Living in the Spirit
June 10, 2021
Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17
So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. –2 Corinthians 5:6-10
The theology of judgment has always been a paradox to me, a self-contradictory statement that is true. The word “recompense” used here describing what happens at judgment illustrates that well. Recompense means either to give compensation to, to give an equivalent for, or to return in kind–reciprocate by or as if by rewarding or avenging*
My book club just read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. The story is about two girls searching for God among a neighborhood of families who get some things right and some things wrong routinely. The confusion for the girls in separating the goats from the sheep is the paradox of judgment. Finding God in such an environment is made more straightforward or more complicated by seeing the image of Jesus in a utility pipe. We learn with the girls that God is always with us, made even more so in the presence of Jesus among us.
God’s desire for us is to choose righteousness and justice, both hard words to define and categorize as their meaning gets caught up in the interpretations of the world. However, as we grow in Spirit and truth, increasing our connectedness to God, we perceive a purer knowledge and hopefully apply that understanding in how we live our lives. We can do that every day by examining our lives against God’s righteousness and justice, making corrective adjustments along the way.
My desired image of final judgment is sitting down with Jesus over a good cup of coffee in laughter and tears with thanksgiving for the forgiveness of the knuckleheaded things I did that required course corrections, thanksgiving for the consistency of the Spirit’s presence to get me through the hard times, and the joy I shared with all God’s children when we truly practiced God’s righteousness and did justice by loving God and loving one another. Let it be so.
Prayer:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise. Amen.
*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/recompense
**First verse of Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind
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.