Meditation for Worship, Nov.11, 2007

Father,

we thank you this morning that

we are your sheep,
And that you provide us with green pastures.

We praise you that you are not a god

who condemns us to freedom.
You have not left us as wild animals,

in the jungle of sin,
free to roam and pounce

according to our own bloodthirsty desires;
feral in our freedom;
vicious in our vices.

And we praise you that you are not a god

who strips us of freedom.
You have not confined us,

as if we were animals in a divine zoo,
captives of your commandments;
lashed by your laws.

No! You have assigned us our portion and cup,
You have made our lots secure.
Your boundary lines fall for us in pleasant places,
Because it is in Christ
that we live, and move, and have our being;
Because it is in Christ
that we are freed from sin to fresh friendships
with you
with each other
with all creation.

Today we celebrate this mystery:
It is because we are bound

by Christ’s love and truth,
That we are no longer animals,

either captive or wild.

It is because we are in Christ,
that we are free to be

what you always meant for us to be:

fully human.

This meditation to accompany worship at Valley Covenant Church, November 11, 2007.

Text: I Corinthians 10:23-11:1
Sermon, "Freedom in Christ," available here .