Living in the Spirit
October 6, 2017
Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:12-14
Paul cuts us some slack recognizing how hard it is to change habits of the heart. We must face the fact that what is good for us and others will in many cases be hard for us to effect. In 1991, I staffed a legislative study regarding child care which entailed holding public hearing all around the state. I drove the State Senator who was the sponsor of the project to a public hearing in Tulsa. It lasted longer than expected, was contentious, and sapped both of us of energy. We had neither one eaten before the meeting which ran well past the dinner hour. We stopped at a fast food place to grab a sandwich on our way out of town. The Senator walked in front of me to the counter. The teen behind the counter met my eyes as second in line asking what I wanted. I said she was before me. She said go ahead. He said to me what can I get for you. Clueless, and thinking do you know who she is, I said I need to look at the menu a little longer, and he finally took her order. At that point, I realized what was happening. She is black, and I am white. Why was I so slow to understand? It takes intentionality to live and love like Jesus.
Ushering in the Kingdom of God is a fulltime, full-life project. It involves every aspect of how we function in the world from reducing our carbon footprint to feeding the hungry to working toward God’s justice for all. We must press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one. * Amen.
*Matthew 6:9–13