Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, July 6, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I am so grateful for all those who have made such an effort as this. Just think about the wealth of personal experiences and written accounts of people throughout history who have lived lives of faith. In seminary I read the works of Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, J. Deotis Roberts, and Elizabeth Johnson. Beyond theologians, I have been deeply influenced by the faith stories of the people in my own family, including my great uncle, Pr. Robert Koenig, who published the book Except the Corn Die, a historical novel of the original German settlers who founded the Missouri Synod (from whom I am only a handful generations descended.) Of course, there are plenty of inspiring stories that go unrecorded, deep spiritual experiences that go unwritten, people whose faith is not remembered. These are no less beautiful and important in our collective life of faith than those who we still read today, which means that your story and my story of faith are precious and beautiful just as they are, because God knows and remembers. That being said, maybe we can take this as encouragement to take a moment to record our own understanding of faith in order to pass it on to those who might learn from it ‘after our departure.’
What faith stories do I find most inspiring? Have I ever considered writing my own?
