Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, July 26, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Be careful how you interpret this. “Having the Son” does not mean following a specific religious or political interpretation of God’s will. The fact is that God freely and unconditionally gave God’s self in Christ Jesus to each and every single one of us and all of creation without exception. We all “have the Son.” Full stop.
Yes, of course I know this isn’t what the writer of 1 John meant. He was specifically making a distinction between believers—early Christians—and all those who rejected Jesus as God’s messiah. But context matters and that was then and this is now. “The Way” of Jesus followed by the early Christians bears little to no resemblance to modern Christianity. And modern western Christians are not being harassed, arrested, and murdered on the regular for their religious beliefs (despite their claims to the contrary because they’re not allowed to discriminate against people who don’t agree with them).
For us today, we would do well to celebrate God’s incomprehensible gift of life in and through Jesus Christ, freely given to everyone equally and without exception. We may feel at times that we do not “have life” for one reason or another—sometimes through no fault of our own, sometimes because we stubbornly refuse to accept this gift. But the truth is that God continues to lavish life on us whether we feel it (or feel we deserve it) or not. May God help you to find joy in that life today and always.
Where do I recognize God’s incredible gift of life in Jesus on a day-to-day basis?
