“Be doers of the word and not hearers only.”
It’s okay to be a hearer of the word–in fact, it’s necessary. And yet, we are more than ears. We are hands and feet and mouth; we are heart and soul and mind. God calls us to walk in love, to pray constantly, to speak the truth in love, to offer a healing touch—to love the Lord our God with all our being and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
In the early 1980s, I was part of a church-sponsored study tour to Mexico. We saw the pervasiveness of poverty and hunger. Yet, we were amazed by the hope and tenacity of the people we engaged. At the end of our journey, someone in our group asked one of the Mexican leaders, “The needs are so great. What can we do?”
She responded, “We value your support. Go home and work with your own poor people.” What wise advice.
This message is adapted from a devotion written by John L. Halvorson for Women of the ELCA.
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