How to do Lectio Devina:
Sisters, this is really your time with the Lord. This will be a challenge but so fruitful. There will also be a short reflection. Give this a chance and see where the Lord takes you.
There are a couple of different ways to do this but there is one way that I will point out. This is a simple way to pray. A great resource here is your prayer journal.
1: Read the whole Scripture: James 2: 1-13
2: Reflect on it for a short time (3 min or more) and see if any particular verse stands out to you.
3: Read the verse that stood out to you again.
4: Reflect on it and see if a particular word stands out to you (3 min or more)
5: Reflect on the word and see what the Lord is trying to point out to you.
You can go back and read any verses that you stood out to you and just spend a short time in prayer (silence) and listening to what God wants to point out to you. God will show up. He always does.
Short Reflection
Here, I think the message is loud and clear. Don’t hold someone above someone else. God made us all equal and loves us all the same. But God did make us different and unique. We are all not the same person. We all have different temperaments and personalities so naturally we would get along with some better than others.
I recently heard a talk on family. There was a faithful married couple and they were giving testimony to their relationship and the realness of family life. Something stuck out. The father said that a parent would naturally get along with one child better than the rest. They just click well and there’s this easiness in their relationship. It didn’t mean that he loved that child more than the others but that the ease of the relationship makes it so that they can have this tendency to naturally invest more into that child. He went on to say that just because its easier to invest and go deeper with one child, doesn’t make it an excuse to not invest and build relationships with his other children even if takes more effort. So he tries to intentionally invest in all of his children equally.
This thought came into my head because it can be so easy to invest in relationships with people who I like and I get along well with. When I meet someone who might take a little more effort to stay in contact with or get along with, I’ll admit that I’m not the first one who wants to continuously reach out.
Or if someone is socially awkward, I mean yea, I will talk to them but sometimes I am in a bad mood or want to avoid them, because to me, that relationship takes extra work. Yup, that’s showing partiality. I try not to be this way but I know I do fall into this. Just because I get along with someone easier doesn’t give me an excuse to not invest in and work toward a relationship with those who might take a little more effort to get along with and whom the Lord has put in my life.
Ladies, what relationships can we work on or who is that one person we can reach out to that we might not always get along with? Relationships are so important and they help build up a community. Even if its baby steps, where can we help build someone up so that we are not showing partiality? This also reminds me of: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus didn’t say who our neighbors will be! He just said to love them.
To end, “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.” God is merciful with our shortcomings. He is always willing to take us back. This is a great gift! God knows were different and not perfect, do we also see that? Do we show/extend the same mercy to others? Because Mercy triumphs over judgment! There is so much power in mercy, which flows from this love of God. Ladies, let us be merciful in our relationships, forgiving in our hearts first, then, extending it to others.
Remember, no matter what, you are loved!
