by Rev Douglas Brauner

We are a sign of God’s love to the world.

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

It was a hot day when I took this picture. I had just finished leading a wedding rehearsal, and had been standing in the sun for far too long without sun screen. However, like an addict, I had to shoot a roll of film after the rehearsal. Having climbed out of my car, with my Bronica SQ-A in hand, I headed down an alley and spotted this trailer. It was stuck in the middle of nowhere. No one around it. No one taking care of it. No one inside it.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Yet this trailer had a message to proclaim.

I purposefully placed the church in the picture. I didn’t know exactly why, as is often the case, but after developing the film, and studying the photograph, a message rang in my ear. A message that is reflected in the words of Jeremiah.

“Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention.” 
Jeremiah 25:4 New Living Translation

How many people have walked this same alley, and not paid attention to the trailer’s message?

How many people have driven by our churches, and never hear the message we proclaim inside?

How many times have we attended worship, and not listened to what God was saying to us?

The message on this trailer is about how much it would cost us if we want it parked on our property. The message we deliver proclaims how much it cost God to forgive us. It is a message that changes lives. It is a message that changed our lives. It is a message of God’s love in Jesus, revealed to us in the shedding of his blood.

We can not force people to read this sign of God’s love, but we can make sure it is visible. The best sign we offer is the sign of our lives as we live out our faith in this world God created.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado