Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Today’s reading

1 John 2:5-6

“[B]ut whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he walked” (1 John 2:5-6).

Prayer

There is no choice, is there, Inescapable One? We each abide in something, either in you or in that which is not you. In either case, we become that in which our heart seeks solace, joy and fulfillment. We are transformed into the image of our abiding, walking according to the music we hear there.

And in either case, you continue to abide, refusing to turn away. You remain as near as our breath, inviting us to find our home in you, eager to teach us how to walk as you walk, to see as you see, to be as you are. And you? You are love, and your love pervades all time and space, holding life and being together, inviting us to abide in you, there to find the home for which our hearts are made.

Today, you privilege me. For today I have abided in relationships where I am accepted and corrected, where I sin and find forgiveness, where I give and receive gifts of grace, welcome, laughter, knowledge and hope. Today, you have made me more human than I was only hours ago. And I have done so little. I simply abide, dwelling in these relationships that I have only because I belong to you.

Now, I finish my day, abiding in gratitude for having stumbled into those abiding places you intend for me where, again, I learn to walk. Thank you. Someday I just may get it right. Amen.

--Pr. David L. Miller