Another cool and refreshing morning. One could get spoiled by these. I grabbed my coffee, Macrina Wiederkehr's book Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God, and headed out to the patio. The sky was already lit up and it wasn't even quite 7am. The birds were wide awake and speaking to one another. I opened the book to where I left off and today's topic is "Call to Freedom".
Freedom.
Freedom is a place I have been attempting to live more fully into over recent years. To live freely into my true self, to live freely by the Spirit. Freedom is a blessed place to be. When we are able to live, love, and lead out of the freedom that is ours because of our relationship with the One who created us, we are better for it.
The Scripture passage for today's reading is Galatians 5. If you click on the Scripture in the preceding sentence, it will take you to a reading of it in The Message version on Bible Gateway. You can change versions, if so desired. I wanted to read it with fresh eyes this morning.
As I prayerfully read through the passage this morning, these are the words that stood out to me today:
Christ has set us free to live a free life. What matters is...faith expressed in love. Use your freedom to serve one another in love. Love others as you love yourself. Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit.
What stood out to you?
Here are my notes from Macrina's words this morning:
"We are to live in such a manner that it we be obvious we are following the Spirit's lead. The Spirit is to be our dance partner leading us into a life of faith in Christ. More powerful than any law, the Spirit leads us into the freedom of the children of God (Rom. 8:21)." (180)
That resonated with me on several levels. I attempt to follow the Spirit's lead. Whether that is obvious to others or not is something I can't see or judge. The part about the Spirit being our dance partner speaks to me as well and that phrase has come up a time or two, as I think about it.
"It is always love that must govern the actions of those who have accepted Christ into their lives." (181)
Not an easy statement to live by, nor the ones in Scripture where we are called to love others as ourselves and love our enemies, etc. Love is costly. I don't always love well. There are times when I've been hurt and wounded when love doesn't flow easily, yet my goal and desire is to live, love, and lead as Christ, as a wounded healer. Because I'm not Christ, I don't always get it right, but it is my goal and desire. I pray to love well.
Macrina notes that the fruit of the spirit offers us "a more accurate portrait of the person whom we can become when we allow the Spirit to be our dance partner." (181)
This past Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, the fruit of the Spirit passage was a part of the sermon. I haven't posted one of my sermons in a while. I might post that one. Not that it's great or anything, but something for reflective reading, hopefully.
What is neat for me is that I was already reflecting on Galatians as part of last week's sermon and here it is again.
Macrina gave some points to consider at the end of the chapter on joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faith, self-control, and love.
The ones that struck me this morning were faith and love.
On faith, she asked: "If you leapt into the waters of your faith, how deep would you go?" (182)
On love, she asked: "At the end of this day, check your heart. How well have you loved?" (183)
Those are both great questions to ponder.
On the reflection and prayer, she asks: "Can you envision the Spirit being your dance partner? Imagine, too, how your life would be different if this were the case. Let it be!" (184)
She suggests taking a walk on a labyrinth, if there is one available to walk with each of the fruits of the spirit. That is a wonderful way to take a prayer walk through a labyrinth.
She ends the chapter with a prayer, as with all chapters, this one written to the Spirit of the Living God.
"O Spirit of the Living God, abide in me."
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
May it be so.
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
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