Living in the Spirit
November 8, 2020
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-13
‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. —Benjamin Franklin
If 95% of people wore a mask as recommended to prevent COVID-19, 130,000 lives could be saved by February. — (NPR)
The best way to better overall health is to eat right and exercise regularly.
The best way to stop abortions is to prevent unplanned, unwanted pregnancies.
We humans tend to enjoy gambling with our lives and in the case of wearing masks, the lives of others. I wonder if that is a modern reality or an eternal trait. I have noticed that the worst sins our culture identifies relate to limited populations of people of whom the self-appointed sin judges of our society are not members. Those change over time. History tells us that being left-handed was a sin otherwise known as the mark of the devil before the 20th century. Adultery was once a capital crime. I guess it has reached herd immunity of acceptance because it seems to have dropped out of the top ten sin ratings. Self-righteousness may have become this culture’s greatest sin.
The only absolute in God’s Kingdom is love. The only herd immunity in God’s Kingdom is love. All of our ways of being must be driven by love.
Prayer: Lord of Love, open our hearts and minds to setting our priorities within the bounds of your love. 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.