The spiritual journey helps us grow in understanding of the amazing person we are. When we understand how precious and valued we are by the Creator of the universe, the infinite reality of our self-worth can take root. From that point of great self-confidence, we can start to see that everybody else is just as precious and important.
What an amazing God we have! It’s Gospels like today’s that remind me of how “human” I am and how different God is from us.
“I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
JOHN 10:11-16
I mean, if I was all-powerful, I’m certain I would not have:
Chose to create creatures like myself.
Empowered them to make critical discussions about my creation.
Treated them like myself, including to the point of making equal deals (covenants) with them.
Sent myself to suffer and die for these creatures after they repeatedly failed to stay good on their promise.
The truly radical thing is that God, who is above time, knew all of this would happen and did it anyway. He could have hit the undo button at any point and wiped it away. But He didn’t (OK except may the flood, that was like a partial undo).
The refusal to hit the undo button on creation overall is not it. He intentionally created each and every one of us, knowing every single mistake that we were going to create. And He allowed us to live and have free will anyway.
Lord Jesus, we pray that for your sake we have the heart, the strength, the courage, to lose our lives. Help us eradicate all the things in our earthly life that take us away from you, that pull us away from your call to mission. We trust that our journey to follow you will allow us to bring joy, comfort and love to others, satiate the deepest desires of our heart for meaning, belonging, and acceptance, and ultimately lead us deeper into love with you, the Author of Life, in whom we will find life in its fullest.