Living in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 2, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. — Philippians 3:7-11

While traveling in Turkey recently, I traveled the paths of Paul as he spread the good news about Jesus throughout what was then Asia Minor. Walking through the ruins of Ephesus, I felt like I was walking through Paul’s writings. The crumbled walls of ancient temples to the gods of the day surrounded me. The pillars where the “in crowd” had their names carved to show their believed superiority were also broken and worn. Some new followers of Christ had lamented to Paul that their names could never be on these all important status symbols. Paul starts this scripture with a laundry list of his credentials, which are impressive and then he says they are meaningless when compared to being in relationship with Christ.

We still live in a world where it seems status symbols and acquisitions matter more than people, where teenagers attack other teens for their name brand shoes, and where, the grand buildings are cleaned and maintained by workers being paid wages that will not support their families.

We as members of the Body of Christ are called, like Paul, to tell the world the truth: People do matter. God loves all God’s children. God loves us so much that God sent Jesus Christ into the world to show us a better path. People of that day caught up in the hunger for power and greed, even religious leaders, were so fearful of his message that they killed him. But God said that is not the end of the story and restored him to life. As Paul says in this scripture there is nothing, no status symbol or acquisition that is more important than that.

Oklahoma Fact: For the 2014 school year, 46% of Oklahoma City Schools received an Fin the state Education Department’s rankings.*

Prayer: Lord of All, let us be a blessing to all your children as a demonstration of our love for you and our love for all those who were created in your image. Amen.

*The Oklahoman, Sunday, September 21, 2014, page 1A

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.