Tuesday 13 August

Deuteronomy 31:1-8, Cant. Deuteronomy 32:3-4,7-9, Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14

Life as performance or surrender to God

Being disciples of a wandering rabbi was demanding. They competitively sought affirmation. This lesson must have been shocking. We list child-like qualities; innocence, playfulness, spontaneity, curiosity, thinking, “We should be like that!” But Jesus gave an object lesson in humility. The one who humbles himself is greatest ... Children then had no social status. They were utterly dependent beginners. I’m tempted to treat life as a performance. It’s extraordinarily freeing to stop the effort to impress and admit radical ongoing need for God. Humility stops competition and leads us to peace. Am I performing for God, or surrendering to God?