April 3rd

April 3rd

Read: Matt. 22:36-40; John 13:35; Matthew 5:43-48; 1 John 4:18-21; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15;  2 Corinthians 4:7

The Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace, expresses a balance of well-being in the body, mind, and spirit. God’s Word is clear that this balance cannot be achieved without love. His first and second commandments, according to Jesus, involve loving God, others, even self. This then leads to a life of symmetry, order, and balance, a life pleasing to God, effective with others, and fulfilling to self.

THE SHAPE
I yearn to make my life a shape
Of perfect symmetry,
Not just to please another’s eyes
But to fulfill what’s in me.
I would not pour it in a mold
Shaped by another’s hand
To be a duplication cast
To be used as he planned.
I would not let it e’er be pruned
As a gardener shapes a tree
To some unnatural aspect of
His own mind’s fantasy.
I’ve tried to build a goodly shape
On the Chief Cornerstone,
To firm that good foundation, then
Build on it as I’ve grown;
And now I would, as years go by,
As God corrects each flaw,
Let every part of life that’s mine
Be shaped to His first law,
And let my shape of love emerge,
The universal cast,
Until ’tis balanced, perfect, whole,
In harmony at last.

Prayer: Dear Lord, keep me balanced for You that Your purposes might be worked out through me for Your honor and glory.