Devotional Reading: John 10: 1-18. Morning Psalm 5; Evening Psalm 27.

Text: I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (Jesus, John 10: 16)

Protestant Reformer John Calvin once said that there are two Churches–the Visible and the Invisible. The Visible Church is the one that gathers on Sunday morning. The Invisible Church is the True Church known only to God. It could be that not everyone in the Visible Church is in the Invisible Church and vice versa. Reality is known only in God’s Heart.

I’ve always liked John 10:16. It reminds me not to judge the legitimacy of another’s faith journey. I believe that God often speaks to us through the circumstances of life. My job as a Christian is not to judge another person but to learn to love them. The epistle of I John tells us that God is love and that perfect love casts our fear. It goes on to say that all who abide or live in the presence of God, lives in love. If we want to grown closer to God, we must learn to love more.

In this season of Lent you and I need to exercise our spiritual muscles of love. through the disciplines of regular worship, prayer, fellowship with a faith community, and the sacraments. We also need to consciously do loving acts, expecially to those who do not agree with us, with whom we have little in common with, and those that we do not like. The more we consciously exercise this spiritual muscle, the more muscle memory we will develop. The more muscle we develop, the more natural our love will become.

Lord, you have given me a loving heart. Help me to strengthen it. Help my love grow so that others will see You in what I do, for Your glory. Amen.