We are to live
as people who
are free, not to do
all we want or
are inclined to do,
but free to serve,
free to serve others,
free to serve God.
We live free
to honor all.
We live free
to love our brothers.
We live free
to fear God.
We live free
to honor
the authority
placed over us.
Photograph by Mohamed Nohassi via Unsplash. Used with permission.
Some Friday Readings
Joseph and Bros Reunion, Genesis 43 – Doug Spurling.
An Elegy for Our Fireplace – Seth Lewis
The “A” word,
the word and idea
we chafe against,
the word around
which our world
revolves: authority.
As much as we
resist it and resent
and disparage it,
it is the system
to establish order
and well-being.
And the “S” word:
submit. With
authority comes
submission, another
word and idea we
resist and resent,
that every fiber
in our being fights
against. But
submission does not
mean obedience;
it means to arrange
your life to respect
the authority placed
over you.
Photograph by Artem Balashevsky via Unsplash. Used with permission.
Some Sunday Readings
“Courtesy,” poem by Hillaire Belloc – Malcolm Guite.
Lonely in a Crowd – Madelyn Moses at Reformation 21.
“Hymn Before Sunrise,” poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Malcolm Guite.
Reading the Bible to Meet God – Barnabas Piper.
