Living in the Spirit
August 3, 2016
Scripture Reading: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. –Psalm 50:3-6
What is sacrifice? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as:
1b: someone or something consecrated and offered to a god or spiritual being
3a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else: giving up of some desirable thing in behalf of a higher object b: something given up or lost*
This poet of Psalms is referring to the Abrahamic covenant described in Genesis 15 where God entered into an unconditional covenant sealed with God firing the altar to burn the animals Abram had offered. The culmination of the promise God made to Abram to make of him a great nation, it is not a story for the uncommitted. Making nations work requires accepting responsibilities for the well-being of one another. Making nations work for the role out of the Kingdom of God requires a commitment to the well-being of all nations.
As Christians, we have inherited this covenant in choosing to follow Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life to reconcile us to God. Jesus called us to work toward the fruition of the Kingdom of God on earth. He did not call us to create a theocratic government. He called us to live our love for him in such a way that his love eventually is the world’s standard. It happens when God’s love reflects in every aspect of our lives including our participation in any form of government in which we find ourselves.
Prayer: Lord, help us fulfill our responsibilities of Kingdom building as we live your love. Amen.
*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Sacrifice
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.