Ordinary Time 
Pause
For many of us, knowing God is a matter of the mind. But really knowing God is always a matter of the heart, and that’s because God is not merely an idea we agree to, but is first and foremost an experience we share in.
This is why today and every day we must prepare ourselves to receive the gift of God before we ever say anything about God.
Listen
Brothers and sisters, you are loved by God, and we know that he has chosen you. We know this because our good news didn’t come to you just in speech but also with power and the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know as well as we do what kind of people we were when we were with you, which was for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord when you accepted the message that came from the Holy Spirit with joy in spite of great suffering. As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-7
Think
As followers of Jesus it’s important we share “our good news” with others. One way we do this is through our speech, by telling people why Jesus is important to us and sharing with them how following Jesus has changed our life. However, as important as it is to tell people about Jesus, we can also share the good news of Jesus through our actions.
When Paul was serving at the church in Thessalonica, he did a lot of preaching and teaching. But the most important thing he did was show people what faith looks like when it’s lived out. In other words, he was generous and patient and forgiving and loving. And in doing all of these things he mysteriously shared the presence of Christ with those around him, so much so that they “became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.”
That’s how powerful our actions can be. When we show up and act in love, as Paul did, others come to know the love of God. And that’s good news, the kind that changes everything.
Chris Robertson
Pray
God, living a life of faith is easier said than done, but because I’m a committed follower of Jesus, I want others to see Christ in me. Help me to act in love. Thank you for your action. Amen.
Go
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened.”
So may each of us keep asking and searching and knocking.
May we keep yearning, reaching, wanting, and watching for something more.
And regardless of what we’re doing or where we’re going, may we come to every moment with the expectation that God wants to know us, and we can know God.
