John the Baptist gives simple advice to those who ask what they should do after repentance. He gives the simplest advice. If you have more than you need, share it. Don’t steal from people. Be content with what you have. The obvious question is why would we ever do anything else…and yet we do! Sometimes our fears keep us from sharing…we persuade ourselves that we need more than we do. Or maybe we persuade ourselves that the other person needs it less, or not at all. They won’t know what to do with it. I’m not really stealing. I will be content when I have one more thing. We gain everything by being honest about our struggles. The call to repentance and the proclamation of God’s love will come to us in the midst of our humanness. That is very good news. – Pastor Trudy Stoffel
