Daily Devotion, May 13, 2023

 

Devotion:

Read Luke 17:1-5.

“Increase our faith!” seems out of place here. Jesus is warning his followers about causing other people to stumble on their faith journey. He points out that one of the primary things that cause people to stumble is not being forgiven. Notice this is with “your brother or sister.” This is about our relationships in the Church. Practicing forgiveness in our life together as the people of Christ is vital to our well-being and health as his body. Wherever it is not practiced, people stumble and fall. Wherever it is practiced, the Church flourishes and grows.

But the disciples knew this was a hard teaching. Notice verse four again: “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” On my own, it is hard to forgive someone for the same offense seven times in a year (maybe a lifetime), but in the same day? As Jesus often did, he offers an extreme example to make his point: forgiveness is to be our way of life with each other.

And so, we all cry out with those first followers, “Increase our faith!” Help us learn how to do this! When we get hurt by others, the offense can sometimes look like a mountain between us. But Jesus lets us know that with even a little bit of trust in him, we can move that mountain.

Personal Worship Option:

In 1972 Carol Owens penned these words and put them to music:

God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name, I’ve born again in Jesus’ name, and in Jesus’ name I come to you, to share his love as he told me to. He said “Freely, freely you have received, freely, freely give. Go in my name and because you believe, others will know that I live.”