Weekly Meditation June 7th

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Weekly Meditation
by Kelly Durbin

Romans 8:12-17 from the Message Bible:
So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa, or Mama?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who God is, and we know who we are: Parent and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us-an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

I love to read the Message Bible just for fun. It is freeing, poetic and touches my soul on a level that transcends intellect and cuts right to the heart. In this passage, we are eloquently reminded that when we are in Christ, our old "do-it-ourselves" kind of life needs to die. We need to bury self interest, get rid of our agendas, and follow the Spirit of God that is calling us to live a new kind of life, a life of love. Living a life primarily focused on ourselves, doing what "we" want and getting the "things" we want is doing exactly what this passage suggests; it's grave-tending because the things of this physical world are temporary, and as my Granny would say, "won't amount to a hill of beans!"

God did not give us a spirit of fear, indeed! By living a life safely in the arms of a loving Parent, we are free. I love the concept that our new resurrection lives are adventurously expectant, that we are to live asking God, "what's next?" full of wonder and excitement to face whatever life may offer in the moment. For you see, we will not face any challenge that Christ is not there to go through with us. And the very worst of this life cannot take from us the promise of the wonderful inheritance that we will receive as brothers and sisters, joint heirs with Christ.

How do we know what God has in store for us? God is so full of grace to have sent the Spirit to touch our spirits and confirm or "bear witness", to testify who we really are! For many years, I struggled to believe that God really loved me. I was told if I didn't follow certain "rules" I was not a child of God. I had a picture in my head of a judgmental and angry God who stood ever ready to punish when I made a mistake. I knew I would never be "good enough" to be in relationship with God, to be able to stand in God's presence. That was about the only thing that I had right; that I would never be good enough in my own right. It was when I finally understood that God is not surprised by my weakness or my flaws, and that I can turn them over to Christ who God gave as the perfect lamb to carry them, that I could be free -free to live a life, giving love.

It's not always an easy life, because dying to self is never easy. Always loving others as Christ loves us is sometimes not so easy either, especially when others don't act or behave in ways that we find lovable! But the mystery is this: according to I John 4:18-21, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because God first loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from God is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. I John 5:3-4 continues: For the love of God is this, that we obey God's commandments. And God's commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. Let me repeat that...For the LOVE of God is this, that we obey God's commandments which are NOT burdensome because love is never burdensome. Accept God's love today and begin your expectant adventure...