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Wednesday 29 March 2017

"I Will Be Their God... They Shall Be My Poeple."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  I ask for patience, tolerance, empathy and compassion.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


2 Corinthians 6:16-17
16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
‘I will live in them and walk among them,
   and I will be their God,
   and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore come out from them,
   and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch nothing unclean;
   then I will welcome you,


1)  "...we are the temple of the living God;" "...I will live in them;" "...I will welcome you;"


2) My first thought is to wonder whom Paul is quoting.  It sounds like Jeremiah to me.  "I will be their God, and they shall be my people."  Paul is stretching interpretation to make his own point (surprise!).  And I'm not sure what the relationship is between the first two sentences, what's the relationship between idols and us being the temple of God?  Its a difficult text without some context.  So what is being said right here, right now for me?  "We are the temple of the living God."  That is what Paul is proof texting.  Not idols, not buildings or structures, but us.  Our bodies, and the body of Christ that we constitute.  We are the temple of the Living God.  Do once again, I have to wonder, do we treat ourselves and one another as temples of the Living God?


3) What is the invitation in all this?  Perhaps to take a walk and with each step, focus my attention on being a temple of the living God.  Does that change how I move?  How I feel?  How I interact with the people around me?


"Holy One, live in me, walk with me, and be my God and I shall be your temple."


Breathprayer: "I will be their God... they shall be my people."

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