Ordinary Time

Pause

It’s an important part of your identity, going to the root of who you are. It speaks to where you come from and, to a large degree, where you are going.

So whose child are you?

Since God is our source, we are children of God, made to be loved and to thrive. In these next few moments, consider who has birthed you into the world and who is nurturing you along the way.

Listen

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:12–13

Think

In any family like yours or mine, there are traits and patterns that make us who we are. Maybe your family loves to play card games on vacation; maybe you always eat Chinese food on Christmas Eve or maybe you have to wait till you’re 16 to go on a date. Sometimes we like the ways of our family; other times we don’t.

Paul tells us that, in the family of God, some of our common traits are found as we pay attention to leadings of the Spirit of God, not what is most natural to us. It’s easy to do what we want; it takes more courage to follow a different way. Are we willing to forgive that friend again? Are we willing to sit with the person on the bus who smells a little funny? Are we willing to spend our Saturday at the food bank instead of at the mall? We abide in God’s family when we listen to those whispers of the Spirit.

Elizabeth Evans Hagan

Pray

Jesus, help me today to listen to your whispers. Even if it is what I’d rather not see or hear, help me be still and know that I am your child. Amen.

Go

Strong, gentle children, God made you beautiful, gave you the wisdom and power you need; speak in the stillness all you are longing for; live out your calling to love and to lead.

From “Strong, Gentle Children” by Dan Damon