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February Devotional

Author: Rev. Robert Tenglin,

Position: Interim Pastor and Retiring Member of the Conference Executive Board

Church: Trailer Estates Covenant Church Bradenton Florida
Tri Par Covenant Church Sarasota Florida

Email: rjtenglin (at symbol) aol.com

Favorite Quote: "When you open your mouth, the world becomes smaller."-- said by a woman I met in Sweden.

Books I am Reading: Books about Spiritual Direction

Music I Listen to: Piano CDs by George Daividson, Emile Pandolfi, George Winston

Do you remember receiving hand-me-downs as a child? I do, especially clothes that did’nt quite fit. Mom always tried to say the right thing to help me believe I was wearing something that looked good, but I never quite believed her. Today, I look back on my childhood with a different attitude and see that, in the hand-me-downs, someone was acting with loving care. Today I cherish the hand-me-downs we have in our home – an end table that was a wedding gift to my great grandparents, a necklace that belonged to my wife’s grandmother, a watch that was my dad’s and his father before him, a hand painted plate from Germany that belonged to my wife’s mother. The list can go on! Hand-me-downs, if we see them for what they can really be, put us in touch with some part of the story of our life. They connect us with people who cared to pass on their story. Hand-me-downs help us to see the history of our life, what happened prior to our life that has given shape to our life.

February 20th is Covenant Founders’ Day, celebrating the day, when in 1885 the Covenant Church was established in the United States by people who had a passion for handing down the story of God’s love, mercy and saving grace. As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 145:4-5, “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty and I will meditate on your great deeds.” Have you ever thought of the church that way? Have you ever thought that we are privileged to meditate upon the love and grace of God because someone handed it down to us? Take time this month to think about and cherish the hand-me-downs of faith that have shaped your life and thank God for those who handed it down to you. And then, also, think about how you and the church to which you belong is passing on the hand-me-downs of faith. We who are Covenanters in the Southeast Conference are people, called by God, to be generous in all the ways we can be in handing down the good news of Jesus Christ that shapes people’s lives today and will continue to shape people in the years to come by “seeking the lost, nurturing the faithful, transforming lives and reflecting the kingdom,” which are the core values of the Conference.

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