Living in the Spirit
October 16, 2017
Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:12-23
Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’ – Exodus 33:12-16
I do not know how many times I have sung the words They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love*. I believe that sentiment to be true. What frightens me is the many ways love seems to be defined by Christians. In some instances, we exclude people by what we consider to be their sins. Does that reflect God’s love? Other times we set people apart because of the color of their skin, their religion, or their place of origin? Does that reflect God’s love?
In all the devastation we viewed on TV over the past few months, stories of people who risk their lives for others abound. I certainly saw Christ in each of these people, though I do not know anything about their religious affiliations. Perhaps if we wish to reflect God with us, we need to turn our attention to being in sync with God rather than projecting what we have gleaned from a world that does not know God.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.*
Prayer: Lord, enable our lives to reflect your love, filtering out the world’s ways we claim as yours. Amen.
*Taken from the song We are One in the Spirit by Peter Scholtes, see at https://hymnary.org/text/we_are_one_in_the_spirit
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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.