They had no example

The most peculiar thing happened to me today, and I gotta say, I don't know what to say. After work, my training schedule said I was supposed to run 3 miles and then do some strength training. But that didn't sound like very much fun and I didn't want to...and...because I'm a slacker . I could go into all manner of reasons why my not working out is justified because I've worked out and run every other day this week and I'm doing a long run on Saturday with my training chicas, but I don't really want to get into that because I might get sidetracked. Anyway. So, I came home, changed out of my work clothes into something way more comfortable than those dang shoes I wore today that I swore last time I'd never wear again, got in my car and drove to Target. I walked around for thirty minutes searching high and low for something I wanted and/or needed, and y'all, I left empty-handed. I found nothing. Nothing. I'm not sure what is up because that is the first time that has ever happened in the history of me. I must be going through a mid-life crisis. That is all I can think of. And if this is the extent of it, my husband will be elated.

But. That is not the reason I'm posting today.

Because of the implications of a new year being a fresh start and what not I decided to start a new bible study. I mean...what better way to kick off a new year, right? So, I purchased Beth Moore's newest study - James: Mercy Triumphs. It's so good. SO good. As all of hers are. Her daughter, Melissa, helped her with this study and has written many articles about James, the Lord's brother, that delves deeper into the study.

But yesterday after I finished my homework, I read the article that followed the lesson where she discusses a chapter in Acts, which is the topic for the next lesson. For hundreds of years, the Israelites had God right there telling them what to do and where to go and how to live in order to take possession of the land in Caanan that He had promised to them. He laid out very plainly for them the laws for living that they must follow in order to be cleansed and forgiven. It's what they knew. It's who they were. And the laws. Oh the laws. And customs. Well that's what they came to depend on for guidance. And then after the death of Jesus Christ, they had no example. The Gentiles were now also graced with the gift of the Spirit, and the early church was trying to figure out the specifics of uniting as the body of Christ. Figuring out what holy living would look like for everyone was the task at hand. Melissa writes, "Suddenly the early church was experiencing something unprecedented in salvation history. They had no example to follow." She goes on to say that "instead, they had to walk in the Spirit and improvise as they encountered new problems and conflicts." It was a new way of living for them and, I'm guessing, difficult to grasp.

I imagine that they felt much like I do some days. As someone who grew up in church and learned Bible stories and verses and knows the golden rule, I often feel like I should know what to do when messy circumstances or conflicts arise in my life. So often I feel that as a Christian I should just be able to do the right thing and say the right thing and that the fruits of the Spirit should be obvious to all who cross my path. That living by faith should come natural and easy. But that isn't the case because I'm human. And flawed. As the pillars of the early church were. I'm fairly certain that there were times when Peter and Paul and James and all those guys stared in the face of a sticky situation and just wished that God would just tell them what to do. But their purpose was much bigger than those moments and they knew it. My task at hand is much the same as theirs was...to walk in the Spirit and improvise as I encounter new problems and conflicts...moment by moment...one day at a time. If I knew what to do and where to go and what to say and how to handle all my situations, I wouldn't need Him.

And y'all...I can live without the stuff from Target. But He is just something I can't live without.