Week 28 Daily Dose of Love
#190 (7/9)
Be Alert
Luke 12:35-38
“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from
the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are
those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to
eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds
them so, blessed are those slaves.”
Being alert involves being aware and open. We develop
awareness by realizing the true reality that God has created for us. Our false self tries to place us at
the center of everything but the life that God has created is much greater than that. We are part of one
potentially harmonious whole where even the master serves the slave. Being alert is quite different than looking
for something. Looking narrows our focus which tends to build tension and pressure. Looking
puts us at the center of the search. Being alert is a relaxed openness. We see what is
in this moment while remaining open to what may come from any direction. Love is more a gentle awareness than an
intense focus. Our focus can easily be distracted and diverted by the stimulation of the world and our
own perceived needs and wants. Awareness recognizes distraction as part of the picture but also realizes
that there is something much greater here. We open the door to our master because we recognize his presence
and experience his love. Reflection/Discussion:
What changes can we make in our daily lives that can help us to be more aware of and open
to God’s love?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
#191 (7/10)
Be Ready
Luke 12:39-40
“But
know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken
into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Love requires availability
and receptivity. Quality time cannot be scheduled or structured to fit gaps in our personal busy-ness.
Opportunities to love come at unexpected times. Being ready to love requires the ability to set
aside our own perspective on what is important and see our connection with God and his creation. We may feel more secure and confidant when we control our own schedule, but the demands of
love arise in God’s time frame, not ours. Love requires that we be ready to set aside our own priorities
and pressures to respond to the needs of the moment.
Reflection/Discussion:
What happens when we are not ready to receive God’s love?
Principles of Love:
Opening; Vision, Unity
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#192
(7/11)
Faithful and Wise Steward
Luke 12:41-46
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves,
to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find
at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.
But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other
slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect
him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful.”
Love is not a part-time
job. There are no days off or vacation time. Love is fragile and superficial when it is
not consistent. Fleeting glimpses that look like love may seem attractive and alluring but they have no
strength or depth when the desire for power, stimulation, security, and short-term pleasure undermine commitment. Love requires that we consistently monitor our impulses and reactivity to be aware of where
they lead us. There are times when the path toward deeper love seems like a steep incline littered with
rocks and potholes while the path away from love looks like a smooth, downhill ride. It is our long-term
commitment to living through God’s love that allows us to continue on the path of grace and return to it whenever we
stray.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we strengthen the commitment to
live through God’s love over time?
Principles of Love:
Commitment
Pray Through the Day:
Help us to love
When our will is weak
#193 (7/12)
Much is Required
Luke 12:47-48
“That slave who knew what his master wanted, but
did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know
and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required;
and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”
Trying to follow God’s will without opening
our hearts sets us up for a fall. The higher we go, the further we can fall. Attempting
to live, teach, or preach the gospel without love creates an illusion, which increases our potential for sin and its consequences. Jesus made
it very clear that the only way to follow God’s commandments is through love. There are a number
of scripture passages that can be taken out of context and used to justify personal fears or agendas. But
anyone who seriously studies scripture to discern God’s will realizes that the command to love and the consequences
for not loving are absolutely clear. God expects each one of us to develop our full capacity to love. Those
who know his message of love but do not act on it betray and reject his love. Being a Christian involves
a tremendous responsibility that increases God’s expectations for us. Reflection/Discussion:
How can we do a better job of preparing
ourselves for what God wants?
Principles of Love:
Decision; Humility
Pray Through the Day:
Help us always
To choose love
#194 (7/13)
A Baptism with which to be Baptized
Luke 12:49-50
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish
it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until
it is completed!”
Jesus came to bring love to the earth. The purpose of his life, passion, and death
was to teach and show us how to love under all circumstances. Love threatens the world’s over-emphasis on security, esteem, and pleasure.
It is particularly threatening to those who, like the scribes and Pharisees, rigidly hold onto positions of power and
authority. When rigid people feel threatened, they tend to attack. The resulting assault
on Jesus became the vehicle for the “baptism” he refers to in this passage. Baptism involves
cleansing and commitment. Jesus is getting ready to show us the depth of his commitment to love through
his response to betrayal and crucifixion. His death and ability to forgive clears our vision and strengthens
our commitment to respond with love in a world that can easily be immobilized by rigid self-centeredness.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we continue to learn about love
in spite of worldly obstacles?
Principles of Love:
Learning; Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts and minds
To your love and wisdom
#195 (7/14)
Worldly Destruction
Luke 13:1-5
At that very time there were some present who told him
about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you
think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No,
I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when
the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
The people who thought that those
who were killed by Pilate were being punished for their sins had a mistaken understanding of the consequences of turning away
from God. God is much more of an encourager than an enforcer. Tragedy and trauma are not necessarily
effects of sin. The result of turning away from our Father and creator is that we turn away from the source
of all life.
Jesus
warns that, in this world, our life can end at any moment. Where we go from there depends on which direction we have been
heading in. If we are turning away from love, we need to repent, change direction and move toward
the love of our father.
Reflection/Discussion:
Where in our life is repentance most needed?
Principles
of Love:
Forgiveness;
Nature;
Pray Through the Day:
Lord, Jesus Christ
Have mercy on us.
#196 (7/15)
Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
Luke 13:6-9
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking
for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come
looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’
He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If
it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” With Jesus, there is always hope.
Even in situations where all of our knowledge and experience indicate that things will never change, Jesus encourages
us to do a little more. Shaking or threatening the tree will not teach it to bear fruit but working to
improve the conditions that allow the tree to blossom might help. Love brings down defenses that hold back the
potential that God created in each of us. We can only know what someone is really like when they feel fully
loved by us. Jesus tells us to try. It’s
worth it.
Reflection/Discussion:
Where do we need to “dig around and put love on it?”
Principles of Love:
Commitment; Decision
Pray Through the Day:
Help us to love
When our will is weak
