REFLECTIONS

Extra! Extra!

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” That’s a cry once heard to sensationalize the news on street corners across America. Often though nothing had happened to warrant the cry.

Today, Extra! Extra! seems to be an ever-present pressure imposed on our lives. Incessant cries for more, more, more make for stressful days and unsatisfying lives. Ordinary isn’t enough. Successful life requires more than earning a living, keeping a home, and nurturing a family. Pressure from institutions, employers, peers, and even personal values push for something extra to meet today’s standard for a meaningful life. And it all rests on our respective shoulders to do more, have more, and be more.

But Jesus said little about doing extra. His message affirms commands to love God and our neighbor. Acts of love and service for God and for one another become a routine part of daily life in Jesus’ message. Nothing extra.

Through Isaiah, God said “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter —when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:7-8)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, (Colossians 3:23). Notice, there is no separation between the secular and the sacred. Each day lives of others face difficult challenges. If it is not food that someone needs, they may still need nourishment for their soul; someone may have a roof over their head, but still need protection from the forces of evil around them. A person dressed in the finest clothes, may also need forgiveness for a wrong concealed deep within them.

Occasionally someone or something calls us to do extra things. But are those extras of greater importance than the routine matters confronting our lives each day. Is anything more important than teaching our children to love, or leading our co-workers to believe, or showing our neighbors how to care for one another.

There are smiles to give, helping hands to extend, and mouths to feed. There are doors to open, wounds to close, troubles to hear, and joys to share. The love of Christ is in them all.

Nothing extra required.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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