"Their end is destruction.
Their god is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven..."
Lest there be any doubt, Saint Paul is speaking in this passage about fellow Christians whose end is destruction, whose god is their stomach, and so forth. Even as some Christians were being ostracized, harassed, and persecuted for the faith, others found it no inconvenience at all. Their familiar patterns and routines assured them that the madness of distant cities would never visit theirs. Why should they steel themselves for trouble when it would probably pass them by?
The antidote to their foolishness is not anxiety, however, but the practice of awareness. We must never forget that "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
As I watch the debates around abortion, guns, immigration, crime, and the environment, I become more convinced that the Christian contribution must be sacrifice. And our sacrifice begins with the sacrifice of prayer.
That stands out to me because that is the one thing a secular society is unwilling to do. The best citizens might be willing to pay more taxes; the openhearted might be willing to welcome and hire aliens. Reasonable people, looking at the data, surely recognize our contamination of water, air, and soil. But a secular society in which openhearted, reasonable citizens feel comfortable cannot sacrifice its most precious commodity: time.
The Christian's life and contribution begins with time spent in prayer. As one who lives in a religious community, I know how hard it is to persuade myself and my confreres to attend the Lord God of Heaven and Earth. Anyone can say the hurried prayer on the way to another engagement, and that may be worth something, but it's no sacrifice and it costs nothing.
Prayer engages the whole person including their time, attention, desire, anxiety, and ambition. "What do you want?" the Lord asks the prayerful person; and the prayerful person has an answer.
To pray is to plead with God. It is to assume, resume, and remain in a posture of pleading before the LORD. Even those whose prayer is silent, wordless contemplation say by their persistence, "Lord, I want!"
How God answers our prayers is not our concern. It is not half as important as the intensity of our asking, nor should it consume much of our attention.
Our prayer begins here and now, in this place and this moment; and with the awareness of trouble in God's world. We're here for a purpose and its satisfaction begins with prayer.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.