Leaving the Cocoon

butterfly-leaving-the-cocoon-costa-ricaLiving in the Spirit
August 4, 2016

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. –Hebrews 11:1-3

Humans are complex creatures. Foreseen to be God’s companions on this earth, we are blessed with free will to accept that role or not. The substance of genetics that may or may not have mutated, we are the reflection of our creator, our ancestors, our environment. Each of us unique, we are instilled with special gifts and talents needed for this world to succeed. We have an awesome God who is somehow working within and through this complexity of humans to create a Kingdom ruled by love. This is God’s purpose and is our purpose.

This world seems to be in a scary place right now. Particularly here in the USA, we are divided in the strangest ways. One of the positive things about such discord, it makes us explore what is really of God and what is not. It makes us own our faith. We can no longer go through the motions of our faith systems as we have always done and be satisfied with the outcomes. What does it really mean to love God? What does it take to love our neighbors? How are we supposed to love ourselves? And who is our neighbor, anyway?

This is one of those times when we are once again struggling to escape a cocoon of spiritual development, take the nourishment we obtained from that experience and become a new creature ready to spread our wings and further fulfill our purpose. Scary, yes, it is, but what an opportunity for which God thinks we are ready. God apparently is.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage to leave our cocoons and the faith to love like you. 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.