Last night, I came home from work exhausted. Monday was a “long week,” and Tuesday was even longer. I was out of energy. I cried my laments as I ate a late dinner and had no time to relax. I got to Friday and celebrated the end of another week.

As a culture, we are in love with a sense of accomplishment. We relish marking things off our to-do list. We idolize our own laments. We bask in our productivity and letting everyone else know how hard it has been.

We wish things over, finished, spent, done, complete… I’ve never really thought about it until the moment I started writing this but one way of looking at being a good Christian is that it totally lacks any sense of completion. It’s never over. Our mission will not end. Well, that could be frustrating—and exhausting if you have been raised in a culture that celebrates a cult of accomplishment.

Being Christian is not about what I accomplish. I have created nothing. A better question is “Am I compassionate?” From where is compassion born? Do we produce compassion or is it given to us to share with those around us? If I am compassionate then it is because God has renewed my compassion each day.

I create compassion no more than I produce light in this world. If I have a light to shine then it is because God has gifted me light. Every morning new mercies, compassion, and light are shared with me as a gift.

“Great is Thy Faithfulness”- God has faith in me? God has faith in me! God renews his compassion for me every morning. God believes I can rise every day renewed with passion and compassion to carry out His mission, a never ending mission. Endless compassion given to me.

Each day dawns, and His light shines brightly in me.

It is an illusion that it is dark in this world. Just as the sun never sets, God’s love surrounds us even in the darkest hour. It is easier for you and those around you to see your light when you are in the darkness. The light is always with us, but if we are standing where the light of Christ is all around us, then anything we are saying or doing is part of what is already visibly good.

When we seek the darkness and shine the light of Christ and share compassion with those in the darkness, then we light a path for them. We are torchbearers. And may our light never falter as it is renewed each day with the compassion of our Lord.

Lord, great is Your faithfulness. Let us pray that we can begin each day renewed by Your compassion for us. May we share Your love, compassion, and light with all that we encounter each day. And when we are exhausted at the end of a day, help us to remember that this is a sign that we have done Your work and that You are the source of our renewal, Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.