Daily Devotional for June 26, 2015

Matthew 23:11-12
“Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

• Tywanza Sanders, age 26 - Bible study member, college graduate, and barber who hoped to open his own barbershop
• Clementa C. Pinckney, age 41 – pastor of Emmanuel A.M.E. church and South Carolina state senator
• Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, age 45 – pastor, speech therapist and track coach at Goose Creek High School
• Depayne Middleton-Doctor, age 49 - pastor, school administrator, and admissions coordinator at Southern Wesleyan University
• Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, age 54 – Bible study member and manager for the Charleston County Public Library System
• Myra Thompson, age 59 – Bible study teacher and former middle school teacher for the Charleston County School District
• Ethel Lee Lance, age 70 – former custodian at Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, and church custodian for roughly 30 years at Emmanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston, South Carolina
• Daniel L Simmons, Sr., age 74 –  a Vietnam vet with a Purple Heart, retired pastor, and member of Mother Emmanuel’s ministerial staff
• Susie Jackson, age 87 – Bible study and church choir member, known for her generosity to those in need...and great-aunt to Tywanza Sanders

These nine servants stood out…but not in the way you might think.  Never in a million years did a single one of them expect to be gunned down on a Wednesday night as they attended a church Bible study.  None of them hesitated to welcome a 21-year-old white man into their group to hear God’s word and pray with him.  It was not in their thoughts on that mid-week night that “this is the moment that God will use us in a profound way to make a mark on this earth”…much less that He would call them Home.  And yet, all of these things happened…to humble servants.

Each of these individuals now stands out in our minds…or they should.  Each person named here made their life count for plenty – by being themselves and serving God with grace, as President Obama so eloquently stated in his eulogy of Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney today.  We should remember them…not because they were puffed up and important…but because in their humility and reverence, they served and honored God - and made a difference.

I have noted this before, but I’ve thought a lot about what could be said of me in such a situation.  I’ve pondered how I might have reacted…and how I would be remembered.  Would I be someone who was “in the right place at the right time”…and by that, I mean serving or worshipping God with my words, thoughts and actions in every area of my daily living?  Am I quietly and humbly making a difference because of God’s grace over my life?  Or am I more concerned with what’s in all of this for me?

Does it matter to you – and to me – what others think of us… how much and how often our efforts are recognized?  Are we serving to be seen and heard…or to honor the tremendous gifts that God has bestowed up on us?  Are we more interested in standing out than standing up for God – and extending His grace to others?  Can we learn from the example of these nine individuals and change our attitudes and our actions to more closely demonstrate the love, grace, mercy and forgiveness of our amazing God?  Don’t you think we should?
 
©2015 Debbie Robus