The Daily Office for June 28, 2012
Scriptures
Psalm 105:1-22
Numbers 17:1-11
Romans 5:1-11
Matthew 20:17-28
Reading (Matthew 20:17-28)
Reflection
Nonbelievers can ask a lot of tough questions. In fact, you may have just recently heard someone say, “Where is God when a child is hurt or a widow is mistreated”? or, more commonly, “How can a loving God judge and punish people”? We can’t really give an adequate answer to these questions until we shake off any flawed ideas we have about God’s love, mercy and justice.
The Bible gives us a clear portrait of God as both a loving heavenly Father and a stern, frightening Judge. More important, it allows us to see how these two sides of His nature fit together. In the minds of most people, love and judgment are contradictory actions. Yet, God judges sin because He is holy and perfect. Sin, on the other hand, is destructive. Therefore, because God is a loving God, sin must be judged.
God demonstrates His love by protecting the people who have chosen to follow Him. He marks them with a seal that sets them apart from those who will be judged. As followers of Jesus Christ we will escape the wrath of His judgment. What a motivation – and responsibility – to tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ!
Collect for the Day
God of truth, whose Wisdom set her table and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine of the kingdom: help us to lay aside all foolishness and to live and walk in the way of insight, that we may come with Irenæus to the eternal feast of heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.