Living in the Spirit

June 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 3:22-33

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
   ‘therefore I will hope in him.’

For the Lord will not
   reject forever.
Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
   according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not willingly afflict
   or grieve anyone. –Lamentations 3:2-24, 31-33

God could be considered guilty of causing grief because he gifted us with free will. People cause grief on themselves and others. I watched the movie Selma recently and was surprised to hear the actor playing Martin Luther King, Jr. says God was the first one to cry for your son. I first heard that phrase following the Oklahoma City Bombing when it was significant to a whole community and the families directly involved. I do not know who said it first, but its original source might have been the scripture above when that author states for [God] does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone. How hard being God must be when he trusts us to do justly and practice righteousness.

Our closet human experience in emulating God is raising children, which is similar to forming Christ-followers*. Hebrews 5.12-13 states For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness.

Our faith growth must be pursued intentionally. We watch our children struggle to roll over, crawl, and walk while they explore, constantly making sense of the world around them. With toys and games, loving hugs, and redirection to safety, they learn the art of being an individual capable of self-care. Most of us were introduced to God by other people. As we mature, we establish our relationship with God based on our experience and study. Paul dealt with the faith growth of adults all the time, often adults who grew up with the concept of many gods. In 1 Corinthians 13:11, he writes, When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

Today we struggle with varied theologies of God and the influx of many gods we do not even recognize as gods. I thank God for the gift of God’s Son, who dwelt among us and shared his wisdom and truth. We would do well to enrich our connection to his way of being and his teachings.

Prayer:  Eternal Parent, guide us back to the fundamentals of faith taught in word and in deed by Jesus. Amen.

*For a rather technical description of faith-development see James Fowler’s book Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning

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.