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The Practice of Belonging
Photograph by Beth A. Richardson / Camp McDowell, Alabama “Ubuntu ... speaks of the very essence Read More
Timothy J. Johnson | Read Genesis 22:1-8
We begin this week of devotions deep down in the depths of despair—of Abraham’s and of our own—as we read of the patriarch being called by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. This is made all the more abject and egregious given that God, out of God’s supposed bounteous grace,...
God, we pray that you lead us into righteousness by our thoughts, words, and deeds. We thank you that you accord righteousness to us based on the bounties of your grace. Amen.
From Genesis we learn of the righteousness of God and the untraversable chasm between God and humankind. Simultaneously, we learn of God’s grace and mercy as God intermittently crosses over into human experience as a guide and keeper for Abraham and his descendants. In the psalm, the faith of the psalmist is tutored by the righteousness of God. In the Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus himself becomes a bridge of righteousness to and from God. And in the epistle to the Romans we learn of Jehovah’s eternal transaction. No longer prisoners of the flesh, we become emancipated to freedom in the righteousness of God.
Read Genesis 22:1-14. What does it mean to be righteous? How does this scripture passage give you confidence in your faith in God when you find yourself in hard places of ethical and moral dilemmas?
Read Psalm 13. What does this psalm teach you about who God is and what prayer can and should be?
Read Romans 6:12-23. How does “fruit” serve as an appropriate metaphor for being righteous and for living out the Christian life? How do you experience God’s gift of eternal life in your everyday life?
Read Matthew 10:40-42. What are the characteristics of a righteous person? What is the reward of a righteous person?
Respond by posting a prayer.
