Living in the Spirit
May 29, 2018
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’
As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.
–1 Samuel 3:15-18
We serve a God who lets no words fall to the ground. God’s word can be trusted. Can ours? We live in a world of relative truth. People are hired for the sole purpose of figuring out how to word messages with lots of wiggle room. I laugh almost every time I get the solemn alert to read app use agreements or privacy statements before clicking accept. Nothing is ever straightforward. The statements are always in small print and page after page in length. The result is that we are all cynical about trusting anyone. There are even online services that are truth checkers particularly related to politicians.
Yet, Christ followers commit to living like Jesus. We attempt not to let our words fall to the ground for we serve a leader who is the way, the truth, and the life*. Jesus said ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ (John 8:31b-32) One lie usually must be cover by other lies and often requires other people to lie and that is how evil winnows its way into our beings. Truth frees us from the bonds of deceit.
Prayer: God of Truth, help us usher in a world that reflects the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. Martin Luther King, Jr. Let It Be So.
*See John 14:6