Living in the Spirit
June 24, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning. –Psalm 130:5-6

The families of the victims of the recent mass killing were apparently well practiced in waiting for the Lord for at the accused killer’s bond hearing several of them spoke, for example: “I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you,” a daughter of Ethel Lance said. “And have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people but God forgives you, and I forgive you.”* Such an immediate response could have only come from much time committed in being in communion with God. It illustrates well the presence of the grace of God in Mrs. Lance’s life and that of her daughter. What a wonderful testimony to honor a mother!

It is extremely challenging to develop the practice of waiting on the Lord letting God guide and direct us as we respond to the issues of daily life. It is, however, a habit of the heart worth pursuing. Paul uses the example of athletes. In order to play a game, run a race, or perform a gymnastic routine, one has to be in really good shape, which comes from daily routines of practice. The patterns of their sport are so encoded in their brains that their reactions are automatic.

We live in a world where hitting back, road rage reactions, bullying, and put downs seem to be what is encoded in our brains. It is these little habits of discord that lead to general societal dysfunction. Evil can create synergy where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Christ calls us to build our lives around God’s love reflected in our love. The whole world will benefit from loves synergy.

Prayer: Lord, help us develop as spiritual athletes, exercising our loving until it is our well-honed automatic response to everything. Amen.

 *http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/charleston-church-shooting-main/
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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.