A Reminder

…remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all. (Romans 8:9b NLT)

The older I get, the more I seem to get absent minded.  That's pretty bad when, as a child, my dad would say, "Boy, you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached."  Of course, he was joking...I think.

Anyone around me knows that I put systems and processes in place to remind me of things that are important to me, but which I would forget without help.  I have calendars, task lists, project lists and tools with pictures and background information to help me care for and shepherd people.  (I have to work hard at remembering their names.)

The point is, I need reminders.  There was a day I would not so easily admit that, but perhaps with age is coming wisdom.  I gladly accept the hard work of the people who developed those tools, and use them to better serve those God has entrusted into my care.  Little by little I get better at it.

I'll tell you another tool I'm grateful to have received: His Spirit.  I mean no disrespect when I refer to the Creator of the universe as a tool, but in the form of His Spirit He chooses to function as one.  

In this case, He is a reminder.  He reminds me in much the same way that my task lists and calendars remind me.  I belong to Christ.  I was always God's creation...His handiwork...His child.  Something changed, though, when I received His Forgiveness and His Spirit.  I became His friend.  I became a part of His team.  I became His representative.

I'm now a Christ-follower and a Christ-ambassador to the world.  I have a new relationship with Him and a new job to do.  I am reminded of all these things through His Spirit.  All of us with His Spirit are now identified as Christians.  We are different than we were before...as His Spirit reminds us.

Thank you, God.  You know I need to be reminded.