Becoming

Becoming

Good Morning Friends,

Every fall my wife goes back to school. Well really she goes back in the summer but things don’t settle in until the fall. She is a professional and very good at what she does. And each year she has the chance to become a new person just as this same opportunity is happening in the lives of the students she teaches.

The process of change never seems to be completed though it does have its moments in a series of graduations. It is a reality to which we must submit. Another example is a person with whom I had lunch yesterday. His job had been downsized. He too was getting a fresh start, though the dynamics were a little different. This morning we explore this process of life and how the growth of our physical body can guide us to develop spiritually and how our intellectual development can lead us into spiritual growth as well. Today we bring into unity the connection between the physical body, intellectual development and spiritual Becoming.Top of FormBottom of FormPrayer for Guidance and for Deliverance

Scripture: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.  Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.  He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Psalm 25:1-9 (NRSV)

Imitating Christ’s Humility

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:1-13 (NRSV)

Message: So who are you becoming? The Psalmist in today’s scripture was getting a new start and probably thinking some of the same thoughts as the gentleman looking for more paid work and my wife as she settles in her work of teaching. It is on my mind as well this morning. The problem is that the world seems to sever the intellect and physical from the spiritual. It is all right to focus on one at a time and it is great for marketing but when we get to the why of what we need to be doing there is more. The thread of connection of God at work in our lives needs to have the vision both up close and far away otherwise we miss the mark. We need to think with the mind of Christ with our feet on the ground and our head in the sky. At this nexus the trinity of our experiences can flow directionally enabling both our will and action for the good pleasure of God. Friends, unless we are connected to Christ for change and transformation we fail the course. The unity of our being as a body requires nothing less. So friends, if you want to find the joy in relationships, discover the love that becomes available when you have the mind of Christ and Jesus’ purpose for you in the church becomes clear. It is like getting a new start each year….each day.

Pray we wait on the Lord. Pray we seek God’s guidance. Pray we find God’s way in life’s wilderness. Pray we want to become better humans. Pray we are vulnerable enough to risk growing into something better. Pray we realize that God uses our failures to help guide us to grow. Pray we connect the dots in our life to the covenant of the church universal. Pray we are becoming more than volunteers, more than a disciples and more like saints.

Blessings,

John Lawson

Shining as Lights in the World