Living in the Spirit

June 10, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. –Romans 4:13-15, 20-25

I attended a class recently on the Biodiversity Crisis. I was a little out of place surrounded by experts in the field, sometimes needing a dictionary to interpret what I was hearing. I was there because I thought I needed to know more about this whole climate change business. I am learning a lot in the class while having to stretch my mind to take in the genre of information that at times seemed like a foreign language. I was, however, blessed with being among people who could and did readily discuss in our common language. The scripture above states that Abraham would inherit the world not through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

God gave us dominion over the world; we must choose how we will care for it. If we kill the earth out of our greed, we kill ourselves. Ultimately what is right for the earth is right for us. So, like me, some of us need to learn a new relationship with the earth and all that is within it where we understand that what is good for the earth is good for us.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the fruits of the earth that nurture us and the life-giving water that sustains us. Guide us in using them wisely. 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.