Advent
December 12, 2014
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
We are set apart, sanctified for the work of the Lord like the Levites of the tribe of Israel. Sometimes this is referred to as the Priesthood of all Believers. The Levites got no land in the division Israel. The levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no allotment or inheritance within Israel. They may eat the sacrifices that are the Lord’s portion but they shall have no inheritance among the other members of the community; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. (Deuteronomy 18: 1-2)
When we chose to follow God the Creator through Jesus Christ with the guidance of the Set Apart Spirit, we accepted a different order to life than is commonly followed by the world. Loving God and loving God’s children became our priority and the rest of the things of life thus fall into place as a means to those ends. Yes, we do need a place to live; yes, we do need to eat and sleep; yes, we do need to interrelate and procreate; but all of our lives became refocused on serving God. In a materialistic world that is a hard concept to grasp. The rich young ruler could not accept it. (Mark 10:17-31) His problem wasn’t his wealth; his problem was that his wealth meant more to him than God meant to him. Indeed, his approaching Jesus may have been just one more attempt to add another asset to his holdings.
As with any job we may attempt, we must school ourselves in its intricacies, keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy, and most importantly maintain our linkages with God in soul and spirit. In other words, we must work for our own wholeness as we work to help others become whole in Christ.
Prayer: Creator of the universe
Keeper of my soul
God of all eternity
Never let me go*. Amen.
*From the song Make us Whole by David Hodges, which can be found at http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/david_hodges/make_us_whole.html
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.