Living in the Spirit

October 1, 2020

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, ad see;
Have regard for this vine,
The stock that your right hand planted.

Interesting theology, God is responsible for everything and to blame for all that goes wrong. I guess it is right to a certain extent. God gave humans free will. The Bible also is full of other scriptures where God’s people are trying to understand what they had done wrong to merit a plague or drought. This scripture does not indicate that an army invaded and broke down the walls. It implies that the Israelites did not keep those walls in good repair. Our relationship with God is always a covenantal one. It includes God’s promises and any conditions we must meet like obedience, repentance, and faith. It is a connection made even stronger with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who calls us into full partnership serving as the Body of Christ in the world today. Jesus put it this way in John 15:5.

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.

Prayer: Creator God, forgive us for failing to do our part in your service to restore the world to wholeness.  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.