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Maroon Dawn said:
The funny part is, if so many Lefty types were really looking for just a moral code with no real "supernatural" element to its belief system then they'd just be Buddhists
But Buddhism doesn't allow for the moral equivocation and no personal sacrifice or restraint that Leftists are REALLY looking for
It's like someone else said above, they're just looking for a weekly group social that let's them check off "I go to Church" from their list of moral superiority points
AG @ HEART said:
Most spiritual people want the benefits of God without the moral oversight from God.
Yep. Said differently, they want GOD's blessings without his authority.
There is a rebellious streak inherent in human beings. It's the root of sin, and a consequence of free will. (BTW, the only real question I have for God is how is this gift good for us since it is so often used to lead us away from Him. But, I digress.) So, I don't disagree with the above-noted assertions about rejecting "moral oversight" or "authority". However, I would like to reframe and assert a deeper point.
God is love--that is to say, God is the willing of the good of the other as they are. Love, as it pertains to God, is not merely affection or indulgence toward someone--although these can be marks of a loving human relationship and are not, in and of themselves, always flawed. God's love is nearly inexplicably deeper than a human's ability to love. With that said, there are signs that point to similarities. One of these is that genuine love has an intimate nature--an intimate connection.
God's justice and judgment are realities as is His mercy. God doesn't sit like some sheriff or DA or trial judge looking to condemn mankind. God's law isn't meant as a weapon or a reward/penalty system. Rather, the law exists to reveal to us God's nature so that we might know and understand Him better as we draw more deeply in relationship to Him. Sin can be a rejection of God's nature, yes. Perhaps more often, it is a rejection of His gift on intimacy.
If I am in an intimate relationship with you, I cannot help but be changed. I will, by definition, begin to move toward openness and generosity for your needs above my own. I will naturally be drawn into a desire to protect you and to set the conditions for your flourishing. I will devote significant mental energies to contemplating you, and I will share those thoughts about how wonderful you are with others. I will trust you with my own brokenness. I will accept your guidance--and, yes, when I need it--your corrections. All of these things are hallmarks of real intimacy, and they--not legalism--are what God wants with us. When we are intimate with God, we grow in love and fidelity to Him. When we love what God loves, we naturally live the moral life because that orientation to the Good is the product of our constant intimacy with Him who is goodness itself.
Sin makes it all about me--my ego. Our society--with its focus on individualism--is most prone to this sin. I did this. I deserve this. I own this. I. I. I.
I'll leave you with this reflection that I received this morning. I think this woman has captured the essence of God's "law of the gift" as St. John Paul named it. I hope it's a blessing for you, and I hope it's a springboard to repentance, reform, and renewal for the people of God. Each of us can be that catalyst when we allow our own hearts to be more greatly conformed to God.
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Written by Madison Moseley | Pastoral Assistant at St. Mary's
"Remember the marvels the Lord has done"
He sent his servants after us. His prophets. His holy people. His pleading messengers.
His son.
And what was he asking then that he continues to gently seek even now? He asks that we might hand over what was always his from the starteverything. What a merciful and loving Father to patiently request from us what has never been (and will never be) our own when he could simply and instantly take it himself. Yet here I often stand, white-knuckled and fearful, before the One who gives me breath to breathe, light in darkness, a way in the wilderness.
A question often comes to my mind before him: "Why are you asking this of me?" Such a human and little and begging-to-be-asked question. And this vulnerable question makes space for the Father to remind us that he has already answered in his son - and to pour forth his desire for us to know what is true at the very core of our hearts.
A completely freeing and life-altering truth is revealed when we step aside so that the king may reign over his own kingdom: in taking him at his word and unclenching these fists, we stand to gain life without end. Eternity. The inheritance we have been grasping for. And Jesus proved this to be true when, through his hands open even to the nails of the cross, he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Because he will never send us where he hasn't first been. He will never ask anything of us that he hasn't first given himself.
In the end, our lives given over to him lose nothing and gain everything. What a marvel of total, merciful, and freely given love. May we encounter his son throughout this Lent and receive him. May we always remember his heart for us and respond in trust with our lives.
Reflection Questions
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How has the Father invited you to respond to his love today? How has he done so throughout your life? What are you holding onto now that Christ might be inviting you to offer back to him?[/ol]
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