Living in the Spirit

October 5, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 80:7-15
Restore us, O God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
   you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
   it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
   the mighty cedars with its branches;
it sent out its branches to the sea,
   and its shoots to the River.
|Why then have you broken down its walls,
   so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
   and all that move in the field feed on it.

Turn again, O God of hosts;
   look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
   the stock that your right hand planted.

This psalm brought to mind John 15:4-5, Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

God had a purpose for bringing the Israelites out of Egypt: spreading God’s way of being throughout the world. Granted, there was a lot of violence and greed described in that history.  People did not always get it right. I am sorry to say we still don’t. Still, we have that same call today, branching out to love our neighbors worldwide as we build the beloved community.

Prayer: Lord, abide with us and help us fulfill your vision of a world ruled by 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.