Listen

So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:12-15

Think

Once, when I was in another country where I didn’t speak the language, I visited a swimming pool with my friends. It was packed. Children and families were crowded around, laughing and playing. Every few minutes, I would hear a child crying out with glee. I didn’t recognize the two words that were most often repeated, so I asked one of my friends. The words were, “Mom, LOOK!” It was exactly the same sort of call I would expect to hear at the local pool in my city, too.

We love showing off to our parents and receiving their praise and joy. It’s a universal experience. The same is true with our heavenly parent. We are all part of the divine family, and as such, we want to call out with glee to our divine parent and show off what we’ve accomplished. We are God’s children, which also means we have more siblings in Christ than we could know what to do with, and we are called to be generous with each of them as Christ is with us.

Sarah Karber

Question to Ponder:

Where is the Spirit leading me to greater generosity with my siblings in Christ?

Pray

Gracious God, open my heart to show me where pockets of selfishness exist so that I can bring them into the light and respond with generosity instead.

Amen.

Go

“Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow has not yet come;

we must live each day as if it were our last.”

Let’s begin.

Mother Teresa. A Simple Path. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1995.