Listen

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

John 1:17-18

Think

I like the idea of being close to God’s heart. It sounds safe. Today, pause for a minute and think of your safe place. Where do you go where you always feel protected, away from danger or fear? Is it your bedroom? Is it your Mom’s kitchen, or in your workshop, or the school theater? Now imagine the power of that place magnified – again and again. The heart of God is a safe place.

The law came to us through Moses. There were ten of them at first. They are pretty good laws actually. But the law sometimes became a barrier for people to find their way to that safe place. I guess that’s because we chase after things and people and places that don’t make us safe. Then we get lost, and struggle to find our way. So God sent Jesus to help show us the way. Grace and truth came through Jesus. Unmerited favor and real honesty – that is what draws us to the heart of God.

David Burroughs

Pray

God of law, thank you for the safety of laws that protect, and laws that include and provide for everyone. God of grace, thank you for finding a way to include me. God of truth, show the truth in me that I am too stubborn to see. I pray in the name of the risen savior, Jesus. Amen.

Go

See, it is Jesus, Jesus has appeared;
Do not doubt at all for nothing you will fear.
Let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing;
Tell it without ceasing: Death has lost its sting.

Yours is the glory, Resurrected One!
Endless is the victory you o'er death have won.

Edmond L. Budry