Living in the Spirit
June 13, 2014
Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.–2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Apparently, according to Paul if we work at order rather than chaos; listen to our teachers; work to get along with each other; and live in peace, God will be with us. Is the opposite true? When we prefer chaos over meeting the challenges of the day, ignore the lessons of the past, actively work to be a thorn in each other’s flesh, and war with each other at every turn, God has a hard time getting near us. Or is it when we are so caught up in our own agendas we do not have time to deal with God?
Anymore when I see some of the talking heads on TV, I am reminded of banty roosters. (Although I have lived in urban areas for years, when anyone grows up on a farm it is still with him or her wherever he or she may be.) Banty roosters are smaller than other chickens and like to fight. They can make any small issue into a crisis and totally disrupt the entire barnyard. The problem is that their attitude may result from their fears of what they perceive as larger threats.
We live in a very scary world right now—a world that seems beyond our control. But we also serve a gracious God who loved us enough to share God’s Son with us, and continues to be a whisper away through the communion of the Holy Spirit. Rather than bouncing around like a frightened banty rooster, let us breathe deeply the gift of the Spirit and let God’s peace rule our lives. Who knows, it might just rub off on the rest of the world?
Prayer: God of Grace help us to let [our] light shine before others, so that they may see [our] good works and give glory to your Father in heaven Amen.–Matthew 5:16
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.