Romans 8:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Romans 8:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 8There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Verse 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Verse 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, Verse 4so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Verse 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Verse 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Verse 7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-indeed it cannot, Verse 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Verse 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Verse 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Devotion
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. It's important that we not turn this into an "earth equals bad" and "heaven equals good" kind of dichotomy. Setting the mind on the Spirit does not mean abandoning engagement with and care for creation, for people, for all that we have. Setting the mind on the Spirit is not escaping to some other "realm," or spending all of our time inside the church walls.
Setting the mind on the Spirit awakens us to all God is calling us to do—to love and serve our neighbors, care for the earth and worship our Lord together. It means we’re paying attention to how God is at work and where the Spirit is leading us. Living according to the Spirit brings life and peace, and there is no doubt our families, our neighborhoods and our world need just that. The Spirit of God dwelling in us transforms our journeys and relationships here and now.
Prayer
Holy one, turn our minds and hearts to your Spirit, leading us into life and peace. Amen.