In the fall of 2018, I heard a voice calling me to create a devotional that connects God’s children closer to God, closer to each other, and closer to the saints and sinners who make up the Bible. I heard it in the midst of a season when leaders who call themselves Christian were distancing us from God, from each other, and from those same stories that teach us who we are in the world. I hope these devotions offer comfort, encouragement, and deepening connections to God’s earth and God’s many and diverse children, so that we may be a people building God’s Beloved Community together. You’ll find a devotional here every Wednesday in 2019, and in other places I posted about below.* The devotions are written as if from God, and I hope I did not fail in my effort to honor both God and you in the process.
January 2 Matthew 2:13-15 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
From the first days of my Son’s life, there were risks and threats and people who feared him. This world fears the power of Love. Today, I invite you to ask how you can be like Egypt, opening yourself to the forces of Love knocking at your door, fleeing to you. I created you generous and compassionate. And I know this world will try to place fear in your heart. In order to walk closely with me, I ask you to find ways to embrace my Love and reject the forces of fear. Because, my beloved child, I made you for Love. You deserve Love.
*You can find us Tuesdays on Twitter (@DevotionalLove), Thursdays on Instagram, Fridays on Facebook, and if you sign up here, you’ll get a devotion in your inbox every Sunday!
Sandhya Rani Jha 