Haunted by Goodness

God, Joy, Life 0

It strikes us that to hope in the kind of goodness that would set our heart free, we must be willing to allow our desire to remain haunted.  This side of the Fall, true goodness comes by surprise, the old writings tell us, enthralling us for a moment in heaven’s time.  They warn us it cannot be held.  Something inside knows they are right, that if we could do so, we would set up temples to worship it and the Sacred Romance would become prostitution.  We understand that we must allow our desire to haunt us like Indian summer, where the last lavish banquet of golds and yellows and reds stirs our deepest joy and sadness, even as they promise us they will return in the fragrance of spring.

— Brent Curtis & John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance, p. 140

God Knows Our Stories

Forgiveness, God, Story 0

But the God of Scripture is also the God who refused to nuke Nineveh, even though that’s what Jonah wanted; who forgave David for a really staggering list of wrongdoings; who wants only for us stiff-necked people to repent and come home; who goes out into the stormy night for the one lost black sheep; who throws a party when the Prodigal Son returns; who loves us so much that God did indeed send his only begotten son to come live with us, as one of us, to help understand our stories — each one unique, infinitely valuable, irreplaceable.

— Madeleine L’Engle, The Rock That Is Higher, quoted in Glimpses of Grace, collected by Carole F. Chase, p. 323

God’s Fatherly Love

Forgiveness, God 0

I have been asked, and many times, “But can’t we choose to exclude ourselves?”  Of course.  Haven’t we, as children, haven’t our own children flung out of the room in anger?  And haven’t we waited for them to come back?  We have not slammed the door in their faces.  We have welcomed them home.  Jesus said, “If you . . . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

— Madeleine L’Engle, The Rock That Is Higher, quoted in Glimpses of Grace, compiled by Carole F. Chase, p. 318

A Journey to God

God, Growth, Life 1

Once you buy the evangelical born-again “Jesus saves” mantra, the idea that salvation is a journey goes out the window.  You’re living in the realm of a magical formula.  It seems to me that the Orthodox idea of a slow journey to God, wherein no one is altogether instantly “saved” or “lost” and nothing is completely resolved in this life (and perhaps not in the next), mirrors the reality of how life works, at least as I’ve experienced it.

— Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God, p. 390

Reading the Bible in Community

Community, God, Life, Love 0

Reading the Bible with others does not mean only that we read together in a small group, or that we read commentaries to benefit from the wisdom of great teachers, or that we listen to the Bible read and reflected on in worship or other gatherings.  It also means reading the Bible through the lens of others’ experiences, in the knowledge of others’ stories, in the midst of immersion in others’ lives.  For all this is in the service of loving God and loving one another.  It is not to make us more knowledgeable about the Bible’s text, although that is helpful.  It is not to make us more culturally sophisticated, although that is a benefit.  It is to plunge us deeper into life with God, and therefore deeper into life with one another, that we might take one more step toward the beloved, all-inclusive community centered in Christ.

— Richard J. Foster, Life with God, p. 105-106

Finding Joy

God, Joy 0

Joy is of our making, and it is most easily made when we acknowledge God.  I am inclined to say that acknowledging God is a necessary exercise.  At least I have found it so.  As I have said already, our minds can hold but a single thought.  If God is in that thought, every experience has the capacity to instill joy in us. . . .

Joy is always available to us moment by moment.  But we must keep our minds open and pay attention.  A closed mind or a mind filled with fear or judgment will never know joy.  A red rose beginning to open, a willow tree swaying in the breeze, the rainbow after a shower, the dew glistening on each blade of grass in the early morning, a baby taking her first steps — all of these moments hold the potential for joy.  Every moment of every day we can see evidence of God everywhere.  And we can feel overjoyed by this evidence if we want to.  The decision is ours.

— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 30-31

Don’t Get Ahead of Your Nose

God, Letting Go, Life, Peace 0

God’s presence can’t be experienced except moment by moment, and that means we have to show up in each moment.  Getting ahead of this moment in regard to our relationships, our vocations, our dreams, and aspirations simply prevents us from knowing God. . . .

In my role as a mentor to a number of young women, I often say, “Don’t get ahead of your nose.”  It’s a great reminder that one is projecting, and it quickly brings us back to the present.  I also suggest that whenever thoughts of the future come into your mind, you envision blowing them away.  This may sound silly but it’s effective.  I have used it for years.

Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 29

A Higher Way

Forgiveness, God, Gratitude, Praising God, Trials 0

It is not punishment.  God never punishes.  And He well knows how you have been longing to do His will.  This sickness has been given you as a loving message to help you understand that there was a still higher and more heavenly way of reacting to the wounds and troubles that you were experiencing than you knew about.  Certainly God gave you a glorious victory even though your feelings were so wounded; you were delivered from resentment and were able to accept it all with forgiveness.  But perhaps there was a little self-pity because you did not realize about the glorious principle I have been sent to share with you.  For there is a still higher level of acceptance possible, and that is to accept everything that happens with praise, thanksgiving, and joy, knowing that every seeming affliction is really a blessing in disguise.  God allows only the very best things possible to happen to you at any particular time; that is to say, exactly the things and situations that are best fitted to help you, because they afford you the opportunity of reacting just as Jesus did.  Learning by His grace to react with praise and thanksgiving even to things that appear most evil, unjust, cruel, and deplorable, because God is allowing this opportunity to bring good out of evil, is just like waving a magic wand over an evil enchantment and being able to replace cruel spells with heavenly miracles.

— Hannah Hurnard, Eagles’ Wings to the Higher Places, p. 56-57

Why Christian Universalism?

God, Truth 0

In conclusion, let me ask you to hold in your mind traditional Christian visions of the future, in which many, perhaps the majority of humanity, are excluded from salvation forever.  Alongside that hold the universalist vision, in which God achieves his loving purpose of redeeming the whole creation.  Which vision has the strongest view of divine love?  Which story has the most powerful narrative of God’s victory over evil?  Which picture lifts the atoning efficacy of the cross of Christ to the greatest heights?  Which perspective best emphasizes the triumph of grace over sin?  Which view most inspires worship and love of God bringing him honor and glory?  Which has the most satisfactory understanding of the divine wrath?  Which narrative inspires hope in the human spirit?  To my mind the answer to all these questions is clear, and that is why I am a Christian universalist.

— Gregory MacDonald, The Evangelical Universalist, p. 176-177