No Longer Strangers

As we continue through our daily routines , experiencing much the same pattern of some good moments, others that make us cringe as we sense the contradictions in our own lives and in the world around us, our motivation and determination can wear thin. We can too easily, it seems, become victims of our physical and spiritual fatigue. At this time, it's not unusual for a passage of Scripture to leap out at us and bolster us on our journey, much as a stop at a service plaza along an inter-state gives us new energy to continue our drive. This section from the first Letter of Saint Peter, I hope, will serve as such a boost: "You are a chose race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
"Once you were no people/ but now you are God's people;/ you had not received mercy/ but now you have received mercy.
"Beloved I urge you as aliens and sojourners to keep away from worldly deisres that wage war against the soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation."(1 Pet 2: 9-12)
We are aliens to the lifestyle of the world, but as St. Paul reminds us, "You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God. (Eph 2: 19). May we take heart and find strength in knowking that we are not alone, but form one body in Christ and animated by the Holy Spirit.
Bro. Rene