Living in the Spirit
October 9, 2015
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. –Hebrews 4:14-16
How boldly do we approach the throne of grace? Sometimes I think I lean toward Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild* and avoid the Jesus who called the Pharisees hypocrites to their faces. Part of my reaction results from my taking offense at people who speak in the name of Christ in language I can’t image him using, espousing tenets of faith alien to my perception of the One who called us to love. The truth is we need to be both as meek and as bold as he was. It actually takes a lot of courage to be either in our world today.
Hebrews is calling us to own the grace we have received. It is the relationship we have with God that will sustain us in our quest for a better world. It is God who can enables us to manifest patience and long-suffering** when faced with entrenched and generational challenges like racism and poverty. It is God who can give us the courage to stand up and speak out against the institutional realities of our culture that feed the injustice that causes racism and poverty.
Part of the motto of Star Trek was: To boldly go where no man has gone before. We are called to boldly go where Jesus, the Christ, has already trod and cleared the way for us and will walk with us still, if we approach his grace.
Prayer: Lord guide me in my meekness and my boldness. Let your love be the energy for my action. Amen.
*Title of hymn by Charles Wesley
**Definition of the word meek. See at http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/meek
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.