Devotion
The late George Sverdrup, an Augsburg College professor, once said: “The older I become, the fewer certainties I require.” I concur, and I appreciate Luther’s reminder that trust in God and love of neighbor are the essentials of Christian living. We are created to be loved and to love; all else is peripheral. “By grace . . . through faith . . . for good works” from Ephesians 2:8-10 is as concise a summary of that life as I can imagine. It reminds us that “We love because (God) first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Since God loves every person of every race and religion, and we are all to love one another, authentic living for everyone consists in trusting God and loving neighbors. Failure to live this life is both sub-Christian and sub-human. The hymn “By Grace Through Faith” is an attempt to witness to the grace that enables authentic human as well as Christian living.
Prayer
Creator God, enable us more and more to be the persons we were born to be, and to live the lives we were created to live. In Jesus Name, Amen.