Living in the Spirit

August 26, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to, do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. –Hebrews 13:7-8, 15-16

I just caught the difference in the above scripture between considering the outcomes of our leaders’ ways of life and imitating their faith. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of the lord (See ROMANS 3:23), including our faith leaders. We hear clergy being castigated about everything from egregious sexual abuse clergy to failure to return a telephone call. Indeed, the clergy is always being viewed closely for their behavior. They are caught in a special web of being observed and judged. All Christ-followers need to live their lives as closely as we can in step with Christ’s ways. Even Jesus did not meet the test of the religious leaders at times. He healed on the sabbath, picked grain on the sabbath, and ate with sinners, among other actions. We are all called to examine ourselves regularly and consider the outcomes of our way of life so we can realign our ways with Jesus’s ways. Jesus’s beneficial characteristic is that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We just need to recalibrate to that source of unchanging eternal love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we fall short of our commitment to your service. Please lead us to follow the better way. 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.