Choices

SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:11 NIV And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

THOUGHT: In Romans 8, Paul issues a challenge to a people for whom Easter could be an everyday celebration. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, giving both eternal and mortal life!

How are you experiencing each? (And I’d love to hear from you.) I see the eternal clearly, with the reality of life-after-life becoming more of a comfort daily. But what of life that the Spirit gives now – how does it show up, and how does it make you and I any different than the rest of the world? Paul would tell the Corinthians: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Cor. 4:16-17).” The inward renewal seems pointed toward eternal value – but can it also feel like life here?

I think it can.

I struggle daily with attitudes and trust issues, but I’ve tasted something better, and I think it’s all boiling down to a choice. Will I live in the parallel kingdom, where love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are plentiful, like fruit in a beautiful orchard, or in the kingdom of the world, where the fruit tastes like fear, anger, jealousy, manipulation, constant anxiety, scarcity – and ultimately death without hope?

PRAYER: If I hope to represent you to the world, dear Savior, I know that I must look like you, fully alive because of the fruit of your Spirit in me. Bring the harvest, Lord Jesus. Let me not just taste, but live in the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control even while I still walk in this world.