Living in the Spirit
June 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. –2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1

The snap, crackle, and pop of arthritic joints greeted me this morning as I arose from my bed foot to floor, stood, and stretched my arms high. It has become a routine sound in my life reminding me that I am alive and thus have things to accomplish today. It doesn’t hurt and I am thankful that I still have working ears to hear it. I somehow recoil at the phrase wasting away though, true as it may be. While our bodies may be wasting away, the building, Paul describes we have from God is developing as an even stronger structure in its preparation for the great day when justice exists throughout the earth.

I work at keeping my body going as it wastes away. Brush and floss my teeth, exercise daily, try to eat right, and get a decent amount of rest trying to postpone disabling results as much or more than extending life.  According to the Oklahoma Department of Health the two leading causes of poor health in Oklahoma are obesity and tobacco use, both of which are in our control, hard as it is to break the lifestyle that supports them.

We need to work at strengthening our spiritual lives as well. What are the leading causes of poor spiritual lives for you? What are you doing to reverse their course? I must confess I do a lot of the “right” things not unlike the leaders of faith throughout the Bible. I go to church most Sundays, facilitate a Sunday school class, serve on various teams, and support it financially. While I still think these activities are important parts of my faith development my need to be attentive to the spiritual development of the others in my life is very important and may at times get lost in the busyness of the church. Imagining myself as part of the Body Christ helps me set priorities in what I do and say.

Prayer: Lord, make us one in the Spirit, grow us together so that our skills and talents complement each other as your Kingdom comes. Amen.

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.