Living in the Spirit
July 16, 2018
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
–2 Samuel 7:5-9
Children’s hospital was in the midst of major construction when I first went to work there. The social work section was moved from place to place because moving us only disrupted staff. Patient care always came first. We understood this and became rather skilled at making do in crowded small places. The building plans made provisions for a nice space eventually where every social worker had a small but private office. We delighted in the day we were moved from one of those tiny spaces to our new offices. As the supervisor of this staff, I got a slightly larger office and soon discovered that all my staff was often in my office when they were not working with patients. We were all having difficulty accepting our newly found privacy. We had a good laugh about the challenges of change, even good change, and gradually staff grew to love their own offices finding ways to use them to provide better services while maintaining esprit de corps.
Our whole beings must adapt to change. That is also true when our calling as God’s servant shifts to new avenues of service. David’s call to shepherd the people of Israel had not changed. He was very successful in leading them from wars to “green pastures.” What do servants of God do in green pastures? The focus changes. Rather than resting on their laurels so to speak David and the Israelites needed to take the time to discern their new purpose within God’s plan. Nathan sagely carried this message to David.
Jesus told a parable about a very successful farmer whose crops exceeded his storage. He thus set out to build bigger and grander barns. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ (Luke 12:16-21) The story of Joseph, son of Jacob, looking forward to a likely famine in Egypt stored grain for later use. Motives matter. Being righteous and just in our behavior matters. Maintaining a constant connectedness with God through regular practices of spiritual disciplines are essential.
God’s work will never be done until a world ruled by love exists in full fruition for all God’s people.
Prayer: God, as we attain one goal, help us to see our next steps in developing a world ruled by love. Amen.