Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see the needs of others and open our minds so that we will not hesitate to spend the self-giving love that you gave to us. Amen
Reading: Philippians 2: 1-13 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: In today’s scripture reading, Paul writes about how Christ humbled himself on the cross for the sake of our sins, and how we should imitate that humility in our relationships with others. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, and it can become overwhelming and easy to dismiss this call to humility as impossible. But if you look closely, Paul is simply saying that we just need to change our mindset in our relationships with one another. Currently in one of my classes at school, I am reading a book called “Engaging God’s World- A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living” by Cornelius Plantinga Jr., and I just recently happened to read a section reflecting on this same scripture passage. Plantinga described the self-giving love that Jesus displayed for us on the cross as the “currency of the Trinitarian life of God.” Looking at how we spend our life; the days, hours, and minutes become dollar bills and coins which makes us think how we should be spending those. We budget our money and plan to use it for certain expenses and luxuries. Unlike actual money, which can be saved for a later moment, time is fleeting and if we wait for a moment to pass we may lose the opportunity to spend our self-giving love on others when they need it most. Plantinga says that “the way to fulfill yourself is to spend yourself” serving others. So don’t wait a second longer to start spending! --Anne Harshbarger
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