by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Read Ecclesiastes 1:1–11
Although I can remember the names and a little about the lives of my grandparents, I would struggle to tell you the names of all my great-grandparents or anything about their lives.
Then I think about my grandchildren and realise they know virtually nothing about my parents and previous generations. I’m sure we could all agree with the sentiment expressed in today’s verse.
We will spend today and the next four days looking at the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Before you open your calendar app and set a reminder to resume reading LCA devotions next Saturday and skip these five days, let me encourage you to persevere. God has put every book of the Bible there for a reason and has a message for us. I pray that God has a message for you in what he gives me to write. You may also like to read the whole book before we proceed with these devotions.
The first verse of this book indicates that the author is King Solomon. God blessed King Solomon to be one of the wisest people in history. He is also believed to be the author of the biblical book Song of Songs and to have collected many proverbs.
In Ecclesiastes, the author conducts a series of scientific experiments to find the meaning of life. In reflecting on this, I think we are all doing the same, but probably not as scientifically as Solomon. As young children, we are absorbed in play. As teenagers, we are trying to discover who we are. As young adults, we seek acceptance through our friendship circles and employment. Then, we aim to perpetuate our identity through our children, moving on to get ourselves financially secure and finally retiring to contemplate what we have achieved with our lives. Maybe we will even write up our life stories to perpetuate our legacies.
Solomon tries a range of activities to find meaning and fulfilment but comes up empty each time. Most of these things are things we also do to try to discover meaning and purpose. Spoiler alert: The conclusion Solomon comes to is that we only find that meaning and purpose through our relationship with God and by surrendering our lives to the plans he has for us.
Most of us, me included, didn’t want to hear that when we were younger and tried looking elsewhere. I thank God he didn’t give up on me and gently led me to accept Solomon’s conclusion.
Heavenly Father, I accept that life without you is meaningless. Please help me to listen to your Spirit as we dive into the Book of Ecclesiastes and to find meaning and purpose in your plans for us. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Faith made beautiful
by Anita Foster
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… so that in everything they may be an ornament to the teaching of God our Saviour (Titus 2:10b).
Read Titus 2:1–10
In this passage from the Book of Titus, Paul writes to a new Christian community in Crete about living in a way that increases the attractiveness of the gospel message and makes it credible. He uses the words ‘ornament’ or ‘adorn’ to describe the way the lives of believers can make the gospel message beautiful.
In the text, Paul addresses the actions of people of different ages, genders, stages and stations of life. He speaks about self-control: being sound in faith, love and endurance; being reverent; not slandering or being enslaved to too much wine; teaching what is good; being loving partners and children; and being kind and good managers of the household. These things are part of the everyday-ness of life – the ‘in everything’ of life. We’re not talking about big, dramatic acts of faith or super-intelligent or influential arguments, but the fact that faithfully living a life of integrity is a crucial part of witnessing to the gospel.
People in our world are so sick of hypocrites and being disappointed by leaders. A prominent Christian writer was recently exposed as having an eight-year extramarital affair. We understand that none of us are exempt – we are all tempted by sin and fall short of God’s glory – it’s part of the human condition. We also know that God’s grace extends even to the darkest parts of life. But when recognised Christian writers or speakers behave in a way that is incongruent with a life of faith, it casts a shadow over the credibility of their teaching and their proclamation of the gospel.
To be clear, Paul is not saying that our actions save us – earlier and later in Titus, he asserts that salvation comes from God’s grace alone. But once received, grace can reshape a life. The Greek verb kosmeo, translated in this verse as ‘ornament’ or ‘adorn’, does not just relate to decoration or appearance. It means to arrange, put in order or make something beautiful by fitting it well. A life that is ordered or arranged by grace truly becomes a thing of beauty. Not to draw attention to itself, but to point to Jesus.
God of grace, we thank you for your incredible gifts to us. We ask that your Holy Spirit order and shape our lives in ways that reflect the beauty of the gospel, becoming a living testimony to the transforming work of Christ. Amen.
Anita Foster lives in Melbourne’s outer east with her husband and three teen and tween daughters. She is the Director of Faith and Formation at Luther College in Croydon, and she loves teaching, theatre, being in nature and finding new ways to express her creativity.
How much does it cost?
by Anita Foster
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So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions (Luke 14:33).
Read Luke 14:31–35
Wow! Jesus is bringing out the big guns … again. This time, it refers to the cost of being a disciple. Reading this passage, I am reminded of the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, pastor, seminary teacher and resistance operative against the Nazis during World War II. Bonhoeffer’s work calls Christians to embrace ‘costly grace’ and warns against ‘cheap grace’.
Bonhoeffer says that ‘Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance … Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate’.
Bonhoeffer explains that by contrast, ‘Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a [person] will gladly go and sell all that [they have] … it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves [their] nets and follows him.’
This kind of grace is costly, because it calls us to follow. However, it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ – the one who offers true life. Costly, because it asks us to pick up our cross, and it cost God the life of his only Son. Bonhoeffer says it is grace because ‘God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us’.
Sometimes, it can be tempting to leave the gospel at the nice, warm, fuzzy feeling of being loved and forgiven. Or to leave it for a Sunday morning church service. But true discipleship is costly. It inspires commitment, obedience and sacrifice, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, is transformative in our lives. By embracing spiritual growth in community over personal comforts, we can experience a grace that enables us to live a life in response to the amazing gift we have been given. This true life that Jesus offers is worth the cost.
Lord God, free us from clinging to comfort, and lead us into the true life found in Christ. Holy Spirit, strengthen us to walk the path of costly grace with faith and courage. Amen.
Anita Foster lives in Melbourne’s outer east with her husband and three teen and tween daughters. She is the Director of Faith and Formation at Luther College in Croydon, and she loves teaching, theatre, being in nature and finding new ways to express her creativity.
Seasoned for peace
by Anita Foster
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Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50).
Read Mark 9:42–50
The start of this passage in Mark can be quite confronting! When it warns about giving in to the temptation of sin, it’s graphic and straight to the point. Once again, Jesus encourages us to reflect on our actions and how they might impact others’ faith. The extreme language Jesus uses emphasises how deeply God cares about the things that can damage and corrupt life, faith and community.
The final verse of the passage utilises the image of salt, a recurring picture in Jesus’ teachings. Have you ever added too much salt to a dish you’ve cooked? When making butter chicken during the COVID-19 lockdown, my husband accidentally read a teaspoon of salt as a tablespoon in the recipe. Let me tell you, the dish was intense! But what about when something is lacking in salt or flavour and is just bland? Asian flavours often have the perfect blend of sweetness, sourness, spiciness and saltiness. Jesus affirms that salt is good – especially in those days, when it was used as a seasoning, a fertiliser, an antiseptic and a preservative. Salt brings the flavours of foods to life and keeps them good for longer.
But it can lose those salty properties. If salt is exposed to moisture or diluted, it can become less salty. Particularly in Jesus’ time, rock salt could become contaminated by pollutants, like gypsum dust from the Jordan River Valley, rendering it less salty and therefore useless. Salt was also highly valued and used in Jewish grain offerings and to demonstrate friendship and covenant.
How can we, as disciples, stay salty? What is Jesus saying when he encourages us to have salt in ourselves and to be at peace with one another? It would likely involve living a life that stays connected to God’s gracious covenant relationship with us. To act in ways that avoid the corruption and damage of life, faith and community.
To be at peace with one another is a significant final note – it shows the value Jesus places on humility, forgiveness, service and not arguing about who is best. (A tiny bit earlier in Mark, we hear about the disciples arguing on the road about who is the most important.) By coming together in unity and peace, we can proclaim the gospel of Christ to the world in a way that brings out its ‘God flavour’ most effectively.
God of covenant, preserve us in your love so that we may bring life and peace to others. Teach us to live in unity, reflecting the flavour of your kingdom in the world. May our lives be seasoned with grace, humility and peace. Amen.
Anita Foster lives in Melbourne’s outer east with her husband and three teen and tween daughters. She is the Director of Faith and Formation at Luther College in Croydon, and she loves teaching, theatre, being in nature and finding new ways to express her creativity.