Daily Devotional for October 28

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October 28                                                 Matthew 12:33-42

My friend Denise, a bright, energetic woman blessed with a
rare zest for life, sometimes speaks so rapidly in her excite-
ment that strangers look at her with confusion. They simply
aren't accustomed to coping with so many words spoken so
quickly.

My friend Jay, on the other hand, lets words roll lazily off his
Southern tongue, sometimes speaking so slowly that listeners
try to fill in the blanks, often completing his sentences for him.

Whether our words flow quickly like Denise's or slowly like
Jay's, they are powerful things, capable of inflicting much pain
or bestowing much joy. In today's passage, Christ
acknowledges the power of words, telling us they come from
"the abundance of the heart." Our hearts will be judged, we're
told, by the words we speak.

As humans and as Christians, we all remember times when
we've said things we later regretted. How vivid the pictures
are of the pained faces our careless words have caused. We
can be thankful that our God is forgiving, the judgment
merciful.

We can also praise God for times when we are able, through
our words, to bring comfort and encouragement to others,
and for the joy that others have poured out to us through kind
words.

Although Denise and Jay deliver their words in vastly different
ways, no two people are more capable of making me smile
and, yes, even laugh out loud.

Denise and I met more than a dozen years ago when we
worked together in a small South Carolina mill town. Jay and
I met at church a few years back. Both friends have been there
when I needed them, offering words of support, comfort, and
encouragement.

Because I have heard my friends' words, I believe I know their
hearts. I feel sure Jesus does, too.

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

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.198