Children, Love One Another
A Daily Devotional Based on Sermons by Rev. Dr. Norman R. Lawson
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GOD IS THE LION
1988
John 1:1 and 14
In Kenya, a Masai elder observed that the Swahili word most missionaries used to convey the word “faith” was not a very good word in their language. The word they were using for “faith” meant literally, “to agree to.” It was a rather passive word, as in operating from a distance. For one to really believe, said the Masai elder, is more like a lion going after its prey. A lion’s nose and ears sense the prey. He sniffs the air and locates it. Then he crouches, and slithers along the ground virtually invisible. The lion gets into position, then pounces. As the animal goes down, the lion envelops it in his arms, pulls it to himself, and makes it a part of himself. This, said the elder, is the way one believes, making faith a part of oneself!
The analogy continues, as one considers that although we believe we are seeking God, it is really him seeking us. As John writes, “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to die for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). So often in this life, we think we have to search out God, stalk God, pounce on God, and make God take us in. In fact, it is God who has made us, and it is we who have wandered. We may have thought we were the lion, while in fact; God is the lion, seeking us. Faith is to embrace that reunion like a lion embraces the catch. God is the lion, our part is the embracing.
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About the Book
“Let us draw near to God” (Hebrews 10:19). There is no separation from God, apart from our own sin, which causes us to move away. Baptism in the Spirit has washed and purified us to stand in his presence. Draw near each day by daily inviting the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds.
Norman Lawson was a United Methodist pastor who served from 1956 to 2012. While cleaning her parents’ storage unit ten years ago, his daughter, Dr. Kathleen Polo, unearthed a box filled with more than fifty years of his sermons, rich with spiritual insight that paralleled the current events of several decades in American history. After pulling thirty meditations from the sermons and presenting them to her father on his eightieth birthday, Kathleen eventually decided to create a compilation of these inspirational writings for every day of the year.
Within a daily devotional inspired by the work of the Holy Spirit, Kathleen shares insight into faith, current world struggles, and biblical truths intended to enrich the faith journey and stimulate the mind. Throughout the writings, Kathleen offers encouragement to believers to be bearers of Christ’s light, to show love for others while following the path of Jesus, to let God’s truth find us, and much more.
Children, Love One Another is a collection of daily devotionals that invites spiritual seekers to open their souls to a heartfelt interpretation of God’s love.
About the Author
Kathleen B. Polo, MD grew up in the home of long-time United Methodist pastor, Norman R. Lawson. She spent years as a physician in the Army, living with her family in Washington D.C., Hawaii, Germany, and Colorado. She now resides with her husband, near her children, father, and sister in Washington State where she is enjoying every aspect of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.