Devotion: It’s Complicated
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Matthew 6:22
Worship this weekend at Sheridan healed my ailing soul. I found so much love and positivity and humble, honest, self-reflection. My heart is full.
Last week was a hard week. I’m guessing you felt it, too. A school shooting is sad enough, but it is even more tragic that we’ve become immune to them. But added was the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Seemingly half of America did not know him, and he was so endeared to the other half that they experienced him as a close friend.
I stated clearly this weekend that violence is never the answer, and that each of us must begin by first looking at ourselves. We are responsible for our own words, deeds, posts and hearts. I called each of us to pray over the content of our hearts, that we are not perpetuating violence.
In our text from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is teaching. Now known as The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus covers a wide range of important topics of his day, but here he lands on the concept of stewarding our focus. Whatever we focus on will impact and shape us. The eye is the lamp of the body, so be careful! Where you focus is what you become. And this is why he teaches to focus heavenward. We will be studying, in worship, Jesus’ words and the science stewarding focus over the next several weeks.
You know, the saddest part about the tragic events of the week to me is all the labeling. Obviously, the lives lost is the greatest tragedy. But the impact on each of us, aside from our grieving, is that many have chosen to use their grief as the means by which to label. Think about the responses to the week you’ve seen or heard. In talking about these tragedies, most people identify in one of several ways, ranging from caring to callous. And with that, most are choosing to label those with opposing viewpoints as “wrong.”
My friend, in times of tragedy, uncertainty and pain, the only labels that matter are “Christian” and “Child of God.” When we seek to steward our focus and try to humbly be our best for others, despite our differences, this is when we are at our best.
That is what I experienced this weekend at Sheridan, and I remain privileged and proud to be your pastor.
Let us pray…
Precious Jesus, lead us to set aside our labels and the labels we place on our neighbor. Help us to see ourselves as one in faith, and one in you. Please Jesus, heal our nation. Heal our hearts. And let your peace begin with me. Amen.
Written by Pastor Greg Bouvier
Pastor Greg heard God’s call to Sheridan in 1999 and that began a journey which has become his life’s work. Having played a variety of roles as pastor of Sheridan, Pastor Greg was called as the Senior Pastor in 2011. He leads the staff and his primary focus is on the creation of culture, the overall direction of worship and partnering with our amazing team. Pastor Greg has been married to Rose for more than 30 years and together they have two servant-hearted grown children.