Living in the Spirit

October 3, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

The law of the Lord is perfect,
   reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
   making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
   rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
   enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
   enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
   and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
   even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
   and drippings of the honeycomb. –Psalm 19:7-10

I just heard on the news that another pedestrian had been hit by a car and killed in Oklahoma City.  Such events have been happening more and more. People do not follow the rules of the road. I do not know if I get more frustrated with people who never use a turn signal or never turn it off after making the turn. We all, at times, get distracted while driving, with our minds set more on what is going on at our destination than the process of getting there.  That is why it is so important to build habits out of good practices so that our right response to life situations can be automatic. In sports, it is called muscle memory. If we practice enough and maintain our muscles through exercise, we, as a catcher, receive the football automatically and run in for a touchdown, or the basketball is tossed perfectly to allow the shooter to score.  

God’s laws create spiritual memory. If we practice God’s laws daily, our right response to life challenges becomes automatic. I heard a report of a shooting at our state fair recently. Two teenagers, one 15 and the other 16, got into an argument that ended in one getting shot and the other running away. A couple of days later, the news reported that as most ran away after hearing the shots fired, a nearby 14-year-old boy immediately ran to the one who was shot and started applying pressure to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrived. That was pure spiritual memory at work; he had already established in his young life, the memory that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, guide us to maintain our spiritual memory of living well exercised. 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.