We are being transformed into God's image

 

New Testament reading is 2 Corinthians 3:18 “…all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

I believe humanity was created with an innate desire to seek God, and there is an emptiness deep within our souls that remains unfilled until we turn to God. However, this emptiness is not filled with divine benevolences discovered in our search. We find fulfillment, at least in part because we seek to know God, to be in a relationship with God. Those who try to fill the void with material things will remain empty, but even those of us who believe we know God are limited in our understanding.  

Author, theologian, and spiritual guide Jeremy Driscoll wrote that "God is not what we think [God] is — not in any small way what we might think, nor in any big way the sum total of what a whole bunch of thinkers, great thinkers through the centuries, might think." I believe contemplating on God keeps us seeking to know God. Driscoll also said, "we have no choice but to try to imagine God." In our limited humanness, we try to imagine what God is, what and who God might be, and God at some point comes to meet us in our thoughts." (Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, A Monk's Alphabet: Moments of Stillness in a Turning World (Shambhala, 2007), 169.

God's amazing grace is that if we live our lives seeking to know God, we will grow in God's glory, but we still will never understand God's glory, but again it is the seeking that makes the difference in our journey to know God.  

A February Reflection - "Understanding Love Through a Child's Eyes"

Charles Colson was once only thought of as President Richard Nixon's "hatchet man" and "incapable of humanitarian thoughts." His 1973 conversion to Christianity was followed by a guilty plea to obstruction of justice and a seven-month prison sentence in 1974. Colson went on to establish the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, fulfilling a promise made to fellow inmates that he would "never forget those behind bars." He released his first book, "Born Again," in 1976, and it instantly became an international bestseller. He has authored 16 books that have collectively sold more than 5 million copies. 

In his book 'Kingdoms in Conflict' he shares a story about a discussion he and his son, Chris, were having about the evidence for God. Colson argued that if there were no God, it would be impossible to account for the moral law, his grandson Charlie, then 4, interrupted.

"But Grandpa," he said, "there is a God." Colson nodded, assuring him that I agreed.

Charlie then said, "…if there wasn't a God, Grandpa, people couldn't love each other." 

Think about Charlie's response for a moment. 'Without God, we could not love each other.' I agree with Colson; Charlie is right. "Only the overarching presence and provision of God assures that both Christians and non-Christians enjoy human dignity and a means to escape our naturally sinful condition. Without God's presence, we could not survive together on this planet; nor could we love one another." [Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (New York: William Morrow/Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), 71.]

1 John 4 has become my favorite scripture. Verses 7-8 says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."Understanding scripture is not as simple as reading the text. We need to be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance and remember the character of God as we read. When we fail to see a God of love in our reading, we do not see God's true character that is predominant throughout scripture and our template for reading the stories. To be Christian is to be intentional about living out our lives into the character of God. “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we fail to choose (and it is a choice) not to treat another person as God's child, with dignity and respect, we are not only failing to live into the character of God; we are discounting the value of our relationship with God.

We are God's created, created to be in relationship with God, and we, individually and collectively as a people, have failed God many times over. Thanks be to God that God is love, and love forgives, always.  

The Greatest Hope

 

New Testament reading is Luke 5:1-15.  

The Greatest Hope

Jesus was standing on the shore of the lake. The people were crowding around, pressing on him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Jesus got into one of the boats and asked Simon Peter to push it out a little from the shore. Peter did as Jesus ask. Jesus then sat down in the boat and taught the people. When he finished teaching, he turned to Peter and asked him to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Peter was reluctant because he fished all night and caught nothing, but once again does as Jesus requests and achieves a miraculous catch of fish.

The heartwarming miracle stories remind us that God does not watch from a distance ignoring his creations. The stories give us hope in a God who walks with us through good and challenging times. A God who seeks to be in a relationship with us, just as Jesus pursued a relationship with Simon Peter. 

The story of the miraculous catch is a great sign of hope for all who struggle with life's challenges, but the greatest hope reflected in the story is in our God, who pursues us. 

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!