Daily Devotional for April 11

 

April 11                                                             Luke 4:31-37

           Spirit of the Law

   Eight years I've watched it. Starts about November.
      Huddled kids at the back of the courtroom watch
Their mamas plead guilty for taking dolls from K-Mart.
       In Harrison's court they get the same sentence.
                    "Yes, sir, I knew what I was doin'.
                  But I couldn't let them see another
                            Christmas without no toys."
                       "Three months in the workhouse."
                      Their frightened eyes move wide,
                         Children whimper at the back.
                                           "Suspended."
                                               Relief.
 He pays the clerk to see they get the toys they took.
         Some, too, find an envelope - a turkey maybe,
                                   Or a pair of shoes.
                                       In eight years
            I've never seen Harrison so much as smile.

Dear Creator,
I get so rule-bound that I sometimes lose my perspective on
the reason we make rules to begin with. I walk a mental line
between being principle-bound and being flexible, all too often
letting others' opinions determine my stance. Please show me
a middle ground that allows me to respect the rules in this
life without sacrificing the higher principles on which they
are founded. Give me a clear vision and sure footing that will
take me with each step more surely in your direction.

​

From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.