NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Day 284 – Self-righteous indignation isn’t cool

Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World

Scripture focus: The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.” But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it. Luke 17:5-6

Faith – pistis – a person who is faithful, reliable, loyal, and steadfast; a person who is devoted, trustworthy, dependable, dedicated, constant, and unwavering. (Paraphrasing Renner in his July 26th devotional)

When Jesus taught the disciples the principle of forgiveness – they freaked out!

No doubt they thought about the people who had offended them over the years, and they didn’t want to part with their justifiable resentments. I bet they wanted justice. So when Jesus told them to learn how to forgive, they balked. This seemed much harder than learning how to walk on water!

Here’s the problem with their thinking. They discounted their own offensiveness. If we’re going to cry for justice, we better prepare to receive it. When Jesus called on his people to live graciously, imagine how the responder could have heard this command. What if the disciples had considered all the offenses they had committed against others? What if they had surrounded themselves with good friends and wise advisors who had helped them see when they did something that hurt another? When Jesus said, “Forgive!” why didn’t they reply in unison – “Thank you Jesus!”? Where was the humble cry, “But Lord, I’m not sure I deserve this gift?”

Instead of whining about their need for more faith, why didn’t they express gratitude for the gift of faith God had already given? This is amazing! With all my offensive ways, clumsy attempts to follow God, my character defects and shortcomings – Jesus is telling my friends, family and even enemies to forgive…..me! How cool is that?

But we miss the message if we avoid telling ourselves the truth about our own inadequacies.

A person of faith is reliable, loyal, and steadfast, devoted, trustworthy, dependable, dedicated, constant, and unwavering. I claim to be a person of faith, but I’m regularly unreliable, disloyal, and unsteady on my faith-feet. I lack devotion, am untrustworthy, undependable, and lack dedication to the very thing I say I’d give my life to defend. I’m inconsistent and wobbly as Jello. And yet – there is this: Jesus has told me I’m forgiven. And that my faith – my wobbly, teeny tiny, barely believing faith – is enough to transform the landscape of my world.

How awesome is that?

Lesson five: Develop an attitude of gratitude – we don’t get what we deserve.



Recommended reading: Jeremiah 17 and 18 in the morning; 1 Thessalonians 4, 5 in the evening

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