06-11-21

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
June 11, 2021
Scripture: Ephesians 4:31
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice…

Thought for the Day: Many of the translations of this verse give the impression that we need to put away these unhealthy attitudes and attributes, yet in the original Greek, the verb “put away” is a passive verb. It gives the impression that someone else is removing these things from us, or that we are participants alongside a power outside of us. How much of the stuff listed here in this verse is taking up space in your life? How many of these things have you given permission to stay rent-free in your heart and mind? People who study such things will tell you that clinging to bitterness, anger or revenge has unhealthy implications on the human body. In fact, they cause stress on the very systems that keep us alive. At the same time, we know how such things impact negatively larger bodies like families, churches, communities or even nations. I believe the Spirit is in the business of helping us remove what is destructive and dangerous to our bodies, along with other bodies, small and large, simple and complex. So I guess an important question to ask ourselves is: What am I doing to cling to the very things the Spirit is attempting to remove?

Prayer: Whatever is not of you, O Spirit if Life, does not belong within me. Give me the strength to work alongside your Gracious Presence that is always seeking new ways of bringing health and life to my existence. Amen.

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