Living in the Spirit

November 11, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25

And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, ‘he sat down at the right hand of God’, and since then has been waiting ‘until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.’ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy
Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
   after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
   and I will write them on their minds’,
he also adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.—Hebrews 10:11-14

Love is not something anyone can command. Love of self, love of family, love of God must be a choice. The words “free will” are not included in the above scripture, but they are present between the lines. The greatest gift God gave us in creating us was the right to choose who and how we love. That gift was given from the One who is love and, in creating humans in that One’s image, freely chose to love each of us no matter what. God’s love and Christ were present at the creation and continued through the many acts of rescuing and reframing of God’s people described in the Hebrew Bible. God enabled those who chose to love him, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, and many prophets, to provide guidance and opportunities to live the better way of life ruled by love. God even wrote those laws on human hearts, making them readily accessible. Humans, however, proved to be malleable to the temptations of other gods, drawing away from the One who created them. God never gives up. God came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus, who taught us by his life and his words and ultimately gave his life for our salvation. However, God is God, and crucifixion was not the last word. Jesus, the Christ, arose and dwells with us still in the Holy Spirit. His act of love granted us the grace we needed to live in God’s house forever as we strive toward perfecting our ability to love.

At times our growing pains are palpable. We now, unfortunately, live in such a time as this. In many ways, we are acting like a two-year-old transitioning from infancy to childhood. Greed, lust for power, and self-righteousness have replaced justice and God’s righteousness, as we worship gods of our design. Continuing down this path has never worked before and will not work this time. Our world was created to function at its best when it is ruled by love, and we are suffering from not accepting that reality. The time is now to turn around and refocus our lives on God’s way of being, individually and collectively, until we are all one in God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our foolish ways. We invite your Spirit into our lives to restore our souls individually and collectively as we strive to become one in 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.