But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Romans 8: 9-10

“You are in the Spirit” this is who we are. We do not live according to the natural inclination of the body. We live according to the prompting of the Spirit. For this reason, we are called Christians because the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. In the same measure, Paul reminded believers in the church in Rome of their identity. Living in a pagan world their lives served as a distinct witness of Christ who empowered them. What does it mean to be living in the Spirit today?”

Living in America is not the same as living in Rome during the time of Paul. Back then the Emperor and those who ruled over the Roman Empire did not claim the Christian faith as their own. They did not care about religion as long as it will not interfere with their governance. Today it is more complex, every politician claims to be a Christian to some degree, otherwise if you run for office and you are not clear about your Christian faith then you will be in trouble. Some groups define Christianity along ideological and controversial issues of the day. Christians are either pro-life or pro-choice, or whether they are for or against abortion, death penalty, gay marriage or civil unions, race, gender sensitivity, war, global warming and other environmental concerns or any issues that excites them. It is rally hard to pinpoint with certainty those who are in Christ because the dividing line becomes so thin and not as clear when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. In fact there are issues and concerns which are unique to our times. You will find passionate folks on both sides of the spectrum claiming the Christian faith as definitive in their lives.

We do not know and we cannot know 100% who has Christ’s Spirit. Only God knows. But while we do not judge nor classify people according to their faith expressions, we can go back and see for ourselves the Jesus portrayed in the Scripture to ensure whether the claim of Christ’s Spirit match at all. This exercise is more helpful for us in measuring whether we ourselves are living according to the Spirit. In the Scripture, we encounter Jesus who dined with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus who refused to condemn an adulterous woman but challenged her to sin no more, Jesus who refuses to bless vengeance in the old teachings such as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” Jesus who forgives the criminal crucified with him, Jesus whose lifestyle reflects utmost simplicity and childlike trust of God. Actually, Jesus has a lot to say, whether we classify ourselves as “conservative” or “progressive” or whether we use the label “left” “right or “center.” Nobody has a monopoly of Jesus, so with Christ’s Spirit. One thing is certain we do not live according to the dictate of the flesh. We live according to Christ’s Spirit and living in Christ is not simply following a checklist but a dynamic interaction between us and God in our given context.

Prayer

Living in your Spirit is a constant challenge,

 a never ending engagement with you O God.

Blow gently upon us your Spirit

 to keep us alert and alive. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.