Tuesday; January 8

Have we gotten too big for our britches?  Some of you may have never heard this phrase, but I remember as a child that this was a common question.  Sometimes I would forget my place and would have to be reminded of my position and responsibilities.  Another quote that was common back then was getting “above my raising” ... in other words forgetting the values that were instilled in us.   The reason for this trip down Memory Lane is to ask these questions of us today.   As adults and, maybe more specifically, as children of God have we forgotten who we are or how we were raised?  It is tempting to get caught up in the values of the world and pride of humanism and forget about our origins and our principles. 
One of the earliest church leaders asked his students to reflect on their lives when he wrote, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,  like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation ...” (I Peter 2:1-2).  The believers were being tempted to forget their fundamental calling to mutual love and spiritual selflessness.  They were becoming too full of themselves and needed to go back to the simplicity of Christian living.  Rather than pursue their own agenda (and destroy others in the process), they had to reflect on their need for the basics of belief in God.
While we all need to mature in our spiritual development, we must never outgrow the basic tenets of Christian love and service.  We are raised to do better – not because of who we are, but because of who our Father is.
          Think About It!

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