Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
SATURDAY, September 11
Philippians 1:27. Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
It is hard to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Just as you sit down to begin dinner, the phone rings. It is hard to resist wanting to jump right through the line and strangle the telemarketer. Or just as you head for the express checkout at the grocery, one of Christ’s beloved pushes past you with 56 items. And a checkbook. With no checks. You obediently await your turn to board the plane and discover some other child of God sitting in your seat and there is no empty seat for you to move to. A flight attendant appears, another of God’s beloved, and berates you for not being seated and buckled in and announces to the world how you are holding up departure.
It is the small, everyday events of life that most test our manner of living worthy of the gospel. Major emergencies, disasters, traumas, catastrophes—these can draw out the best in everyone. This is a good thing, of course, because those are times when we all need to work together for God’s people and make it through. But wouldn’t it be nice if people just treated everyone the way they would like to be treated? (2001)
Note: The above meditation and scripture passage appeared in Forward Day by Day on September 11, 2001.
PRAY for the Diocese of Haiti (Province II, USA)
Ps 55 * 138, 139:1-17(18-23); Job 38:1-17; Acts 15:22-35; John 11:45-54
View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.
A Meditation for Pentecost
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Thanks for the reprint!