Today Paul talks about those in the world that live according to the flesh and those who live according to the spirit. And the result of both lifestyles. While reading this passage I think of all the people in my life who live according to the flesh and sin and those that live focused on the spirit. There are only two choices because it is a clear yes or no choice. Those who say yes to Jesus, but do not allow him to change them and be Christ for others, are fooling themselves. A halfway devotion or lip service to Jesus is to choose sin ahead of God.
And we will have people in our life that we love that choose a life focused on flesh, the things of this world and the desires of the flesh. They may choose to remain with us or choose to leave us and no longer be in fact a current member of our family. And we may also leave others that pose challenges for us spiritually or emotionally. And that is life.
We will always have people that come into our life and those that leave our life. Some will be our origin family who will walk away from us, or we will have to walk away from. Others who we were not born into will come and be family or friends.
For the Christian we need to understand that our family or circle of people who are closest to us changes for most of us. Some like a child that stays away from a parent, decide by action, if not conscious decision, that their past and origin is not part of who they are going forward. It is hard to accept I know.
As followers of Christ there will be family and others who we find WE may need to walk away from. In order to focus on the will of God. In order to grow in faith. Not because Jesus wants that, but because above all things in this life God must be our priority and focus. Everyone and everything else must be secondary.
That is not to say we reject and eject everyone that does not share our faith. Not at all. But as we grow in faith, we will learn what to put aside including sin, greed, pursuit of worldly goals…and yes even people who are stumbling blocks for us.
And so, when others we love, like a brother or child is no longer talking to us, it may be they are on their own journey and depending on who they put first in their life, we may not be part of it. We can grieve the loss, but we must move on and accept it. Otherwise, it will create a sore spot in our spirit and soon impact our pursuit of living a faith-filled life growing and focusing on God.
Everyone chooses their family at different times and throughout life. Some choose to stay with a circle of friends and family that accepts sin and worldly pursuits. That is their choice. That is who they are allowing to guide their journey.
But for those of us who choose Jesus Christ to guide us, we become adopted children of the Holy Family. Through baptism we are now part of the children of God, and he is our Father. Many will leave us because of this choice if we live it faithfully.
Following God is following truth and love, and the world and the evil one hates truth and real love.
By all means love everyone as we have been taught. Strive to win everyone for Jesus Christ. But this does not mean our job is to force anyone to do anything. We can’t force anyone to seek God or love us. That would be silly and obscene.
The family is the center of spiritual life. Whether it is a family of monks or a stereotypical family of parents and children. But as adults this will change and who are family changes. One day it may not look at all like your family of origin.
We are called to live in the present moment. Today is all we have been given to work with. We seek and live God today. Give each day as lived for Christ. Let the past go. We can’t change it. As St Augustine says give it over to the mercy of Christ. And we can’t control tomorrow by worrying or being troubled. That is not ours to work with yet.
So today we may find ourselves with a drastically different family than yesterday. Love them and all you meet today. You will find, as we walk through our day, children, parents, brothers and sisters who need your kindness and love in this world of harshness and chaos. We must be good friends to them and good brothers and sisters.
Pray that the Holy Spirit is in you today so that you may have life. And love all you encounter today. For your family today, is what you have been given and who you have been given to love and help nurture to follow Christ.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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