Living in the Spirit
October 19, 2022
Scripture Reading: Psalm 84:1-7
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. –Psalm 84:1-4
On a trip that had taken me to Switzerland, I climbed up a hill early in the morning to investigate a tiny church I had spotted on my walk. As I arrived at its entrance, I met a local woman who did not speak English but greeted me with a wonderful smile as she welcomed me with a sweeping hand motioning me to enter. The trip was a choir tour, and we had sung in some very beautiful European sanctuaries, small and large, ornate, and simple. This little sanctuary which could only seat maybe eight people was designed for prayer and meditation. I slipped into one of the little pews and felt a wonderful closeness to God. I do like the influence of places dedicated to God to encourage my communion with God, but I also now understand that we are all houses of God. Jeremiah speaks to God writing God’s laws on our hearts:
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. –Jeremiah 31:33
It is humbling to think that our hearts are tiny chapels where God abides and enables our loving others as God loves us.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for planting the seeds of your love in our beings so that we may spread your love to the world. 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.