Living in the Spirit
July 31, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. –2 Samuel 12:7-13

We must face the consequences of our actions. While that may mean making amends for what we do that is harmful to others, it is also important that we learn from our mistakes and change our actions accordingly. Rectifying misdeeds does not require getting caught. While repeated offenses over time my numb our consciences, the Spirit’s still small voice continues to whisper what is right to our souls. I have found practicing repentance for the small things in life provides a foundation for practicing repentance for the tougher issues.

Life is not a game. There is no magic tote board tallying up how many wins one has over others often translated as establishing some are better than others. While we all have gifts differing, we each have important and necessary gifts. The housekeeping staff enables the surgeon’s work.

I play Rummy-Cue with a group of senior citizens most Fridays after lunch together. We do not keep score. It is not unusual for one player to advise another player that they did not see an obvious move.  It is a good exercise for our minds and keeps us socially engaged. Everyone does his or her part in setting up and cleaning up. While all participants in the group are over 70 years old, we learned how to interact with one another in early childhood.

We do need to assure that every preschooler has the opportunity to learn in a safe and nurturing environment and as importantly, we need to work for a world where what they learned in preschool carries forward in all aspects of their lives.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them. — Isaiah 11:6

Prayer: Lord, help us create a world where every child is enabled to become the person you created them to be. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.