Daily Devotional

1 Corinthians 12:12-26

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Matthew 25:31-46

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45 "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Once upon a time, there lived a man. We'll call him Tim. (Hi, Tim.) In line at the grocery store one day, Tim was politely tapped on the shoulder. "Your arm is bleeding," said the wide-eyed woman behind him, pointing to a rather large cut on his left arm. "Oh, wow," he said, thanking her for noticing. Seeing that she was still concerned, Tim put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry! It doesn't belong to me. It's not actually my arm. It's Lisa's." He paid for his groceries, slipped into his coat, and was on his way, content to have solved the problem.

It was cold and snowy on this particular day, and he shuffled to the car with his collar up to block the cold. Another tap on the shoulder. He rolled his eyes. Again? Strangers were so intrusive today. "Excuse me," said the man who'd stopped him. "Aren't you missing a shoe?" Tim looked down and instinctively wiggled his toes. His left foot was well covered, wool sock and thick boot and all. But his right was bare. Tim shivered a little. After all, the bare toes were caked with snow and, well, the situation did not look pleasant. But again, he lent a reassuring smile to the concerned citizen who'd stopped him. "Thank you so much for noticing, but you don't have to worry. That's not actually my foot. It belongs to George." With that, he was in his car and on his way. He could see in his rearview mirror the stranger still standing there, bewildered. "I don't know what everyone is so worried about today," he thought. "None of these are my problems." By the time Tim got home, he was so flustered he went straight to bed. "I am not even going to brush my teeth," he thought. "Doesn't matter—they don't belong to me. I'm pretty sure they're Joe's teeth."

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. You may have read this passage before, that the church is the body of Christ and each of us has a unique function in it. Today, though, let's focus on the word "belong." Tim, in his frostbitten, tetanus-risking, gingivitis-infested state, didn't have much use for verse 26. When one member of the body suffers, how does the rest of the body respond? It shares the load. That's it. Share in the suffering and rejoicing of the rest of the body.

Now, read Matthew 25:31-46. I appreciate the confusion of the givers in verses 38-39, don't you? I like that they don't remember doing anything special. It reminds me of newscasts where rescuers are interviewed after saving people from car wrecks or burning buildings. I always smile when they shrug their shoulders and say they were just doing what anyone else would have done.

• What if kindness was such a natural part of the church that the body was generous without even noticing? What would that do to our definition of what "belongs" in the body?
• When you pray about it, ask God to show you how you can “belong” to the church today.

Read Ruth 1-2

If you've never read the book of Ruth, it's only a few pages long and worth your time. If you have, go back and re-read Ruth 2, 3:12-13, and 4. This story has been described as a biblical fairy tale, and while it's as good a plot as any Cinderella story if you have the imagination to morph buckets of barley into glass slippers and pumpkins, don't miss all that is true of one character who often gets overlooked—Boaz. Take a minute to jot down all that Boaz does in these few short chapters.

Without Boaz, there's no story. He certainly doesn't have to take time to learn about Ruth in order to succeed in his work. He is a decision maker, a supervisor, a property owner. He has foremen, harvesters and servants. Still, he stops. He asks questions. He keeps up with the details of his fields. Boaz is a man who pays attention. He investigates Ruth's character and work ethic. He makes provision for her safety. He listens to her request and goes to the elders to seek an answer to it. Read Ruth 3:13 again: Boaz makes a commitment and (as sure as the Lord lives) he keeps it. He steps up when the first kinsman-redeemer backs out of his promise.

This week, we've already read a bit about how God expects us to treat what is entrusted to us, especially how parents are to lead their children. There are times, though, when God calls us to go out of our way. Boaz isn't the first in line to take care of Naomi and her family, but he does it anyway.

• Today, thank God for a time when someone else went beyond expectations to help you.
• Are you in a position to use your leadership to help, too? Are you in the position to acknowledge or reward someone’s hard work?
• Can you step up and clean up the mess of someone else's broken promise, knowing full well the person you help doesn't have the capacity to repay you? Go out of your way to be Boaz as God leads you this week.

Matthew 7:7-12

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Imagine it's early evening and you're walking home. As you approach the driveway, you glance up to see your neighbors sitting down to dinner. They carry piping-hot dishes through their kitchen. The youngest child gurgles from his high chair; the eldest child is being told in no uncertain terms cell phones are not permitted at the table; the last few bowls are brought out and everyone sits down with smiles. It's business as usual.

Just then, the wind pushes the hedges back enough for you to watch the parents fill their children's plates. Mom and dad dip ladles and spatulas, and up come steaming—wait—what?!? Instead of meat loaf or mashed potatoes, you realize these are plumes of dust, and they're billowing off little mounds of gravel. Dad scoops a heap of rocks and they clatter onto his son's plate. Everyone draws a helping of stones. Pebbles are dumped into the tray of the high chair. It is a noisy business. This family's culinary experiment is chipping the plates, soon to chip teeth, and even from the front yard you can see that those butter knives aren't going to do much good slicing softball-sized rocks into manageable pieces.

Of course, you are horrified. You rush home to call child protective services, or at least a nutritionist. Even if you've never so much as had a baby sitting job, you know this is not the way to feed children. It doesn't take a merit badge or a restaurant management degree to know there's a better way. Ten out of ten dentists agree: Rocks are a poor substitute for bread! Read Matthew 7:7-12.

You see, we all know what "good gifts" look like, even if we didn’t receive them from our own parents. You already know how to be good to your kids, which takes some of the pressure off, doesn't it? You may have a lot to learn about parenting (you're certainly not the only one), but make room for the truth that Jesus Christ himself said that even imperfect people know how to give good gifts to their children. And we are to know better than to expect a plate of gravel when we ask something of our Father.

• Today, take some time to consider what sort of response you expect when you talk to God.
• Does it match up with what the Bible says about the Giver of good gifts?

Matthew 10:29

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.

Matthew 10:28-42

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.35 For I have come to turn
"'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

37 "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

40 "Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward."

There's a verse in Matthew that has always troubled me. Matthew 10:29 says, "Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will." How you read this verse probably depends at least a little on what you think is true of God's character. For too long, when I read that verse, I imagined God as some sort of growling security guard in a giant warehouse of all the world's fallen birds. He gets there in the morning to unlock the doors. He trudges up and down the aisles. He sweeps feathers out of the way with a push-broom. A ring of keys clanks against his hip. He flips on the fluorescent lights and as they hum their way to full strength they reveal miles and miles of boxes, all alphabetized. He gives a less than energetic tour of the building. "Over here," he says as he gestures toward some crates, "are the sparrows. And on shelf 2A are the robins. There are some finches and bluejays on the third floor. Elevator's over there." And he spits out some sunflower seeds, leans the broom against the wall, and saunters off for a 15 minute break.

Thankfully, this is not an accurate picture. We're not talking about a disinterested warehouse manager; we're talking about a dad. Read Matthew 10:28-42 to see how highly God esteems the care of His children.

God is a father. He's uniquely invested in every detail of every fallen sparrow. I think the picture looks a little more like this: when a bird "falls to the ground," He picks the broken creature up with His own hands. He carries it out of harm's way and begins to breathe life back into it. You see, He has been following this sparrow for quite some time and knows its story. He was there when it tussled with the neighbor's cat, and He stayed to gather up each of the little bird's lost feathers. Now He gently, meticulously, puts them all back in their proper places. He scrubs and brushes the groggy creature back to new. The restored little bird starts to wake up, puffing its new coat and chirping in celebration. It blushes and shyly tries to explain how the cat faked left and then went right, and how he was usually prepared for such things but was distracted, and is sorry for being so much trouble. And, in typical dad fashion, the humiliated little bird is reassured there's nothing to worry about anymore because, see? Good as new! Now, come see how much the garden has grown while you were away...

You and I only have the patience for this sort of devotion on a small scale. Imagine the amount of knowledge and care it takes to know everything about every creature that ever roamed your earth. (I can't even remember the names of people I went to high school with.) But a father remembers. A father will talk about his kids all day if you let him. He will pull out photo albums and little league trophies. He will regale you with slide shows of old spelling bees and videos of cute things his child has said, and it won't take very much of this before you and I are sneaking glances at our watches, sinking down into the couch and wondering how much longer this could possibly drag on. We are easily bored. The important thing to remember is that God is not.

• Read Matthew 10:29 again.
• Whose Father is the verse describing?
• Does this change your perspective of how interested God is in you?
• Ask God to reveal to you exactly what He thinks of you, trusting that the answer will be one overflowing with love.

Matthew 25:14-30

14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'

21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22 "The man with two bags of gold also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.'

23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24 "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 "'So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Luke 15:3-10

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3 Then Jesus told them this parable:4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Donald Miller and John MacMurray record a discussion of theirs in the book, "To Own a Dragon." In it, John describes his relationship with his children and says they (like all of us) ultimately belong to God. Perhaps if you are a parent you understand this feeling, that someone else has been put in your trust. Your children are loaned to you but belong to God. You, too, were loaned to your guardians but ultimately belong to God. Considering this caused me to look back on opportunities I've had to mentor others; did I treat them like precious people God had entrusted in my care? Sometimes, sure. But certainly not often enough.

Read today’s passage in Matthew again. Perhaps you've read this passage before and, like me, have been taught that "talents" are quite literally your talents and abilities. I read these verses and the fourth-grade version of me instantly squirms, assuming I’m about to get in big trouble for not spending enough time practicing piano between lessons. But I think this sort of misses the point. God's investments in us are probably quite a bit more varied, and His interest in recovering those investments a bit deeper than what we imagine. Now re-read Luke 15:3-10.

Here's a question: What are you doing with what (or who) God loans you? Maybe you’ve missed some chances and made some mistakes. This may come as a surprise, but you're not the first. Neither am I. The truth not to miss, though, is that, no matter how our lives have worked out, the talent that was buried and the coin that was lost both still have value. That value is something no one can undo, and if the talent is still in the back yard or the coin still lost in the house somewhere, there's still time to do something with it.

• Take some time today to thank God for second chances.
• Ask him to show you specifically where opportunities missed can be redeemed.