Tag: Love

To be the change we want to see in the world, we must see the value of what is in front of us.  God exists in gift form. If we want his life within, we have to learn to give it away. Think of everything we have received from God:  life, breath, being, powers. Because they come from God, they are meant to become gifts. If we cling to them, they don’t grow and in fact can wither away. 

We have been taught by God to love one another.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-11

These words struck me this morning during my time reflecting on scripture. It doesn’t say we will be taught to love or that we haven’t been taught to love but that we have been taught to love.

Do you live in the light, with each breath finding what is pleasing to the Lord?  As Christians, this is our destiny and how we were meant to live.

Do you taste and see goodness in your life? Take a Georgia peach for example. I recently experienced how a juicy, delicious peach grounded me in God’s goodness where I tasted and saw the goodness of God in the details of the peach. There was such beauty in the small details of those few moments of pursuing joy as the nose and taste buds danced with delight.   God gave me the gift of that moment to experience such joy and overwhelming gratitude.

Sometimes hope can be an elusive thing in our life on this earth. But as I sink into God’s goodness, the protection of hope starts surrounding my heart, holding it together.  

So much of what we do and feel comes from an unconscious level of being. But the soul knows its true identity and longings, just waiting for us to put down our guard where we invite the Spirit to take control. 

Can people take you at face value?  We are to be sincere in all we say and do, so that the integrity of our lives may be apparent to all who see us. Jesus warns against idle words, exaggerations, and swearing in the name of God.  If we live with a clear conscience and act before God in all things, we can then simply give our word and have it mean all we have inside us. 

Today, we celebrate Labor Day in the United States.  We celebrate the women and men who campaigned tirelessly for workers’ rights in the labor movement of the late 19th century. Their hard-fought wins are the reason for many of the rights we enjoy and take for granted today, such as a 40-hour work week, safe work conditions, paid time off, and sick leave. Those workers saw that there could be no freedom and liberty in this country without economic freedom for the working class.