Living in the Spirit
July 27, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. — Matthew 13:47-50

I eat a lot of strawberries and have discovered that every box of strawberries contains a diverse assortment of these tasty delicacies from barely ripe to over ripe, from small to very large. I try to eat the ripest first so they do not spoil before I get to them thus I usually finish the box with the not so ripe berries left. This morning I had a combination of both as I finished the last three berries in one box and added three berries from a new box. Refrigeration is the key to maintaining the very ripe as long as possible. Sunshine might encourage the under ripe to mature. Occasionally I find a berry with a bad spot that I cut out and rarely, but sometimes, I find one that is so rotten, I must throw it out. And so goes our example regarding fish from our scripture today.

The first thing I notice about this scripture is that every kind of fish were caught. I take that to mean that God’s desire is for all people to be included in God’s Kingdom. The second thing I notice is that God has assigned angels to separate the evil from the righteous that is not our job.

So if we believe that the Kingdom of God was initiated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, what is our role right now in regard to preparing for the full fruition of God’s Kingdom? I believe, we are called first to stay in synch with God in our own lives. If we are all capable of both good and evil, we need to be intentional in our striving for God’s good that is reflected in our love for God and our love for one another. We are also called to be stewards of the fruits of the Spirit available to everyone, working toward a world where all can experience these fruits in their fullness whether they are mature and ripe or blossoms on the vine. Our goal is to reduce as much as possible the work of those angels assigned to sort out evil.

Prayer: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me*. Amen.

*From Spirit of the Living God by Daniel Iverson

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.