Get Yourself Together

Monday, June 23, 2008

Life and Living

Order your soul; reduce your wants; live in charity; associate in Christian community; obey the laws; trust in Providence.

St. Augustine 354-430, Numidian-born Bishop of Hippo, Theologian

Deut 4:9
9 "Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.
NASU

What is it to “Order your Soul? St Augustine tells us that when we have done this, reducing our wants, and living peaceably together as the family of God, and we are obeying God’s laws, that we can trust providence. Scripture tells us in Rom 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

So we see peace exists when we are living for “His purpose,” and not our own. It exists when we remember and cherish the things of God and one another, and when we hold dearly to those things, and do not let go of them for the things of this world. We are to live this way, as Moses said, “all the days of our life.”

Living the truth is how we pass it on, and then you can trust providence. It isn’t providence as much as it is promise. God’s promises are sure and trustworthy and if we live in His promises, they will come true. The best part of all of this is that we can pass it on. Not just money, land or things, but a way of living that will bless our children’s homes and families long after we are gone. When we go to live forever, the way we have lived can forever bless those we leave behind; put your soul in order…God Bless.

Pastor William