pastor Eugene Peterson writes, "Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly includes that; it is skill in living."

Skill in living. I don't know about you, but I could use more of that. I want to live deeply. I want to make the most of the time I have here on earth. I want to fully experience God's blessing — and to be a blessing to others.

At the end of his commentary, Peterson reflects on "Old Camel Knees" and makes this point: "Prayer is foundational to wisdom. Prayer is always foundational to wisdom.”

Prayer: Loving and Gracious God, we come before you this day on the knees of our hearts. We thank you for those who have gone before us in the faith — women and men who steeped themselves in prayer and handed down to us a way of living that is compelling and beautiful. Today, grant that our hearts would be open to receive and trust your guidance. Teach us your ways, and lead us on your path to abundant and eternal life. Amen.

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Yesterday we reflected on being at a crossroads — at a threshold.

Poet and philosopher John O'Donohue writes about these pivotal moments: "There are huge thresholds in every life. If you are in the middle of a busy evening, with fifty things to do, and you get a phone call that someone you love is suddenly dying, it takes ten seconds to communicate that information. But when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world. Everything that seemed so important before is gone, and now you are thinking only of this. The solid ground we stand on is more tentative than we imagine."

O'Donohue also reflects on the word itself: "If you go back to the etymology of 'threshold,' it's a farming term. It comes from 'threshing' — separating the grain from the husk. The threshold is a place where you move into a more critical, challenging, and worthy fullness."

Think about it. There are many thresholds in every life — graduations, births, the loss of loved ones, the onset of illness, hitting rock bottom, a transcendent moment, a global pandemic.

These crossroads, these thresholds, are invitations. Invitations to look more deeply at our lives, to reflect on our faith, to ask for help, to recall what is most important, to look for the light — and quite possibly to make a new beginning. They are ever invitations to heal, to grow, and to deepen.

The prophet Jeremiah said, "Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies, and walk in it. And find rest for your souls."

Let us pray: Gracious God, in the pivotal moments of life, grant us courage, strength, and hope. Help us to see, if nothing else, only the very next step along the path. Assure us with your presence. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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There is an old apocryphal story about Billy Graham. Early in his ministry, he had just arrived in a small town, having been invited to preach at an evening revival service. Graham had a few letters to mail, so he asked a young boy if he could tell him the way to the post office. The boy gave him directions, Graham thanked him, and turned away. But then, on impulse, he turned back to the boy and said, "If you'll come to church this evening, you can hear me tell everyone how to get to heaven." "I don't think I'll be there," said the boy. "You don't even know the way to the post office!"

There are times along the journey of life when we do get lost. Or feel lost. And it's in these moments that the groundwork of faith we've laid makes a difference.

The prophet Jeremiah once wrote, "Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies, and walk in it. And find rest for your souls."

Most scholars believe Jeremiah was referring to the ancient paths of the Torah, the central scriptures of his day. There was a deep belief that God had laid out a way of life that would lead to wholeness and peace — not just for the individual soul, but for the soul of the community.

The poet and philosopher John O'Donohue put it this way: "I've always thought that tradition is to the community what memory is to the individual. And if you lose your memory and wake up in the morning, you don't know where you are, who you are, what ground you're standing on. If you lose your tradition, it's the same thing."

When you find yourself at one of those crossroads moments, may you return to a well-worn path on which others have long tread. May there be companions and guides along the journey. And may God grant you wholeness, peace, and rest for your soul.

Let us pray: There are indeed times when we feel lost, O God. Other times when we face stark choices. We thank you for those who have gone before us in the faith, whose very lives point us to a path. Heal us with your presence, and walk with us along the way. Amen.

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