Sabbath Devotional :: Open Our Hearts to Christ

We live in a world that is quickly becoming desensitized to subtlety and nuance. So much in modern society is loud, sensationalized, and overblown. Companies include more flavoring in gum than they did in the 20th century. Music is amplified. Substantive discourse is reduced to soundbites. Billboards are flashier. We crave more and notice less.

So what is the antidote? Charity. That pure love of Christ (His for us; ours for Him and for each other) can soften the calloused spots in all of us and, by extension, society at large. As we open our hearts to Christ’s influence, we gain a greater capacity to empathize with our brothers and sisters, to act as Christ would, and to comprehend issues that are morally complex.

In our Articles of Faith, we are told, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” I am grateful for MWEG and for our collective commitment to the principles of non-violent resistance. May we continue to lift our sights, to place people first, and to seek after whatever is virtuous and of good report.

Melissa Dalton-Bradford shared the following prayer from Martin Luther King Jr. on our SSS page earlier today:

“O God, we thank you for the fact that you have inspired men and women in all nations and in all cultures. We call you different names: some call you Allah; some call you Elohim; some call you Jehovah; some call you Brahma; some call you the Unmoved Mover. But we know that these are all names for one and the same God. Grant that we will follow you and become so committed to your way and your kingdom that we will be able to establish in our lives and in this world a brother and sisterhood, that we will be able to establish here a kingdom of understanding, where men and women will live together as brothers and sisters and respect the dignity and worth of every human being. In the name and spirit of Jesus. Amen.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.