Daily Reading
Reflection
What if we did not have to live our lives by our to-do lists? What if mission did not just take up another spot on the calendar, but instead we lived mission as a lifestyle? The invitation of Jesus in this passage is not simply to participate in more service days, or to perform additional ritualized service, but to enter into a radical lifestyle of mission. A lifestyle of mission is pervasive: it reshapes everything we do. It is invasive: it resets our agendas by putting others' needs before our own. It transcends, because it reorients our lives towards one that imitates Christ's. The invitation to a missional lifestyle offers us so much more satisfaction than crossing tasks off our list. It offers us a life that satisfies our heart's deepest longing to know and to be known.
When we begin to know and to love God with all of our being, we realize that we can do nothing on our own to deserve God's love for us. God knows everything about us, and despite our shortcomings, He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. Because of God's love, we are free to know and to love one another. Our neighbors do not deserve our love, just as we do not deserve God's love. And that is precisely why we are free to go out with a love that transcends human understanding.
In a way that is mysterious and difficult to explain, we are united with Christ when we take on the lifestyle of mission and intentionally love those who do nothing to warrant it. Taking mission on as just another task cannot unite us with Christ, because Christ comes to claim all of us, and He commands us to love Him with all our hearts and minds and souls. Anything other than total immersion in mission is cheating God.
Will you cheat God? Will you accept Jesus' invitation? Will you let Him know you completely? Will you unite yourself with Him by loving others?
Jesus, my heart is open to you. You know my every desire, and from you I can hide nothing. Love me, I pray, and help me to know and love others, just as you have loved me. Amen.
Daily Worship Resources
Daily Office Readings come from the Book of Common Prayer, a schedule of daily Bible reading that accords with the Church year. These readings are great worship resources for personal, family, or group use. Use it along with your City Church Worship Folder as a resource for readings, prayers, and hymns.
Printable Devotion