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Loving Well Though We Do Not Think Alike
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DEBORAH SMITH DOUGLAS | Read Romans 9:1-5
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Sign Up TodayThis passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans reveals a deeply personal side of him. He confesses his “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” that his “own people,” his fellow Jews, have rejected the gospel. They seem unable to see Jesus as the Christ, the fulfillment of the ancient promises, the...
Dear God of all, help us to love those who do not share our faith. May we love as you love all that you have made. Amen.
Jacob is attacked one night by an unknown assailant and wrestles with him until morning. We discover that the assailant comes from God, so Jacob is given a new name, Israel. The psalmist is feeling unjustly accused and cries out to God. He is confident that he would be vindicated if all the facts were known. In Romans, Paul deals with difficult theological issues. He states that he would sacrifice his own soul if his fellow Israelites would accept Christ. Jesus teaches a crowd that is growing hungry, and his disciples are trying to figure out how to feed them. They see only what they lack, while Jesus asks them what they have. This story is a lesson about offering God what we have and trusting God to multiply it.
Read Genesis 32:22-31. When have you been forced to wrestle with yourself or your self-identity? How did this struggle reveal a blessing?
Read Psalm 17:1-7, 15. When have you felt the need to serve as your own advocate before God? How has this experience affirmed your trust in God?
Read Romans 9:1-5. When have you experienced Paul’s anguish that others do not accept what you have come to know in your faith, whether by conversion, denominational change, education, or encounter with God? How do you continue to be in relationship with such family or friends?
Read Matthew 14:13-21. When have you witnessed small acts of sharing that have led to great abundance?
Respond by posting a prayer.
The role of the prophet is twofold; one, to speak with power and secondly to speak to power. This work on anti-racism does both of those things. The videos, writings and resources are powerful representations of what grace and justice sound like and the orators and writers who approach this work do so with a conviction deeply rooted in gospel. These women and men help us reimagine a prophetic voice in a time such as this. This work is needed.”
View a growing list of resources for the spiritual work of overcoming racism.
