Scripture Verse that Caught my attention today: Zechariah 7:5 Say to all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
Observation: Questions of purpose are offered to the people.
Application: Every so often it’s good to examine ourselves and ask questions like, “Why do we do what we do?” or “Are we doing this for the right reasons?” It’s an opportunity to take a step back and look at life’s bigger picture. Such reflection can be done in regard to small things (such as our daily routines) or big things (such as our career or our ways of relating with those we profess to love).
These were the kinds of questions that God, through the prophet, asked of the people of old. Their ritualistic fasting…was it really for God? Their lamenting…were they lamenting that God’s ways were not being done or were they lamenting that they weren’t getting what they wanted?
Elsewhere in Scripture we are reminded that God’s ways are not our ways. For people of faith the implication and belief is that God’s ways are actually much better than our ways. Still, when one considers our more than occasional self-centered ways of living and acting, it would appear that we often fail to take our own beliefs to heart. Hence the need to periodically take a step back and ask ourselves some larger questions.
Prayer: Lord, it’s easy to be so engrossed in the flurry of life that we often don’t take enough time to more authentically pray (in the form of listening) and consider how we might best live in light of your mercy. Help us to turn that trend around. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(readings today included Zechariah 7-9 and Luke 13)
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