Daily Reading
Daily Thought
A guy in a suit, pointing at a beggar on the side of the road, crowed, “There but for the grace of God go I,” and I privately wondered if he was more proud he was not than humbled he could be.
Yehiel Dinur had survived Auschwitz and was now a witness against Adolf Eichmann, who was on trial for the millions of Jews he had slaughtered. Dinur entered the courtroom, stared for a moment at the butcher Eichmann, then collapsed on the floor and left the room sobbing. “Were you overcome with hatred,” a reporter asked, “staring at the face of evil incarnate?” “No,” responded Dinur. The Eichmann he saw was not a demon, but an ordinary man. “I was afraid about myself. I saw that I’m capable to do this … exactly like he. Eichmann is in all of us.”
Love your enemies. They are not unlike you. “Love your enemies, and do good, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).
The more mindful I am of my sin, the more amazed I am at God’s grace.
A crowd of people gathered to hear Jesus, “and he came down with them and stood on a level place” (Luke 6:17). A level place, no orchestra seating, no balcony, no cheap seats, everyone side by side, rich and poor, high society and low, righteous and unrighteous–a level place. “Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and reviled. Woe to the rich and those who have a full stomach, those who laugh and are spoken well of” (Luke 6:20-26). He was lifting the humble and warning the proud. Jesus has a way of doing that.
Daily Prayer
Heavenly Father, Help me see others with Your eyes, with Your heart. Help me see myself that way, as well. I know how much You love me. I need to remember how much You love those I see as enemies. You died for all of us, not because of any merit, but because You are love. I need the same humility and the same sacrificial attitude.
May I become more and more like Jesus Christ, who, for the grace of God, became like me, so that I may see God and become like Him.
Amen
Daily Question
Are some people better than other people? Why or why not?