Daily Devotions – Bearing Kingdom Fruit

Daily Devotions – Bearing Kingdom Fruit

 

 

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Romans 12:1-3 (NIV)

A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

 

Martin Luther referred to our everyday roles in life, such as parenting, farming, working, being a spouse, etc. as “masks of God”. This is called the “doctrine of vocation” or as the Apostle Paul said being a “living sacrifice”. We are, no doubt, broken sinners. Yet, as we follow Christ, our everyday lives are transformed into opportunities and moments in which we can serve, bless, and care for others. Bearing fruit in the Kingdom of God can be as simple as treating our employees with kindness and patience, honoring and respecting our superiors at work, taking care of the dishes after dinner so that our spouses can put their feet up for a few minutes. In what ordinary, everyday ways might God be asking you to be His “mask” so that others might be blessed, encouraged, and loved?