Friday, October 14,
2016
A final set of random thoughts for
the week.
Conversion
Things you hear over and over and
over again, that only reach a certain superficial level within your being,
until the right day, the right time, the right moment, when all of a sudden
they break right through and enter your heart or soul or spirit in a way that
they never did before. And all of a sudden, your live changes, right there
before your very eyes, because what you have heard now becomes not just a bunch
of words that pass through you like water through a sieve, but rather, they
become a part of you, and you will never be the same again because of them
Conversion is a process, not
a one-time born-again experience.
Creation
Do you ever think of God in those
terms? God the craftsman? God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, who in love play and
cavort and create out of loving joy?
God looking upon you and me and
taking delight in what he sees, and even if there be something he sees that is
cause for distress or concern, He works it out so that we can be delivered
from the oppression and restored to the original state of blessedness and
playfulness and love. And if you ever doubt that this God , Who has arranged
all these things, cannot or will not arrange things for your own deliverance
and salvation, then again, look at the sky and the trees and the sea, even in
this our damaged earth, and remember What God did out of love and playfulness
and creativity and remember that he has promised that at the end of time He
will fashion “a new heavens and a new earth,” and restore what was lost.
Creative love of God
We get glimpses and tastes of that
love, we mortals, during the time that we live here together on earth. Love
energy which is so powerful, so vibrant, so wonderful that it could do nothing
other than create. And in creating, it never exhausts itself, but rather grows
and becomes more vibrant and more beautiful and deeper rather than depleted.
Love-energy is inherently creative: it brings light, it establishes order, it
creates beauty, it walks on the wings of the wind as Spirit-breath and gives
life. It gave life to you and to me. And it continues to make us live, despite
all that we do to hasten our deaths.
Death and rebirth
How many times have we been called
to accept death so that we can find new life? The death of our childhood if we
are to experience the joys and responsibilities of adulthood. The death of
ignorance if we are to grow in knowledge. The death of bad habits if we want to
live in true freedom. The death of our own ideas and illusions, if we want to
live with peace of heart. The death of pride if we want to live with the
freedom that only is available to the humble. The death of self-will if we want
to live joyfully with what is rather than continually be tormented that things
are not what we think they should be.
The death of selfishness that is required for those who would wish to
experience the joy of giving. And in all
these things, it is only by embracing death that we are able to live in a new
and more wonderful world that the Lord invites us to experience in THIS LIFE as
a preparation for the life of the world to come.
Disappointment
God never disappoints. even when it
seems that our prayers are not being answered, He is still there caring for us,
and what we need to do is look more closely at what has happened--especially
when the circumstance is not of our own choosing or goes against our own
wisdom--then more than ever we need to calm our spirits and silence the
petulant child inside who pouts and gets angry because she hasn’t gotten her
way. No. What we need to do is to take a deep breath and calm the spirit, and
then look inside at what has happened--carefully and prayerfully--because the
hand of God is within the disappointment
You are upset because you didn't
get what you wanted when and how you wanted it? See the hand of Jesus gently
diverting your energy to something better.
Discouragement
If there is some sinful situation
thing in your life that you know has to change don't worry about how this will
be done. That only blocks God's grace.
Give your struggle to Him in the confessional and open your soul to an
experience of His life-saving power.
In fact, scriptures continually
demonstrate that the ONLY ones God uses to do His work and accomplish His
purpose are those who are so ruthlessly aware of their own unworthiness. And
so, realizing this, never let your own sins, weakness or failings cause you to
think that God would have no use for you.
Never, never, ever yield to discouragement: because when you or
I are at the lowest points in our lives, those places which are the emptiest,
the most filled with sin and weakness and failure, when you and I are feeling
the pain of our own woundedness more acutely than ever before, THOSE are
precisely the times when the love of Jesus Christ dying on the Cross is most
powerful. He died for us so that He could reach beneath the depths of our own
situations, and gently raise us up in the palm of His hand.
No one shall snatch them out of my
hand. Take consolation in that
yourselves, if you are struggling, or if you are always concerned about your
children and grandchildren who were once baptized but who are not following the
voice of the Shepherd. Remember this, my friends: No one shall snatch them out
of his hand.
God bless you! Have a nice weekend.
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