CQOD: 12/03/05 -- Wirt: How to spot a Christian

Christian Quotation of the Day

December 3, 2005

Commemoration of Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Missionary, 1552

Meditation:
    You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
    -- Matthew 7:16-20 (ESV)

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Quotation:
    We see him exalting love for neighbor along with love for God. He reaches out to foreigners who are beyond the borders of the “Israel of God.” He seeks the release of captives, prisoners, and slaves. He denounces the scribes and religious leaders who “devour the houses of widows.” Despite his well-known requirement of loyalty that surpasses family ties, he insists that a man put the care of his own parents ahead of his obligations to his religion. His treatment of women is radically opposed to the strictures of that day. He exhibits sympathy and understanding toward children. He operates an out-patient clinic wherever he happens to be. He insists upon justice as the basis for everyday dealings between citizens. The social teaching of parables like “the good Samaritan” and incidents such as the encounter with the rich young ruler have had an effect upon his followers that cannot easily be measured. If one summary statement of Jesus’ ethics can be made, it is that love of God is best shown by love of fellow men.
    ... Sherwood Eliot Wirt (b.1911), The Social Conscience of the Evangelical [1968]

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Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I thank you for the Christian men and women around me who demonstrate the love of Christ in their lives.

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See Believer's Desktop Companion 2004
    http://www.cqod.com/cqoddtcb.html

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