Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Hold me tender let me go

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Acts 4:32-35
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them, for from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

I need a car, specifically a late-model red convertible with leather seats and a GPS. I also need to get rid of my cold and allergies. I need a little time to get our backyard in order for the spring. And I need to pay off our mortgage.

When I allow myself to entertain possibilities, my shopping list grows quickly. Why not? God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and he loves me. Although when we talk it's mostly his love that I feel, not the pounding heedless hooves of incoming fortune.

The point of the story in Acts is that everyone gave, not that everyone received. The latter is a result of the former. If I have a car, I will give it away or at least share it. I will care for my friend who is sick. I can rake old leaves and burn broken branches for my neighbor. And we could even move in together to share the costs neither of us can afford alone. Why not? God loves us both.

Change, especially loss, often begets need. Or does it? God filled his people with the Holy Spirit, and there was always plenty. Here are two short poems by Wendell Berry, Kentucky farmer and man of letters:

A Meeting in a Part
In a dream I meet
my dead friend. He has,
I know, gone long and far,
and yet he is the same
for the dead are changeless.
They grow no older.
It is I who have changed,
grown strange to what I was.
Yet I, the changed one,
ask: "How you been?"
He grins and looks at me.
"I been eating peaches
off some mighty fine trees."

What We Need is Here
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here

When I no longer demand it I find peace, whether in solitude or in community. When I let loose the tightened tendons in my hands and open them, God will fill them up, and feed me, and release me so that I can give it all away again.

O Lord, you are God and you have made your light shine upon us. We exalt you, O God and give thanks to you. Your love endures forever.

This is the last "daily" devotion for awhile, but there should be a new devotion for each of the five remaining Sundays of the Easter season. God bless you!

Devotions Archive

Hold me tender let me go

Sunday, April 19, 2009