by Rev Douglas Brauner

Concentrating on our purpose.

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

One of the first games that many of us learned to play was Tic Tac Toe. You don’t need a lot to play the game. You can play it in the dirt, on a piece of paper, or on a white board. The roots for the game go back to ancient Egypt, possibly as early as 1,300 B.C.

It’s not that hard to play Tic Tac Toe. One person is “X”, and the other person is “O.” Most people want to be “X”, and go first. Whoever gets three X’s or O’s in a row first wins. Even though it’s a simple game, there is quite a bit of strategy and most games end in a draw.

Playing Tic Tac Toe is a competitive game. Though it is simple, it is easy to lose concentration. Players must maintain their focus.

It is easy to lose focus of our purpose as the people of God, people who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.

[Jesus told his disciples,] “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19 English Standard Version

Jesus calls us to make disciples. This process of making disciples begins with us. Maybe our struggle is that we don’t understand what it means to be a disciple. One person shared with me that a disciple is a person who is wholly devoted to following Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is working in us to become followers of Jesus.He is working in you.

Making disciples doesn’t stop with us growing in our relationship with Christ. We are called to disciple others. This is our purpose. This is our focus. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, we disciple our friends, family, and fellow believers.

May we not lose our focus in this game of life.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado