God made us for relationship, that's for sure. But being in relationship is sometimes quite a challenge; that's for sure too!
You are here now because of your relationship with God. May these moments together with your Creator give you a greater understanding of how to live out your earthly relationships as well.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:1-4
In the Harry Potter series, the basic premise is that there is a bad guy, Lord Voldemort, looking for a way to live forever, so that he can become the most powerful wizard in the world. The protagonist, Harry Potter, seeks to overcome this antagonist through help from his friends and doing good.
The final book of the series uses a quote of Jesus as a central theme for the story: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). A heart that seeks evil will find treasure in evil ways, but a heart centered in Christ will find treasure in love and good deeds. When we are able to come to God with a heart that is solely grounded in Christ, it is then that God will give us the ability to serve others in love.
Sarah Briggs
God, help me today to keep my heart focused on you, and in you I will find my treasure. Amen.
Children of God, lift hearts to one another;
Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there;
To worship rightly is to love each other,
Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.
Adapted from an 1850 hymn by John Greenleaf Whittier