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.
