This and That
O God,
It is so easy and so tempting for us to focus on “that”: on “that person” or “that relationship” or “that opinion” or “that group.” Forgive us for those times when we do so in order—whether we realize such is our motive—to try to justify ourselves by making comparisons with others that we think cast us in a favorable light, as in “Thank you, God, that I am not like that …”
Still, help us to acknowledge that we need to pay an appropriate kind of attention to “that person” or “that group” and to the ways that they think, act, and live—to the ways that they are. But cause us to be motivated by a genuine concern to love, to understand, to relate, and to know.
It is also so easy and so tempting for us to focus on “this”: on “this life” and “this relationship” and “this opinion” and “this group.” Forgive us for those times when we are motivated by self-centeredness to live as if the point of our life is to justify ourselves, to glorify ourselves, and to protect ourselves.
Still, help us to acknowledge that we need to pay an appropriate kind of attention to “this life”; after all, we will for as long as we live have a long way to go in growing toward being who you made us to be. But cause us to be motivated by a genuine and maturing experience of your grace and your love as we have experienced them in Jesus Christ your Son so that we will show our appreciation for this life by giving it away in loving service to you and to others.
Amen.
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