Devotional Reading; I John 2: 1-11

Text: Anyone who claims to live in the light of God’s love but hates a brother or sister is still in darkness. (vs. 9)

When my father-in-law died I inherited his rock polisher; a rubber cylinder attached to a system of pulleys and a motor. It was a hobby that he took up in retirement. The way the rock polisher works is that you put selected stones into the polisher, add water and increasingly finer “grit” over a number of weeks, seal the stones in the polisher, turn it one and walk away. It takes time and patience but the finished product is a beautifully polished stone ready to be set in a tie clasp, necklace or bracelet.

I think that the community of Jesus followers–a congregation and the Church–are a lot like a rock polisher. When we commit to a certain fellowship we put ourselves in the mix of others rocks. Through the course of time and experience we begin to rub the rough edges off of one another, by the grace of God. Eventually we become polished stones that reflect the One in Whose Image we are made.

Our job, as a committed community of Jesus followers, is to learn to love one another, even the ones that we think have the roughest edges. Frankly, they probably think that we have some pretty rough edges, too.

Lord God, teach me how to love others just as you love me. Especially teach me how to love those who I do not like or trust. Help me to see that we are all a part of Your great family. Amen.