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Stirring
Have you ever misplaced or lost something, and it stirs little worry? You just know that Read More
DeVonna R. Allison | Read Luke 12:13-21
The West African country of Senegal has a tradition called “storying” where storytellers relate important tales of national or personal history through words, actions, and singing. Senegalese Christian women meet together discreetly to learn how to tell and perform Bible stories in this traditional manner. While one woman reads the stories, the others listen carefully and memorize so that they in turn can relay the stories to an audience.
Only forty percent of the Senegalese population can read, so storying is a way for Christian women to share their faith with their friends and neighbors. Sharing the Christian faith is not illegal in Senegal, but persecution for proselytizing is very real and carries great risk. These women have decided, despite the dangers, to “be” the gospel for their loved ones. They use their traditional form of sharing knowledge to share their love for Christ with others.
This week in the stories of Hosea 11 we’ll read of the warnings of turning apostate and God’s promise of restoration. In Psalm 107 the psalmist encourages us to remember the many ways the Lord has led and delivered us. In Colossians 3, Paul reminds us to live as those made alive in Christ. And in chapter 12 of his Gospel, Luke tells us the story of when Jesus uses a story to teach us that we are foolish to prize this life and its treasures over heavenly concerns.
There’s an old saying, “We may be the only gospel some people ever read.” When we live out our faith or tell its stories to others, we heed the call to “be the gospel.”
Dear Lord, be with us this week as we study your word with the aim of enlightening, encouraging, and strengthening ourselves, not only for our own good but for the good of others. Lead us into a life of being the gospel for others through action and story. Amen.
Hosea relates a further message from God. Israel has repeatedly ignored God’s teachings, even though God continues to reach out with love and kindness. Although a just response would be wrath, God will respond instead with mercy to restore the people. The psalmist echoes this teaching about God’s enduring love. Although some have gone through periods of distress, when they call out to God, the Lord responds with steadfast love. We then explore guidance for the life of a Christian. In Colossians we read that we should focus on heavenly realities, not the physical world. Rather than pursuing our own pleasure, we should put on a new self and behave more like God desires. The parable that Jesus tells reinforces this point. We should focus on storing up heavenly treasures, not earthly ones.
Read Hosea 11:1-11. How have you suffered the consequences of turning away from God? How has God welcomed you back?
Read Psalm 107:1-9, 43. What stories of God’s goodness does your family tell to the next generations?
Read Colossians 3:1-11. How has Christ renewed you? How do you see Christ in others?
Read Luke 12:13-21. How has greed shown up in your life—as racism, wealth-mongering, or myths of scarcity? How do you combat greed in all its forms to live out of a mentality of abundance?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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