My cousins, who lived only two miles away when we were growing up, weren’t allowed to interact with my family. They never came to reunions or talked to us at the local grocery store. Their parents said it was because we didn’t attend church and we’d be a bad influence on them. What a surprise when many years later, a cousin attended my eldest brother’s funeral! He approached us one by one and humbly apologized for their attitude. Our relationship with him began to be restored.
Jacob needed a humble heart to seek restoration with his twin brother, Esau. Jacob, the second born, had connived against Esau: he stole his brother’s birthright (25:19-34) and deceived his elderly father into giving him the firstborn’s blessing (26:34–27:40). Furious, Esau threatened to kill him, so Jacob had run to another country.
Years later, Jacob wanted to return home but was afraid the deep division between him and his brother wouldn’t be resolved without bloodshed (32:6-8). When he and Esau finally met, he humbly “bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother” (33:3). He feared Esau would kill him, but instead Esau came running “and embraced him” (v. 4).
Whether we’ve harmed another or have been harmed, it takes humility, openness, and often much work to heal the brokenness. But God can and will help us.
The acclaimed painting Let My People Go by Aaron Douglas uses vibrant colors of lavender, green, and gold, along with traditional African imagery, to tell the biblical story of Moses and connect it with Black Americans’ struggle for freedom and justice.
The painting portrays God’s appearance to Moses in a burning bush when he revealed that He’d seen the plight of the Israelites in Egypt. The artist uses a beam of light to symbolize God and His message, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).
In Let My People Go, Moses kneels in obedient submission to God’s instructions, but the eye is drawn to the dark waves and horses trained for war surrounding him—reminding viewers of the struggles the Israelites would face as they left Egypt. But the beam of light shines brightly as a reminder that God would be with the Israelites in their struggle.
The emotions evoked by the painting resonate because the struggle against injustice continues; many use their power to oppress men, women, and children around the world. As those suffering cry out for God to be “a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9), we can plead with God to respond to their cries for help. And, like Moses, we can be willing to act on behalf of the oppressed.
On a sunny afternoon, I drew with sidewalk chalk with the Sudanese family next door. We could hear singing coming from the house next to theirs where a small group holds worship services. The young mom I was talking with was curious about what was going on, so she and I walked over and listened in. They invited us to gather with them. A young man, standing in a tank filled with water for baptism, spoke about receiving forgiveness for his sins and committing himself to follow Jesus.
This was a unique opportunity for us to hear a testimony of salvation in the yard right next door. This group was being the church in our neighborhood.
Jesus is building His church around the world. In the days before His ascension, He told His followers that He would send the Spirit to live in them and that they would be His witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He would build His church through their Spirit-empowered preaching and teaching. And immediately God began to add “to their number daily those who were being saved” (2:47).
We can be a part of building Christ’s church by being His church as we live out our faith in our neighborhoods and share with others what He’s done for us. He gave His life and was resurrected so that we might be forgiven and have eternal life. And He’ll help us learn how to serve others in His church today.
My friend Christine and her husband sat down to dinner at their aunt and uncle’s house. Her aunt had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Before anyone started to eat, her uncle asked, “Does anyone have anything to say?” Christine smiled because she knew he meant, “Does anyone want to pray?” He wasn’t a believer in Jesus, but he knew Christine was, so this was his way to invite prayer. Speaking from her heart, she gave thanks to God for His care and requested that He would perform a miracle for her aunt.
King Hezekiah became ill and had something on his heart to say to God after the prophet Isaiah told him he was going to die (Isaiah 38:1). He “wept bitterly” and pleaded, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion” (v. 3). His was an honest, desperate appeal for deliverance. Even though healing isn’t dependent on our “goodness,” and God doesn’t always heal, He chose to extend the king’s life by fifteen years (v. 5). After his recovery, he thanked Him (v. 16).
God invites us to pray—whether it’s for an urgent need or to thank Him for something small or significant. He hears our prayers, sees our tears, and will answer according to His plan. Our place is to “walk humbly all [our] years” with Him (v. 15).
With extra time on my hands, my plan for the coming months centered on serving people as much as I could. But while helping a new friend, I tripped and fell and broke my arm in three places. Suddenly I was the one in need. God’s people cared for me with visits, gift cards, flowers, phone calls, texts, prayer, meals (and even a box of chocolates), and by running errands. I couldn’t believe how kind my family, friends, and fellow church members were! It was as if God were saying, “Sit down. You need help. You’ll see what caring looks like.” Because of them, I know more about serving from the heart and feeling grateful to God for others.
Fellow believers eagerly helped me in the ways Paul instructed the church members at Rome to follow (Romans 12). He encouraged them to love sincerely, to honor others, to be devoted to one another in love, and to share with those in need (vv. 9-13). Paul taught them doctrine throughout his letter. But he also shared that life in Christ isn’t abstract theology (Ch. 1-11)—it’s shown in our practical daily living (Ch. 12-16). God’s way is love. May we pour out His love on others as an expression of His love for us.
May we look for ways to serve people in our churches or communities. They’ll be encouraged. We’ll be blessed. And God will be praised.
Wealthy benefactors in communities across the US have made an inspiring promise to students. If they get good grades throughout their thirteen years of school in their district, the benefactors will pay for four years at a public community college or university in their state. Statistics have shown in some cities that this motivates the students, rich and poor, to start doing well immediately after they hear the news. One teacher said, “It’s been a total shift in mindset. Every kindergartener will tell you they’re going to college. It’s reality.” The promise of what’s to come increases their desire and hope for their future.
The apostle John talked about a promise of what’s to come that helped motivate the early believers in their faith. Jesus promised to return; and when He does, John says, “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). He encouraged his readers: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as He is pure” (v. 3). We have the confident hope that one day we will see Jesus. And because of that promise, our desire to be more like Him increases because we’re loved by Him and love Him in return.
What a time that will be when we see Jesus face to face! Until then, we keep following Him, growing in our faith, and anticipating His coming. God will keep His promise.
Tom, age seven, admired his dad’s shiny trophies from school track events sitting on a shelf. He thought, I want one of those for my bedroom. So he asked, “Dad, can I have one of your trophies?” The man surprisingly answered, “No, Tom, those are mine. I earned them, and you can earn your own.” Then they made a plan that if he ran around the block in a certain amount of time (he knew his son could do it), he would give him a trophy of his own. Tom practiced with his dad’s guidance, and a week later his dad cheered him on as ran the race in time. Tom learned lessons in self-discipline and hard work, and his dad congratulated him with an award.
Proverbs 1:8 encourages children to “listen . . . to your father’s instruction.” Tom’s dad also taught him about running the race of life with Jesus and listening to His leading. He instructed him about choosing “what is right and just and fair,” as the father in Proverbs did (v. 3). A father’s teachings are valuable: “a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck” (v. 9).
You may not have a father to instruct you in your race with Christ. But God can lead you to a mentor who can pass along their wisdom. Or perhaps God is calling you to mentor someone. He’ll give you guidance as you’re active with others in running the race.
Betty is ready. She began following Jesus as a teenager and has taken opportunities her whole life to serve and please Him. She attends Bible studies, worship services, and prayer meetings. She’s taught studies, visited mission fields, worked in the nursery, served alongside her pastor-husband, and she loves being with God’s people every chance she gets. And remarkably she’s 102 years old and is still ready to do whatever pleases God. She’s an inspiration to many who might not feel like gathering with other believers some days. Then they remember, Betty will be there. I certainly can get there! Betty now says she’s anxious to get to heaven to be with her Savior. She says, “I am ready to see Jesus; I love Him so.”
The apostle Paul said he “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). But he knew God had work for him in encouraging believers in many churches (Philippians 1:23-24). So he kept serving and living “by faith” and “not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Paul remained ready and kept serving under God’s direction.
Whatever our age and stage in life, let’s ask God to help us make it our heart’s goal “to please [Christ]” (v. 9) and stay ready. Betty is ready. And if someday she isn’t ready, it’s because she’s already seeing Jesus face-to-face.
Four of us hiked through the beautiful Watkins Glen Gorge in New York. At times we stood together in awe as we gazed in wonder at waterfalls and 200-foot cliffs. Other times, we had to stop to catch our breath and rest our hurting legs as we climbed wet rocks and endless steps. When we neared the top, a hiker heading back down said, “You’ve got only 10 steps to go of your 832.” Maybe it was best we hadn’t known how difficult the journey would be because we might have stayed back and missed the beauty of it all.
The journey of life has difficult steps too. Jesus and Paul warned believers about trouble and persecution (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12), and this requires some perspective. James said, “Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Why pure joy instead of pure agony? God knows and “we know that the testing of [our] faith produces perseverance” (v. 3). But to what end? So that we may be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4).
If we’ll stop and look, despite the pain, we may see the beautiful strength of character God is producing in us and those around us. And we’ll learn to appreciate the truth that one day we’ll “receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). Let’s keep climbing together.
