One word on my mind tonight : Awareness.
A group of my friends and I have been reading through a book titled “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence 1600s. Yep you read that right, 17th century wisdom so powerful it is hard to put down the book. A man who was a monk, wrote about the presence of God and was dropping bombs that resonate 400+ years later. Insane. Anyways he talks about how no matter where he went, he always knew God was with him, not only surrounding him, but within his own being. No matter the situation he was in, he knew God was present, and this was the one reason he had a lasting, glorious peace that drew so many of his fellow monks to question even why he was so happy all the time.
I believe as Humans we are constantly battling with our own desires and egos. We always want to do it on our own terms, and follow the desires of the flesh. When we argue without God, it becomes a defensive game, of who is right and wrong. When we argue with God it not only is peaceful, but it allows for both individuals to grow and learn something about each other and in turn God. God has made us so different, and this begs us to debate, and no wonder why! Debating and disagreeing are ways we can unlock a bigger picture of who God is through our differences. Yet the key element which keeps debates peaceful is awareness. Awareness of love really. An awareness that has become razor sharp, in the way that no matter what is said, what happens, what our current situation is, it remains unshaken because of its supplier. Let me explain : Gods love is so powerful, so wonderful, so beyond human interpretation, that when we spend time with him, he naturally blesses us with this loving awareness. It’s no longer you vs them, or I and you, it’s brother and sister, it’s child of god with child of god, it’s with holy spirit and holy spirit, its with Christ body and Christ body. The love God provides us with dissolves any barrier that is made in human creation. We can call ourselves this or that, republican, democrat, American, Chinese, whatever. This love dissolves those identifications to such a simple level that we can’t but help fall in love with other person, because you realize who the other is, it’s a part of you.
In a culture of so much division, individuality, and excess, we are yearning for meaning. People from all walks of life can agree on one thing : we need to feel loved and love. This is part of our human nature, without it we are nothing. God not only satisfies our souls for our desire of love, but he overflows our hearts with joy and wonder that cannot help but bleed over into every part of your life, relational, creatively, every and any area. In a world of so many people following others, looking the same, fitting in, God’s love is a powerful light into our true selves. It floods our hearts and souls with a beauty, and that beauty turns into a love of self and of life, and that love turns into a confidence in every thing you do. The greatest news is that God wants to show up and do this for each and everyone of us on this earth. His love is unlike any love in the universe.
There used to be a song that I really loved as a kid growing up in High School called “Every part of you” by Edward Sharpe. The chorus just sings “Every part of you just another part of me”, and I loved that. Yes this is nothing new, and granted sounds very hippish, spiritual, and acid washed etc haha. But the thing is this type of love is from the Father, and the Father alone. Many eastern practices and even the hippy movement had their focus set on this powerful love, but always I think they fell short because it led to self worship, and not the worship of the one who provided it in the first place. When we take love for granted and don’t acknowledge the gift that God is giving us, we end up at a dead end, defeated, wondering why the world is the way it is. I think this is because we confuse the gift as the prize rather than the giver. We are given the love, without the awareness. God wants to spend time with us, he is always there, loving us through any mistake, sin, battle -his love is unwavering and the energy never fluxuates.
His love doesn’t want anything from you. It is not fearful. His love gave his only son to die on the cross in our place. His love leaves the 99 sheep to find the one lost one. His love is unfailing, never not giving itself completely to us. Jesus looked at the ones who crucified him with compassion, knowing that he had to do whatever it took to get our hearts. With God we can never fail, with love – we can make the world a little more brighter, day by day, furthering his kingdom effectively, by transforming our own hearts, giving all the glory to the Father who gave us this beautiful blessing that is called Love.
Thanks for reading,
Brent McGill <3
