2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Every human beings wants and deserves to be free. Free to go where we please. Free to associate with whom we want. Free to spend our time and resources the way we want. Being responsible, however, limits freedom.
Every morning, I wake up and take our dogs out for a walk. It is the responsible thing to do, but it limits my freedom. Or does it? I could not wake up. We could let them stay in the house. Accidents could happen, then someone would have to clean up the mess. Instead of seeing this as a chore, but a responsibility, I am free organize my day. Once the necessary business of the morning is over, there is more freedom than there before.
What if we began to see our spiritual lives in a similar vein? Instead of thinking, “I don’t have time for prayer or study,” we saw it as a responsibility. We are, after all, stewards of God’s creation and recipients of God’s mercy. Is there a way to see the practices of Christianity as life shaping and habit forming?
I will say that I cannot sleep past 6:30. Not because the dogs wake us up, but because I have been conditioned. What was a chore, has become a habit. What has become a habit has become a delight. During these forty days, study, prayer, and worship can seem like chores, habits, or tasks. But these are ways in which we become reconciled to God, to become like him who knew no sin.
Prayer: God of the routine, open our eyes to see that through our obedience, we may echo your obedience. Amen.
