Author: Bryan Richardson

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:22-25 (day three)

“Against such things there is no law.”

All good things seem to run up against a law of limits. We’ve never seen patience that won’t run out, peace that can’t be disturbed, joy than can’t be killed, love that someone can’t fall out of, faith that can’t be broken. But if these characteristics are only available while supplies last, then what we’ve called patience, or peace, or joy are not, in fact, those things. The real things do exist, though, and they are infinitely abundant. Paul says these traits are actually descriptors of life within the Trinity. They describe the way God lives. They are how the Father treats the Son, how the Spirit points to the Father, how the Son speaks of the Spirit. This is the life you have been called to learn. Do not be afraid. You’re God’s star pupil.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-6 (day three)

“…constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope.”

Physicists have observed a state of existence called quantum entanglement, in which determining a particular characteristic of one particle will tell the observer specific details about the corresponding characteristic of another particle without the observer’s ever having to examine that other particle. The two particles are said to be “entangled,” even if they are light-years apart. All phenomena in the material realm have their antecedents in the spiritual realm. Human beings have a will because God has a will. Human beings draw life from community because life comes only from God, who exists in eternal community. And if hope sprang up in Paul continually, if love enfolded  him constantly, if faith buoyed him incessantly, it’s because dear friends in Christ entangled their lives with his.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day three)

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.”

Paul said drunkenness will do it. Luke said hard labor will do it. Jesus said even a church service will do it. What were they talking about? They each warned against distraction – distraction from the difficult, yet vital inner work of reflection, discovery, and transformation. In this passage, Paul points to the use of substances as a means of diverting the mind’s attention from God’s activity. Elsewhere, Luke highlights the way Martha used arduous domestic duties as an alternative focus to Jesus’s teaching. And in Matthew’s gospel, the Lord himself noted in that not even the formal worship of God substitutes for the inner work necessary for reconciliation with a sister or brother. Enlisting the Sprit’s help for soul-work isn’t easy. Diversions are ready to help you forget.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day three) 

“…just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

To forgive means to decide not to exact punishment for wrongdoing. That is indeed what Christ has done for us. Punishment can take many forms. If I give a friend the cold shoulder after discovering that he misled me about a career advancement opportunity so that he could take that opportunity for himself, I am punishing my friend. If I remain warm in my interactions with him, however, while waiting eagerly for news of hardship or failure that he might encounter as he undertakes that new career opportunity, I am still punishing him, albeit in a very nuanced way. And if I am punishing him, I have not forgiven him. There are often consequences for wrongdoing. But consequences are not in my power to control. Punishment is.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 1:13-14 (day three)

“…the redemption of God’s own possession…”

A common understanding of “possession” emphasizes notions of defiance and smugness: “It’s mine, not yours, and you have neither power nor right to tell me what to do with it.” Paul frames it another way. Here, “possession” emphasizes restoration to a status in keeping with high favor. Nobody ever knew how valuable you really are. Parents, family, and friends perhaps come closer to that realization than others (though, sadly, not invariably). But God always knew. That’s why the Bible refers to those separated from God as lost instead of worthless. And it’s why hell is such a cosmically profound catastrophe: a being of immeasurable value eternally wasting away. Salvation enables you to believe what God already knew about you – that you are precious to him. The Holy Spirit promises that God has never lost track of you.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 14:17-19 (day three)

“We pursue the things which make for peace.”

The way of life with others to which you have become accustomed requires the exertion of strength to assert your opinions, to defend your ideas, to guard your feelings, and to search for acceptance – all in order to secure a position as a valued member of a community or group or society. To the degree you’re not adept at exerting that strength, your status will suffer accordingly. Whereas in the world’s system a position of great value requires strength, the Holy Spirit teaches a kind of life in which a position of great value requires weakness – vulnerability, fallibility, failing, frailty, foible, infirmity. The Spirit makes it possible to care for one another in our weaknesses. This is peace: the laying down of weapons of judgment against one another. In such a community, you have nothing to prove.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:26-27 (day three)

“We do not know how to pray as we should.”

Perhaps the last thing you want to encounter is one more “should” in your life. How long is your list of “shoulds” already? Yeah. Same. This “should” is different, though. No, really. It isn’t announcing, “You’re doing it wrong.” Paul is simply saying that God is perfectly aware of how hard it is for you to speak of things that are painful to acknowledge even to yourself. It’s much easier to say, “Help me learn contentment” than to blurt out “I am grieving the loss of that dream I’ve had for so long.” It’s much easier to utter, “Help me know which way to go,” than to express, “Why have you left me here without any direction?” That’s why God’s Spirit groans. Each groan declares, “There’s more this soul must say.”

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:5-11 (day three)

“…life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Later in Romans, Paul will say that one of the most spiritual things you can do is to move your body in ways that serve others and stand with them: a hand opening in generosity, an ear listening to stories of suffering, a voice lifting in solidarity with those who face oppression. The Lord said that if you want to find a person’s heart, follow the treasure. Paul relates a similar sentiment: If you want to take an honest look at what you’re devoted to, notice what you do with your body. The Holy Spirit is exhaling onto your body the ability to move like Jesus in the world.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:1-4 (day three)

“…that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us…”

The Pharisees’ use of the law as a tool for building a society was – well, just stop right there. The law is not a tool for anything. It is not something one uses. It is itself the mind of God in written form. The human person will be transformed by it, and when that occurs, no one will ever have to worry that such a person will become like the Pharisees. Such a person – and only such a person – will never die. That is what the law’s “requirement” is all about. Transformation is required for a person to live forever. The Holy Spirit came a-howling gale across the society that the Pharisees built. It leveled everything – except that which was transformed by the One who fulfilled the law.