I continue to read from Ephesians. This morning I read 5:16 - "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
It isn't all that difficult to understand God's will; the difficult thing is living by God's will. I don't mean to imply that all choices are simple, or that all decisions should come with ease. But we cloud the situation by imagining all sorts of options or pretending that there are extenuating circumstances. In most cases, the will of God is easily known. The difficult thing is living by God's will.
It is God's will that we would live happy and productive lives. There are any number of ways that we could move toward this end. We might continue our study of engineering; we might choose to study secondary education. God's will is that we live a happy and productive life; God's will is not linked to one particular career path.
It is God's will that we care for neighbor and provide for his bodily needs. God's will cannot be identified with one political agenda or another; we might move toward God's will by "tax and spend" or by encouraging "individual responsibility."
I don't mean to imply that there are no specific actions called for in our following of Jesus; merely that we sometimes confuse following God's will with knowing our precise next step. It is easier to follow God when we look at the end toward which all this is leading and allow our feet to find the path.
"Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Finding complications or mitigating circumstances is one way of avoiding doing what it is that the Lord asks of us.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, January 19
I wrote yesterday of a verse in Ephesians. Another caught my attention this morning. It is Ephesians 5:1. "Therefore be imitators of God."
We typically don't hear encouragement to be "imitators." In our self-made world, we are more likely to be encouraged to "be our own person." Perhaps we will observe another, in an attempt to pick up a skill set or capability; but we are seldom encouraged to "be imitators." TV ads poke fun at imitators, as in "imitated but never duplicated."
Perhaps this is one of the reasons Christianity has a difficult time catching on in our society. We find it difficult to embrace Ephesians 5:1. Too few have read (or applied to their lives) the devotional classic of Thomas a Kempis "Imitation of Christ." We want to be our own person. Somewhere along the way, we have confused being self-determined with being faithful. We ignore the call to imitation, replacing instead our innovation.
"Therefore be imitators of God."
What would that be like? We would surely be patient and understanding of others. We would love them - even those who did not love us in return. When things go badly, we would step in to take the heat upon ourselves, relieving the suffering of the other. And, of course, there is the sacrifice - of our time, our energies, our money.
"Therefore be imitators of God."
Give it a try, today. See how it goes. If you can, share your experiences as a response to this post. And when the day is over, express to God how it went - was it easy to imitate Him? Perhaps those same prayers might include appreciation for what God (and maybe God alone) is able to do.
We typically don't hear encouragement to be "imitators." In our self-made world, we are more likely to be encouraged to "be our own person." Perhaps we will observe another, in an attempt to pick up a skill set or capability; but we are seldom encouraged to "be imitators." TV ads poke fun at imitators, as in "imitated but never duplicated."
Perhaps this is one of the reasons Christianity has a difficult time catching on in our society. We find it difficult to embrace Ephesians 5:1. Too few have read (or applied to their lives) the devotional classic of Thomas a Kempis "Imitation of Christ." We want to be our own person. Somewhere along the way, we have confused being self-determined with being faithful. We ignore the call to imitation, replacing instead our innovation.
"Therefore be imitators of God."
What would that be like? We would surely be patient and understanding of others. We would love them - even those who did not love us in return. When things go badly, we would step in to take the heat upon ourselves, relieving the suffering of the other. And, of course, there is the sacrifice - of our time, our energies, our money.
"Therefore be imitators of God."
Give it a try, today. See how it goes. If you can, share your experiences as a response to this post. And when the day is over, express to God how it went - was it easy to imitate Him? Perhaps those same prayers might include appreciation for what God (and maybe God alone) is able to do.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Devotion - Tuesday, January 18
In Ephesians 4.32, we read: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
I realize it is a translation, and I don't have the Greek word in front of me at the moment, but I am taken with the use of the word "tenderhearted." I often use the word to describe my 6 ft 2 inch son. He worked as a nurses aid at a local hospital and was often called in to sit with patients who were not following the doctors instructions. He tended to be called when the patient was also a large person. At one point he was told to show up after the patient had gotten in bed, sit in the shadows, and act stern. He was encouraged not to say anything to the patient. "Why?" "Because as soon as you speak, they would realize your tender heart and no longer be intimidated by your size."
To posses a tender heart is to approach each situation with a kindness, with an understanding, with a predetermined love for the other. It is the trait of one who is forgiving by nature, and never prone to malice.
Our world encourages roughness. But our Lord calls upon us to be tenderhearted.
I realize it is a translation, and I don't have the Greek word in front of me at the moment, but I am taken with the use of the word "tenderhearted." I often use the word to describe my 6 ft 2 inch son. He worked as a nurses aid at a local hospital and was often called in to sit with patients who were not following the doctors instructions. He tended to be called when the patient was also a large person. At one point he was told to show up after the patient had gotten in bed, sit in the shadows, and act stern. He was encouraged not to say anything to the patient. "Why?" "Because as soon as you speak, they would realize your tender heart and no longer be intimidated by your size."
To posses a tender heart is to approach each situation with a kindness, with an understanding, with a predetermined love for the other. It is the trait of one who is forgiving by nature, and never prone to malice.
Our world encourages roughness. But our Lord calls upon us to be tenderhearted.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Devotion - Monday, January 17, 2011
Among the seminary courses which had the greatest lasting impact upon me was the one I took on "The Life and Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr." It was team taught by a Lutheran professor and a professor from the Methodist seminary. Remember that King was a Baptist. The first learning in the course was to break down barriers between differing theological traditions.
King was a student of Hegel. From his writings, King had learned that we remain at an impasse when neither side is willing to see the strengths of the others argument. He refused to believe that coming to understand my opponent's viewpoint was a compromise of principal. King said (paraphrased) "Do I not remove an enemy when I make of him a friend?" King knew that while there may be degrees of separation between us, there are also many points of agreement. He sought the opportunity to lift up those points as a way to reach common ground.
King's theology spoke of the "Strength to Love." He pointed out that Jesus' strength was revealed most powerful in his love. He loved, even as he as being betrayed, condemned, and executed. King pointed out that it takes greater strength to love than it does to hate. We are not strong in our hatred, only in our ability to love.
King's thoughts, with regard to race issues, remain pertinent for us today. We have not come to the place for which our forbears trod. We need to hear, again, his invitation to look in a mirror and ask whether we are satisfied with what we see. But the aspect of his insights which might need the greatest playing time this year is his call to compassion; his insistence that we begin and end our debate and disagreements with a commitment to display the strength it takes to love.
You decide who is on the "other side" of your divide. Is it racial? Or political? Perhaps is involves issues of human sexuality, or immigration status. Pastor King would remind all of us that it is much easier to hate than to find the strength it takes to love. But if our faith is in Jesus, then we must admit that only love will overcome. Betrayal, condemnation, nor execution is able to stop the power of love.
King was a student of Hegel. From his writings, King had learned that we remain at an impasse when neither side is willing to see the strengths of the others argument. He refused to believe that coming to understand my opponent's viewpoint was a compromise of principal. King said (paraphrased) "Do I not remove an enemy when I make of him a friend?" King knew that while there may be degrees of separation between us, there are also many points of agreement. He sought the opportunity to lift up those points as a way to reach common ground.
King's theology spoke of the "Strength to Love." He pointed out that Jesus' strength was revealed most powerful in his love. He loved, even as he as being betrayed, condemned, and executed. King pointed out that it takes greater strength to love than it does to hate. We are not strong in our hatred, only in our ability to love.
King's thoughts, with regard to race issues, remain pertinent for us today. We have not come to the place for which our forbears trod. We need to hear, again, his invitation to look in a mirror and ask whether we are satisfied with what we see. But the aspect of his insights which might need the greatest playing time this year is his call to compassion; his insistence that we begin and end our debate and disagreements with a commitment to display the strength it takes to love.
You decide who is on the "other side" of your divide. Is it racial? Or political? Perhaps is involves issues of human sexuality, or immigration status. Pastor King would remind all of us that it is much easier to hate than to find the strength it takes to love. But if our faith is in Jesus, then we must admit that only love will overcome. Betrayal, condemnation, nor execution is able to stop the power of love.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sermon - January 16, 2011
2nd Sunday after Epiphany – Year A
John 1:29-42
What’s in a Name?
We had a wonderful time visiting Kat in Mexico. It was impressive to see her and the other ELCA Missionaries at work across Cuernavaca – teaching in schools, working at women’s shelters, and repairing wheelchairs. Kat’s greatest fear about our visit was that we would look like tourist. She finally gave up. “There is no way that three light skinned, non-Spanish speakers are going to be mistaken for anything but tourist.”
One of many clear indicators that we weren’t local was my inability to catch the names. I lack the ear to hear subtleties in language. Add to that a rather confusing practice for that part of Mexico. “Everyone,” Kat tried to explain to us, “has four names. There is a first name for use in the family; a first name for use in public. There is an established family name, which does not change, except in some cases when you are speaking of that person in relation to someone else.”
I gave up. It was too much for my brain to absorb. Even though I knew and understood how important each of these names was, I just could not take it all in.
You should already know where this introduction is leading us. Today’s Gospel lesson is a confusing, twisted mix of names. There are no less than five names (or titles) used for the same person. One of the five is translated into another language, making the final count six. And then there are the names associated with a second character – a name change in fact. Here, once more, we have a second translation of that name. But that translation may not be enough. In order for us to understand the significance of this re-naming, yet another translation may be necessary.
Let’s start off with a little exercise. We tried this a few months ago and I got a few positive comments – not enough negative comments to cause me permanently give up on the idea. I want to start with your name. I ask you to turn to someone sitting near you and discuss your name. Does it have some significance? Is it a family name? Is it a name you like? And, are there other names by which you are known? Find someone – I will call you back in just a few moments…..
I was able to share that my name is “Christopher,” which actually means “bearer of Christ.” I was born on a Sunday morning, and my mother always said my birth was a miracle. When she went to the gynecologist she was told that there might be a baby, but that there definitely was a tumor. The doctor wanted to remove everything. She said “No. If God had given her this child she was going to do her part to bring it to life.” She might have heard the meaning of the name “Christopher,” but she really just liked the name “Chris.”
Of course, the one with all the names in the Gospel lesson is Jesus. John calls him “the Lamb of God.” In recounting how it is that he has come to associate this name with Jesus, John testifies of Jesus that he is “the Son of God.” John’s intention in sharing this with his disciples is that they would recognize Jesus as the one of whom John had been preaching. Seems that they do. They immediately refer to him as “Rabbi,” and testify to others that they have found “Messiah (which is translated Anointed.)”
Lamb of God; Son of God; Rabbi; Messiah – why so many differing ways of referring to the same guy? More importantly, what does each of these titles tell us about this guy?
I am going to give you another opportunity to talk to one another. This time, I want to you review these names for Jesus. You may have some previous experience (a Sunday School Class or a sermon or an article from a magazine), or it may just be how the names strike you now. The names are right there on the back of your bulletin – turn to someone and share what you hear or understand these names to mean. I will call you all back together in a minute or so……
One of the things which distinguish the Gospel of John from the other Gospel accounts is that John starts with an affirmation of who Jesus is. John’s great prologue identifies Jesus as the Word of God; it is from this Word that all things come into being. Similarly, here, John is free to identify Jesus as the “Son of God,” and sort of expects us to read the rest of the story with this information securely tucked into our hearts and heads. It is in Matthew’s account that the pronouncement, “Truly this man was God’s Son” comes after Jesus’ death. This pronouncement is even more striking in that it is spoken by one of the Roman soldiers, a pagan.
I am wondering how many of you spent your time talking about that first name attributed to Jesus. I am referring to “the Lamb of God.” And I am thinking primarily about those conversation groups that included parents and small children. Talk of lambs could get into all sorts of cute, cuddly images. And certainly the reference here is to one who is spotless and pure. The “Lamb” was the animal used for the Passover observance. On that eventful night in which God visited the oppressive Egyptians with death, he had instructed the Israelites to take the blood from a spotless lamb and sprinkle it on their doorposts. Every year, on Passover, a spotless lamb becomes the center piece of the religious observance. They are soft and cute and cuddly critters – their innocence is contrasted with the harsh realities of hatred and cruelty; of death and destruction.
John announces that Jesus is God’s “Lamb.” As the head of the household selects that one lamb from his flock which will become the symbol of God’s salvation, so also God has selected Jesus. He will become the one whose blood is sprinkled and whose body is broken.
This name, this title, this way of referring to Jesus is very important. We cannot allow dull ears or a lack of cultural understanding to limit our ability to grasp what John is telling us. Jesus becomes for us the one who takes onto himself the burden and the weight of all that is evil in the world. Rather than leave us to face death on our own, God has selected and set forth a lamb who will endure that from which God wishes to spare us.
Any talk of cute little animals should give way to an acknowledgment of what a beautiful thing it is that God is doing. Any mention of soft furry critters is busted open with the acknowledgment of the secure and warm place prepared for us in our Father’s Kingdom. This is not child’s play, but it does comfort and assure us. We are confronted with the realities of life while being assured that God is going to buffer all of it.
We don’t fully understand how God does it. There are leaps, tremendous leaps of faith, in which we speak of an assurance in our hearts even as we acknowledge failings in our logic. We are students of the Rabbi. We come to see how these things will play out in our world and in our lives.
Peter embodies our attempts to follow. Like us, he stumbles. And yet he is the one who keeps coming back, trying to understand, trying to get it right, hoping that he will be in the right place at the right time. The name given this man was “Simon.” His mother (unnamed) and his father (John) had given him this name. The name by which he was known was “Simon, son of John.” This is the name by which Jesus called him. When Simon had come, Jesus gives him the name “Cephas.” “Cephas” is translated for us. It translates as “Peter.” But I worry that “Peter” may also need a translation. “Peter” is the word for “Rock.” Jesus looks at Simon, son of John, and renames him “Rock.” Just a bit of a footnote – in Matthew’s Gospel, the announcement of this name comes at the time when Peter confesses Jesus to be Messiah. Thus the never ending debate as to whether it is the person “Peter” upon which the Church is built, or the confession of Simon. Roman Catholic tradition holds up one option; Lutheran Orthodoxy another – the result is the same. Jesus is designated as God’s Lamb; this lamb entrusts his message and his promise to weak and frail human beings. Peter is the first “rock” to be lain; the rest of us are stones added to the fortress of God’s Church on earth.
One more name change should be addressed. It is our tradition to observe baptismal anniversaries once a month. We do this in order to remind us all that it is through God’s grace that we have been welcomed into the family and granted salvation. We also do it as a way of reminding us of the new name which has been given us. We are re-named “child of God.” That is the name spoken to us when the water is poured and with the oil we are anointed. “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
I am going to send you home with the instructions to discuss what this name means. What it means in your life; what it means for our life together; and most importantly what it means for the life we share in the world. It is the name which defines how it is that we will relate to others.
Amen.
John 1:29-42
What’s in a Name?
We had a wonderful time visiting Kat in Mexico. It was impressive to see her and the other ELCA Missionaries at work across Cuernavaca – teaching in schools, working at women’s shelters, and repairing wheelchairs. Kat’s greatest fear about our visit was that we would look like tourist. She finally gave up. “There is no way that three light skinned, non-Spanish speakers are going to be mistaken for anything but tourist.”
One of many clear indicators that we weren’t local was my inability to catch the names. I lack the ear to hear subtleties in language. Add to that a rather confusing practice for that part of Mexico. “Everyone,” Kat tried to explain to us, “has four names. There is a first name for use in the family; a first name for use in public. There is an established family name, which does not change, except in some cases when you are speaking of that person in relation to someone else.”
I gave up. It was too much for my brain to absorb. Even though I knew and understood how important each of these names was, I just could not take it all in.
You should already know where this introduction is leading us. Today’s Gospel lesson is a confusing, twisted mix of names. There are no less than five names (or titles) used for the same person. One of the five is translated into another language, making the final count six. And then there are the names associated with a second character – a name change in fact. Here, once more, we have a second translation of that name. But that translation may not be enough. In order for us to understand the significance of this re-naming, yet another translation may be necessary.
Let’s start off with a little exercise. We tried this a few months ago and I got a few positive comments – not enough negative comments to cause me permanently give up on the idea. I want to start with your name. I ask you to turn to someone sitting near you and discuss your name. Does it have some significance? Is it a family name? Is it a name you like? And, are there other names by which you are known? Find someone – I will call you back in just a few moments…..
I was able to share that my name is “Christopher,” which actually means “bearer of Christ.” I was born on a Sunday morning, and my mother always said my birth was a miracle. When she went to the gynecologist she was told that there might be a baby, but that there definitely was a tumor. The doctor wanted to remove everything. She said “No. If God had given her this child she was going to do her part to bring it to life.” She might have heard the meaning of the name “Christopher,” but she really just liked the name “Chris.”
Of course, the one with all the names in the Gospel lesson is Jesus. John calls him “the Lamb of God.” In recounting how it is that he has come to associate this name with Jesus, John testifies of Jesus that he is “the Son of God.” John’s intention in sharing this with his disciples is that they would recognize Jesus as the one of whom John had been preaching. Seems that they do. They immediately refer to him as “Rabbi,” and testify to others that they have found “Messiah (which is translated Anointed.)”
Lamb of God; Son of God; Rabbi; Messiah – why so many differing ways of referring to the same guy? More importantly, what does each of these titles tell us about this guy?
I am going to give you another opportunity to talk to one another. This time, I want to you review these names for Jesus. You may have some previous experience (a Sunday School Class or a sermon or an article from a magazine), or it may just be how the names strike you now. The names are right there on the back of your bulletin – turn to someone and share what you hear or understand these names to mean. I will call you all back together in a minute or so……
One of the things which distinguish the Gospel of John from the other Gospel accounts is that John starts with an affirmation of who Jesus is. John’s great prologue identifies Jesus as the Word of God; it is from this Word that all things come into being. Similarly, here, John is free to identify Jesus as the “Son of God,” and sort of expects us to read the rest of the story with this information securely tucked into our hearts and heads. It is in Matthew’s account that the pronouncement, “Truly this man was God’s Son” comes after Jesus’ death. This pronouncement is even more striking in that it is spoken by one of the Roman soldiers, a pagan.
I am wondering how many of you spent your time talking about that first name attributed to Jesus. I am referring to “the Lamb of God.” And I am thinking primarily about those conversation groups that included parents and small children. Talk of lambs could get into all sorts of cute, cuddly images. And certainly the reference here is to one who is spotless and pure. The “Lamb” was the animal used for the Passover observance. On that eventful night in which God visited the oppressive Egyptians with death, he had instructed the Israelites to take the blood from a spotless lamb and sprinkle it on their doorposts. Every year, on Passover, a spotless lamb becomes the center piece of the religious observance. They are soft and cute and cuddly critters – their innocence is contrasted with the harsh realities of hatred and cruelty; of death and destruction.
John announces that Jesus is God’s “Lamb.” As the head of the household selects that one lamb from his flock which will become the symbol of God’s salvation, so also God has selected Jesus. He will become the one whose blood is sprinkled and whose body is broken.
This name, this title, this way of referring to Jesus is very important. We cannot allow dull ears or a lack of cultural understanding to limit our ability to grasp what John is telling us. Jesus becomes for us the one who takes onto himself the burden and the weight of all that is evil in the world. Rather than leave us to face death on our own, God has selected and set forth a lamb who will endure that from which God wishes to spare us.
Any talk of cute little animals should give way to an acknowledgment of what a beautiful thing it is that God is doing. Any mention of soft furry critters is busted open with the acknowledgment of the secure and warm place prepared for us in our Father’s Kingdom. This is not child’s play, but it does comfort and assure us. We are confronted with the realities of life while being assured that God is going to buffer all of it.
We don’t fully understand how God does it. There are leaps, tremendous leaps of faith, in which we speak of an assurance in our hearts even as we acknowledge failings in our logic. We are students of the Rabbi. We come to see how these things will play out in our world and in our lives.
Peter embodies our attempts to follow. Like us, he stumbles. And yet he is the one who keeps coming back, trying to understand, trying to get it right, hoping that he will be in the right place at the right time. The name given this man was “Simon.” His mother (unnamed) and his father (John) had given him this name. The name by which he was known was “Simon, son of John.” This is the name by which Jesus called him. When Simon had come, Jesus gives him the name “Cephas.” “Cephas” is translated for us. It translates as “Peter.” But I worry that “Peter” may also need a translation. “Peter” is the word for “Rock.” Jesus looks at Simon, son of John, and renames him “Rock.” Just a bit of a footnote – in Matthew’s Gospel, the announcement of this name comes at the time when Peter confesses Jesus to be Messiah. Thus the never ending debate as to whether it is the person “Peter” upon which the Church is built, or the confession of Simon. Roman Catholic tradition holds up one option; Lutheran Orthodoxy another – the result is the same. Jesus is designated as God’s Lamb; this lamb entrusts his message and his promise to weak and frail human beings. Peter is the first “rock” to be lain; the rest of us are stones added to the fortress of God’s Church on earth.
One more name change should be addressed. It is our tradition to observe baptismal anniversaries once a month. We do this in order to remind us all that it is through God’s grace that we have been welcomed into the family and granted salvation. We also do it as a way of reminding us of the new name which has been given us. We are re-named “child of God.” That is the name spoken to us when the water is poured and with the oil we are anointed. “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
I am going to send you home with the instructions to discuss what this name means. What it means in your life; what it means for our life together; and most importantly what it means for the life we share in the world. It is the name which defines how it is that we will relate to others.
Amen.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Devotion - Thursday, January 13
Every time I read Mark 2:1-12, I am overcome with appreciation for those who have brought me to Jesus. Their faith, their dedication has made possible my salvation.
Mark 2 is the story of the paralytic whose friends carry him to Jesus. When they arrive at the house where he is teaching, they find that they cannot enter. They go up on the roof, remove the roof tiles, and lower the stretcher from the ceiling to Jesus.
What happens next is both expected, and a surprise. As they had expected, Jesus heals the man. The surprise is his words. The text says he did this, "when he saw their faith." (emphasis mine.) Their faith impressed Jesus. It was their faith which preceded the healing.
"Their" could include the man lying on the stretcher as well as those carrying it. But it certainly includes those carrying.
My appreciation is for those who carried me (sometimes literally, other times metaphorically) to the place where Jesus was found. My appreciation is for those who possessed the faith to trust that getting me in front of Jesus would result in my being made whole.
Sometimes, when I need Christ the most, it is tough for me to go to him. At those times I depend upon the prayers (the carrying) of others.
Sometimes, I find myself in the role of stretcher bearer - carrying those whose injuries or despair is so great they cannot take another step on their own.
Jesus makes note of the faith of the one is need of restoration as well as the faith of those who carry the stretcher. Remember this the next time you are asked, "Please pray for me." This is not a whimsical request nor is it a offer to be extended lightly.
Mark 2 is the story of the paralytic whose friends carry him to Jesus. When they arrive at the house where he is teaching, they find that they cannot enter. They go up on the roof, remove the roof tiles, and lower the stretcher from the ceiling to Jesus.
What happens next is both expected, and a surprise. As they had expected, Jesus heals the man. The surprise is his words. The text says he did this, "when he saw their faith." (emphasis mine.) Their faith impressed Jesus. It was their faith which preceded the healing.
"Their" could include the man lying on the stretcher as well as those carrying it. But it certainly includes those carrying.
My appreciation is for those who carried me (sometimes literally, other times metaphorically) to the place where Jesus was found. My appreciation is for those who possessed the faith to trust that getting me in front of Jesus would result in my being made whole.
Sometimes, when I need Christ the most, it is tough for me to go to him. At those times I depend upon the prayers (the carrying) of others.
Sometimes, I find myself in the role of stretcher bearer - carrying those whose injuries or despair is so great they cannot take another step on their own.
Jesus makes note of the faith of the one is need of restoration as well as the faith of those who carry the stretcher. Remember this the next time you are asked, "Please pray for me." This is not a whimsical request nor is it a offer to be extended lightly.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Devotion - Wednesday, January 12
In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul talks about being "alive" and being "dead." Too often, we speak of life and death in differing terms. We are inclined to think of "living" as taking breaths, watching sunrises, or enjoying a basketball game. "Death" is associated with being placed in a box and buried in the ground.
For Paul, life and death are distinguished by whether we are in sin, or free from our sin. He writes, "And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked."
To live is to be at one with God; death is the condition of those who live to themselves, who are "following the course of this world."
I enjoy taking breaths, watching sunrises, and do enjoy basketball games. But I am alive when I am united with God and seeking to do God's will. It is in following Jesus that life is expanded beyond my own little box with its own little concerns.
Move into the life which God offers.
For Paul, life and death are distinguished by whether we are in sin, or free from our sin. He writes, "And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked."
To live is to be at one with God; death is the condition of those who live to themselves, who are "following the course of this world."
I enjoy taking breaths, watching sunrises, and do enjoy basketball games. But I am alive when I am united with God and seeking to do God's will. It is in following Jesus that life is expanded beyond my own little box with its own little concerns.
Move into the life which God offers.
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