Reflection and Renewal: Seeing Everything Through The Lens Of Love (based on 2 Timothy 1:7)

God, when you look at us, your view of us isn’t defined by the things which we’ve all done wrong.  Instead, you see us through the lens of love. You see us as potential conduits of the original goodness
that you created the entire universe with.

We're not nearly as good as you are at seeing ourselves that way. We can easily get trapped in shame; seeing ourselves as inherently sinful, as unworthy of love, and as incapable of goodness.

We're not nearly as good as you are at seeing the world through the eyes of love. We often define people solely based upon their moments of imperfection. And even though it's wise to have healthy boundaries with people who unrepentantly cause harm; we often go well beyond that and write people off in totality or dehumanize them. When we do that, we don’t allow for the possibility that goodness and light could ever break through to them.

So God, forgive us when we don’t get it right. Help us to accept forgiveness as well as extend it to all. Help us to remember that your all-encompassing grace seeks to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Amen.

God's Love Isn't Reckless, It's Thoughtful and Intentional - Andrew Gabriel

God loves us with clear and thoughtful intention.

The chorus of the song in question speaks of the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.”

I searched for the meaning of “reckless,” and Google tells me that “reckless” describes someone who acts “without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.”

I tried the more respectable Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, and, similarly, it defines reckless as “marked by lack of proper caution: careless of consequences” and even as “irresponsible.”

I don’t think too many Christians would like to say that God is “careless” or that God’s love doesn’t “care about consequences.”  Instead, God loves us with the clear and thoughtful intention “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I think the author meant that God’s love is relentless. At my church, we've changed the lyric to "perfect love."

The full article is available here

Reflection & Renewal: Following Jesus, The Fully Spiritually-Alive Human (based on 2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

God, when Jesus came to earth, he lead a life of sacrificial, inclusive, and selfless love. While fully  God, he was fully human and thrived in the goodness you created the world in. Thank you for that amazing example for us of how to live. 

In Jesus, we see that you didn't create us for violence, greed, and oppression. You designed us to be makers of peace and agents of forgiveness, like Jesus was. Where systems and structures have brought dehumanization, you've called us to rehumanize, like Jesus did.

But even when we try to follow that example, we often get off track. Without even meaning to, we easily get swept up in currents of competition, striving, controlling, and consuming.

In our spiritual lives, we easily fall into ruts of thinking that our humanity itself is inherently bad and sinful; of thinking that being human makes us somehow undeserving of your love, God.

Forgive us.

Help us to celebrate and emulate the beautiful way that Jesus lived; as a fully spiritually-alive human who, through your love, brought out the best in everyone and everything.

Amen.

The Whole Earth Is Holy Land - Brian Zahnd

Creativity To Imagine A Better World - Rev Mariama White-Hammond

See The World With Jesus' Eyes - Richard Rohr

How The Church Responds To Abuse Matters - Rachael Denhollander

Love Expands The Universe - Richard Rohr