I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Sometimes, Lord, I start thinking about how pleasant
and smooth my life would be if only all the tensions would disappear. I feel as if they are wearing me out and
grinding me down. Moreover, some of them
are. I would be healthier and happier
without them; I would not miss them if they left my life.
However,
there are some tensions in me that, in my better moments, I know are signs of
your presence, not of your absence. They
stretch me into shape, not out of shape.
The prayer I know I need to pray is that some tensions never leave me,
for they are simply part of what it means to be alive and faithful in the world
in which you have placed us.
¨ Today and every day, help me to live with the tension
between my loyalty and responsibility to my family and friends--and my loyalty
and responsibility to those outside that circle.
¨ Today and everyday, help me to live with the tension
between having enough certainty so that there are matters on which I speak and
act with firmness--and having enough doubt so that I avoid self-righteousness
and arrogance.
¨ Today and every day, help me to live with the tension
between taking time to enjoy your gifts--and taking time to be obedient to your
commands.
¨ Today and every day, help me to live with the tension
between the ideal solution--and the solution that is presently possible.
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