Daily Meditations
There are so many who seek power. We see it in politics, religion, business, everywhere. Seeking power through religion has led us down some dark paths. Until we can focus on Christ’s message there will still be those who use religion for their own reasons. Only by following the walk of Christ…act like Christ, nothing will ever change.
(Julian of Norwich)She says that Christ is the one who connects us to the “great root” of our being. . . . [1] “God is our mother as truly as God is our father,” she says. [2] We come from the Womb of the Eternal. We are not simply made by God; we are made “of God.” [3] So we encounter the energy of God in our true depths. And we will know the One from whom we have come only to the extent that we know ourselves. God is the “ground” of life. [4] So it is to the very essence of our being that we look for God. . . . (from Richard Rohr )
I had to read this several times to see it’s power. Being “of God” is a revelation. We are born out of God and so contain God within us as much as we contain the parts of our human parents. We have to search our deepest depths and find the roots of God in us. Not an easy task. It requires deep reflection in silence.
No one ever promised a perfect life. The world is not perfect. Bad things happen. The important thing is that no matter what we can count on God being with us. He will go with us down to the depths of despair and while there he will hand us hope. Hope…the thing that is always there. We only have to reach out and take it.
Even though I am a Christian I believe that there are things to learn from other faiths. My understanding is the Jewish faith concentrates on what you do with your life, Muslims stop their day to pray multiple times, Buddhists spend time in contemplation.
These are all things that I can admire and use in my own faith.
The only hymn that reflects those who have died for their country is the Navy Hymn
As a tribute here it is sung by military wives.
Dear Child of God, you are loved with a love that nothing can shake, a love that loved you long before you were created, a love that will be there long after everything has disappeared. . . . And God wants you to be like God. Filled with life and goodness and laughter—and joy. —Desmond Tutu
God doesn’t want us to go around with a sad or grumpy face. That kind of expression will certainly not cause others to come to God. A face like that will turn others away from God. Leaning on God every day and knowing that we are loved should bring on a pleasant face. One that will have others asking “what do they know that I don’t?” Show that God loves me! face.
When visitors come to a worship service in my own religious tradition, a great deal depends on how warmly they are welcomed and whether they feel included or excluded by what they hear during the whole time they are with us. We may have exactly one shot at communicating who we are to people who know nothing about us–or who think they already know a lot about us–but who, in either case, will remember us as the embodiment of out entire tradition, the prime exemplars of our faith.
Barbara Brown Taylor in “Holy Envy”
I had a friend who said “you may be the best Christian someone knows.” That is a scary thought. What do the people around us learn about Christianity from how we behave. Do we live up to what we say?
Religion tends to prefer and protect the status quo or the supposedly wonderful past, yet what we now see is that religion often simply preserves its own power and privilege. God does not need our protecting. We often worship old things as substitutes for eternal things.
Richard Rohr
We have to be careful to remember what is really important. We can easily substitute “the way we have always done it” for God Himself. We can’t make idols of things that make us feel comfortable. Jesus spent a lot of time making people uncomfortable.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
Sometimes trusting God is not easy. Sometimes things seem so bad that we think that God has deserted us. Sometimes we just want to fix things ourselves.
All of these are times when we have to pray fervently, listen and wait for God. God is with us through everything. He never leaves us. We are the ones who leave. Turn back to God.
We do often judge by appearance. It is such as easy thing to do. We choose those who seem like us and we don’t look beneath the surface. God looks at the heart. If we can learn to do the same we will find the most amazing people.
Know that God always sees you heart and loves you.
Hear God in Other Voices 