March 5

Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,

Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

There is a shadow side to life. It goes by many names and is referred to in various ways. Devil, Satan, tempter, adversary, evil, fleshly desires, the world, the list goes on and on. All these words can mean perhaps slightly different things depending on who is using them and in what context. While I don’t always succeed, I like to try to keep things simple, so consider this: no matter what you call it, the shadow side of life is that which would attempt to tell us that love is not the answer. That the path of love is not the path through this wilderness life. The shadow side of life is anything that would have us choose something, anything at all, over unconditional, irrational, out of control love.

Jesus danced with the shadow side of life, known as the devil in his day, in the wilderness for 40 days. The devil tried every trick he knew to draw Jesus off his mark. From the shadows the devil called to Jesus and invited him to take matters into his own hands, forget God, and forsake love. Jesus refused, and went on to make the love-ethic central to our way of life as his followers.

Some days I feel like the world is going mad all around us. On those days it can be laborious to maintain our focus on love. But we are prisoners of hope. Our hope is in the Lord and his way is the Way of Love. When I remember that, my love-born buoyancy returns and I walk through the shadows smiling. 

You are God’s conduit for love into this shadow-soaked world. Keep your head up and let the love that is buried in your chest shine. You are the light of the world! That’s not my line, that’s what Jesus has told everyone about you. 

Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!

Love is all, 

Hendree+