by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Doing God’s Will

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.”
I Peter 3:15 New English Translation

Would people say that Christians are open or closed for business?

Maybe the problem is that we don’t know what business we’re in to begin with. Is our job to be good people? Is our job to point out how bad other people are?

A business will go out of business if it doesn’t know its business.

Then again, we might worry too much about what our business is that we’re immobilized to do anything. We fret too much that we aren’t doing God’s will that, well, we don’t do God’s will. Sound familiar?

Is it really that complicated for us to know what the will of God is for our lives? In the Upper Room with his disciples Jesus said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 English Standard Version

Peter said that we are to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us about the hope we have in Christ, the hope of eternal life in his death and resurrection. How do we do that? By loving the person who asks us the question. We love them as Christ loved us. How did Christ love us? He died for us. We lay down our lives for others. The answer to someone’s question about the hope that fills our hearts is often seen in the love with which we pour out on them.

That’s our business. May our doors be open for business and may people see Jesus with our doors wide open.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado