Daily Scriptures March 2 2007 First Thoughts

Psalm 22:1-31; Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Hebrews 4:11-16; John 3:22-36

Enter God’s rest. Resting in God, from all our own ways and worries. Yes indeed. But resting is also an active thing, an act of obedience and pursuit of commandments for love and justice.

²So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³and to keep the commandments of the LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being (Deut. 10).

Our own well-being. Our well-being is directly related to the well-being of the community. The well-being of widows and orphans, the poor and hungry. The afflicted, as exquisitely described in Psalm 22. The distressed in body or spirit. The lost. Those who do not know Jesus, who loves and saves and heals and provides. John’s gospel affirms that Jesus had the afflicted in his heart and hands also, as given to him by the Father through the Spirit:

³⁴He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath. Heart AND hands serve God, for the well-being of all. Saving faith ain’t just about a cozy place in heaven. (John 3).

As we enter into our saving relationship with God through Christ, we enter into God’s rest and God’s peace. But we also enter into the work of peace and justice on earth, where God will place the needy in our hands. Peace without justice is no peace. Therefore let us enter God’s rest with hope for our won well-being as we seek the fullness of God’s intentions for salvation for us and the stranger, lest we forget:

¹¹Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. ¹²Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account (Hebrews 4).

Who are the widows and orphans among you today? The entrance to their rest is through a cup of water, a bag of groceries, a hot meal. A hospital visit, a phone call, an act of forgiveness. Enter in with your heart and your hands today.