Jesus’ Ministry
February 22, 2019
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50
Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. –1 Corinthians 15:45-50
God is spirit possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting*
What is the essence of a human? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? God is often drawn in our physical image. Paul suggest here that we might want to examine more closely God’s demonstrable action-related traits to fine the source of our image. We invest millions of dollars every year working on our physical attributes from makeup to haircuts, exercise to diet. When we examine Jesus’ life, we are given few if any hints about his physical appearance, but we are provided story after story demonstrating how he acted. He welcomed children, fed the hungry, healed the sick, and taught life lessons in most of those stories.
Synchronizing our way of being with Jesus’ is a good place to find who we are and what we are called to do in advancing the Kingdom of God.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me**.
Prayer: Lord, broaden our understanding of your example as a guide to developing our spirits. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm
**Spirit of the Living God by Daniel Iverson The UM Hymnal, No. 393 see at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-spirit-of-the-living-god