Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation–Hebrews 13:3

Posted by Seth on Aug 21, 2009 in Daily Devotions |

Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation–Hebrews 13:3

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation wherein we are challenged to live as a truly connected body of believers in Jesus Christ.

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

There is no room for isolationism within the family of Christ. My fellow introverts and I have a hard time accepting this on those days when we’d rather be close to a book than a body. It isn’t that we don’t care about others but simply that “being there” doesn’t always come naturally. This verse helps to remove us from what we oftentimes consider our happy place. The principle is a simple one: don’t forget your hurting brothers and sisters! No matter how outgoing any of us might be, it is easy to ignore those that take us from our sheltered bubble to the storm outside. “You need to rethink the true nature of your connections” is the cry of this verse. Imagine that you catch your finger in your car door with the keys locked inside. It is very difficult at that point to forget about your finger for some obvious reasons! It’s still connected to you for one, and it’s imprisoned and mistreated at the same time! It bleeds; you weep, though not without hope because you were able to get to your cell phone and call a locksmith who will be shortly on his way. The body of Christ is to be just that connected, remembering the lowly as if we were with them. This is truly humbling when I think about just how distant I can let myself be.

What can we do? We can inform ourselves about other Christians who are hurting in the world even though we would often rather not think about such things. We can pray for them with true heartfelt emotion and earnest. It might be possible to visit somebody nearby who finds him/herself in such a situation. We can give to those organizations that are doing some of the hands-on work already.

The things that stand in the way of us engaging in this way might vary some from person to person, but much of it comes down to the fact that we don’t live as if the Locksmith is on His way. We view today as dedicated to us instead of devoted to God. We try to establish our own heaven on earth instead of recognizing the days as evil wherein we are to make the best use of the time (Ephesians 5:16). Let’s refocus where needed and live as Christ’s body.

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