What Makes Us Acceptable to God?

I woke up this morning with a question I haven’t thought of for along time:

"What make us acceptable to God?"

After some random thinking I had a vision. 

No, no not really a vision like we read about in the Bible. 

Or, or maybe, just maybe, it was like that.

Anyway I was thinking of an image of the Spirit/God living in, and through,  Jesus’ body. 

The image was actually like an arrow moving from God through Jesus and through Jesus into each of us.

Very cool!

It felt good; I think because is visually made sense.

I was thinking about all of Jesus' “in-dwelling” statements in the Gospel of John; especially John 15. 

Let me see if I can remember how it went.  It was something like God moving through our cells, blood vessels and veins, enabling us to be what we are meant to be. 

I remembered what Jesus told his disciples about leaving them with an “advocate — the Holy Spirit — to guide them into all truth.”  (John 14:25)   

Some were in all of this I met a road block.  It was the part about what we do with God’s gracious offer of his presence.

My mind began to wonder:  

                                   “But what if?”

It had to do with our response to the presence of God inside of us.

I thought of all those who don’t believe because they have never had the opportunity to know about God, Holy Sprit, Jesus.  

Or those who have, for some reason or another, rejected the whole idea.

 of God.

My mind got stumped --  became very silent.

  

Then God tapped me on the brain, and I remembered  that God can be ignored or said no to; but That doesn’t mean that God ignores, or says no to, us.   Or that God leave us alone to fen for ourselves. 

My head is off my pillow now.  And I am thinking about the answer to my road block.  

We may not know, or believe, or have faith in God.

However, that also doesn’t mean that God is not — is not real.

Just because you think God isn’t real, it doesn’t make what you think true.

Here is the image I had this morning:

God Spirit _ through Jesus__Spirit __ through Us _ our yes or no.

You see, much like the God of the Old Testament, God will no longer force us to worship or believe in Him.


We are free to say not to God all we want.

But no matter how we think or feel; God will not abandon us.

And you are probably thinking: “Yeah but you don’t know all the terrible things I have done.”

My response is:  God knows.  

And what you don’t know is that God forgives.

Example:  The robber who hung next to Jesus on the Cross.  This man had lived a life of awful.  And with his last breath was forgiven.

Do you actually think God would not do the same for you? 

If you have ever for a moment — even the tiniest of moments — had the feeling, or thought, that God was real.   You are on the correct path.

All you need is that small bit of information.  That little seed of truth.  God does the rest.

We can give up on ourselves.  But God does not ever give up on us.

A Word Of Hope

Continuing the thoughts from yesterday.  I had another one — thought that is.

I am thinking of our world of politics.  

I am thinking of all the people who fret about the situations our President has created in our nation.  

And yes, I am thinking the loud silent voices of those too cautious, about their own reputations and agendas, to speak out.

I do know that some of my readers may be champions of Donald Trump.  And that is certainly your choice.  

It is not a choice I understand.
  

However, that being said, our national pride lives with our right to our  differences of opinion.  And I am the first one to believe that such differences can make for a whole and healthy environment.

Regardless of what I think.  

                                        Dammit!

This thought , I offered yesterday from Cynthia Bourgeault,  fills my heart with great hope in the midst of all things different:

“Could it be that this earthly realm, not in spite of but  because of its very density and jagged edges, offers precisely the conditions for the expression of certain aspects of divine love that could become real in no other way?

This idea gives me hope because I have great faith in a very present and active God in the realm of all things earthly.  

And I choose to think -- believe, have faith -- that what our nation is experiencing, in the last few weeks, is God’s ability to smooth out and adjust some of the jagged edges; that have so clearly disrupted the core values of our historical government of "democracy."

It is my faith that God has invaded the hearts and minds, of some of our elected leaders, with a hidden wisdom that is emerging with a bold willingness to speak  — act —  against the bullying habits  of the President.

God's love and wisdom is finally getting through the unfortunate self-protection of those who call themselves leaders ‘for the people.’

And so, like Peter who spoke on the day of Pentecost, God's Spirit is on the move in those leaders who have chosen to stand up and speak.

Thanks Be To God.

The Why Of Life

Through out my life, especially during my years of active ministry, I have come face to face with my own and others pain.  

I  have seen people struggle with their weakness.  

I have listened to their anger, gratefulness and their wonders about the ‘why’ of life.

I have personally experience, and walk with others who have experienced, the multitude of frustrations and complicated road blocks of life.

Through it all there remains the one unanswerable question:  Why?

Why me, what did I do?

       Why did this happen?

      Why do I have to go through this?

     Why doesn’t God do something about it?

One evening I visited a woman, in the hospital, who had just been informed the her abdomen was full of cancer.  As I drove to the hospital I prayed for God to give me words.  

When I entered her room all I could say was “Oh Marge I am so, so sorry.” She looked straight at me and said in a wise and calm voice:  “Why not me?”

“Why not me?”  

My memories of the rest of the conversation has left my mind.  What I remember is her amazing faith and calm resolve.

The truth of life is that there are hard time and unfair things that occur.  

I often compare our human condition with the cycles of nature -- the beauty of Fall, the dead cold of winter, the rain and new life of Spring and the warmth of summer. I think of weather that creates peacefulness in our soul; as well as destruction and pain.

No matter how much we want life to be smooth and easy; it is not.

And, and, it is no ones fault.

That is just the truth.

With all of that said.  This morning I read an extraordinary explanation of this quandary of human truth.  

I quote from Cynthia Bourgeault’s book Wisdom Jesus pages 

“Yes, this is a very heavy, frustrating, difficult, density that we come into by taking birth in the human realm. Because of the binary, finite nature of both the physical world itself, and the egoic operating system we use to navigate it, it seems as though we’re always bumping into sharp edges..” p. 98

“Could it be that this earthly realm, not in spite of but  because of its very density and jagged edges, offers precisely the conditions for the expression of certain aspects of divine love that could become real in no other way?  This world does indeed show forth what love is like in a particularly intense and costly way.  But when we look at this process more deeply, we see that those sharp edges we experience as constriction at the same time call forth some of the most exquisite dimensions of love, which require the conditions of finitude in order to make sense — qualities such as steadfastness, tenderness, commitment, forbearance, fidelity, and forgiveness.  These mature and subtle flavors of love have no real context in the realm where there are no edges and boundaries, where all just flows.  But when you run up against the hard edges and have to stand true to love anyway, what emerges is a most precious taste of pure love divine.  God has spoken his most intimate name.” (p 99-100)

Profoundly thought provoking.