Walk in Love.
"God Doesn’t Hate You."
Those words came roaring through my head this morning as I was listening to a talk by Richard Rohr on True Self/ False Self. Granted, I don’t believe that God hates me or anyone for that matter, but as I reflected, I wondered how many folks walk around with the feeling that someone God is pissed at them. How many believe that God is the stern Father in the Sky who is somehow watching them; waiting for them to blow it so that God can scold them.
I think most people can intellectually ascend to a concept of a loving God. Talking about love seems so simple and complete. It’s like most of us intellectually ascend to the fact that our parents love us, yet how many know it? How many feel it? How many operate out of a sense of duty or obedience, not from self-love but to avoid rejection and loss of approval?
Having recently relocated to a new area I have had the opportunity to visit a few different churches. On Mother’s Day, one speaker began his message with the reality that children should be taught to honor their parents and that being born “fallen and sinful” that children must be taught to be obedient and honor the family system; children need correction. I agree that all people need some boundaries and framework to live in community, but often times it are those very rigid boundaries and systems that set folks up not to be able to live to such high expectations. It deepens on sense of self and shame. I sat there and listened for a couple of more minutes before I walked out. I didn’t walk-out because I couldn’t take the message; I think I left for all the kids in the world.
When we are most true, authentic selves I think we are most pleasing to God; and we are most “God-like”, our “I AMness”. When we are confronted by the natural expressions of ourselves and “conformed” to a system, we lose our conscious uniqueness. Trying to obey rules; please God so as not to lose approval or God’s acceptance or that of others; sets us up to deepen our shame.
Jesus’ message to the world was we no longer have to hide in shame, for God has drawn near to us out of love. Rules and systems that shame people have no place in the kingdom of God. God loves us because God is good. When we begin to turn and walk home toward the Garden, we discover paradise of our true-selves waiting for us where we dwell with God. A God who doesn’t hate, but the God, our Mothering Father, who lives with us.
13 Comments:
so we are not fallen and sinful? which version of scripture do you read from?
your hints of universalism are becoming more and more evident.
careful my friend. thou treadest on dangerous ground.
Bro,
I once viewed God as a chain gang boss, watching over me through mirrored sunglasses, waiting for me to screw up so he could respond with the butt of his gun to the back of my head. It was on that weekend roughly 13 years ago, when I came back changed, that I discovered a Love, the depth and breadth of which I am still struggling to comprehend. God loves me, pure and simple...not if I do this or when I do that, but incredibly He loves me as I am and He calls me to love you in the same way.
Hump
ps: I hope the new city and job are treating you well.
Thanks Anonymous.
I'm sorry you did not feel secure in leaving your name. No reason to hide here, we are free in Christ, you belong in the Garden; you no longer have to hide. You are free in Christ. No shame here.
Honestly, the scripture I read from and understand is the scripture that teaches that we are created in the image of a loving God. The WORD MADE FLESH-- Jesus-- confirms that God loved the world so much that God chose to become a human.
Not sure where your idea of universalism came from by my post.
The doctrine of original sin, as you know, didn't develop until the 4th century and was mainly attributed to Augustine, who by the way, assumed he was a low- life piece of trash as a person for he was abandoned by his parents and beaten by his school masters. No wonder his view of himself was one of very low self-worth. But as you know, when he awakened to God he recognized who he really was-- I suspect we all do.
My God-- the WORD who became FLESH, tells me that I have great worth. I was created in my God's image and my God loved me so much that he came and walked with humanity.
It is strange that the religious leaders at the time who were so caught in the trap of rules and laws to win God's favor, thought that Jesus was breaking the law and the Code. They killed him. They killed the WORD MADE FLESH. They murdered the WORD on a cross. All for their crazy idea that he was outside their understanding of God's love and law. They claimed he treaded on dangerous ground.
With all respect, the dangerous ground is one in which we teach and indoctrine people in the name of God that they are no good pieces of garbage.
Are we fallen and sinful, I am, don't know about you, but by the grace of God, I now know that my true indentity isn't my "fallen, sinfulness" (which only perpetuates shame and sin... spiritual bankruptcy) My true identity is a child of a loving God who has stamped my very being with HIS DNA.
I love God because God first loved me. My "I AMness" is defined by the very Creator of the universe who I call God, and my understanding of that God looked at me and called me good. That God saw that I was worth something. Worth so much that that God stuck his neck out to set me free from harsh, closed-religious systems and injustices that want to further exclude people and teach a doctrine of fear-based; shame-based, toxic relgiosity.
Who says that Jesus didn't die for the "sins" of the world.. THE WORLD? Please tell Jesus who he did and didn't die for.
Hump. I will never forget... NEVER... the look in your eyes on that Monday 13 years ago. You had encountered the One on your journey.
I love you bro!
First response is to the previous blog before responding to this blog.
Rick, great blog, as usual. You are doing God's work with your words.
I also agree with openjoe that we cannot listen to God if we refuse to listen to our neighbor because our neighbor is God asking to be heard. In the giving is the receiving.
This blog is especially important for men because we tend to automatically go into the fix-it mode. As you said, listening is not about fixing, but about truly listening.
Keep up the good work.
Second response:
Anonymous, you are following what others have told you is the truth. You should seek the truth yourself. That is why the Bible says, Seek and you shall find; ask and it will be given; knock and it shall be opened unto you.
God is your best friend, not some entity that should be feared. The god that needs to be feared is the one created by self-serving men trying to maintain control over the minds of others.
Jesus spoke in parables so that in order to understand what he meant it was necessary to seek the understanding. Jesus said, "Let him who can, understand."
Rick, you are doing a good job. Keep spreading the word of love.
matt
i am quite aware of gods love for me. that does not negate the fact that we are fallen and sinful before he restores us.
if not the case why did jesus die? to uncover the image of god in us? what about romans? what about the clear separation paul gives in all his letters?
just a few verses that made me respond like i did.
i hated esau but loved jacob
there is none righteous, no not one, there is no one who seeks god.
an i guess the fact that you matt, had no one tell you of your special gnosis. i have spent 15 years studying scripture. i have a pretty good handle on what the big picture is.
what i do not get is why we feel the need to dumb down his holiness and expectations and dress them in an all will be saved mantra.
what i said and will still stand by is this...we are fallen. remember adam? remember noah? if every one has diety in them, as you have written before...why did god destroy the world with the flood? why did he grieve that he made man?
scripture is not a buffet. god is a god of wrath just as much as he is a god of love.
in a effort to turn jesus in to a haight-ashbury mullet hippie wearing love beads, we demean his holiness and his name.
yes, definitly yes. god is love. it is his kindness that leads us to repentance. jesus used those words a few times as well. i know that because he saved me from 16 years of addiction. but in the end, he is also judge. and we will stand before him and be held to account.
whether we believe that or not really does not matter.
Dear anonymous
Thanks for being here. I know that you do so without judgement and in love. So, please fel free to share any time.
The wrath of God was (according to some theologies) taken out on Jesus. That's what makes the story so amazing. You are free. Jesus paid it in full. You had nothing to do with it. Whether you believe it or not does not matter, like you said about God's wrath. Your belief in the cross doesn't validate it any more than one's unbelief invalidates it. Jesus said, "it is finsihed."
I do not worship my "bible", I worship God; and the Word made Flesh is my Lord (to borrow 1st Century language).
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is IN you. (Luke) Genesis from the Hebrew "Bible" claims that we were made in God's image. Our bodies are the TEMPLE of the HOLY SPIRIT. The TEMPLE is GOD's DWELLING place.
So yes, God is in me.
When did we get restored? 2000 years ago at incarnation or on a cross, or when we say we are ready to be restored? let's not confuse the grace of God with our egos (we can't boast. No wonder they call it good news.
Having spent a little time on Haight Street, I suspect Jesus would be quite comfortable there. Of course, for some reason, Jesus was quite comfortable with the folks and places most of the relgious "leaders" of his day were not. I suspect that is true today.
Jesus didn't come to you becuase you were a no good piece of crap who deserrved hell; Jesus came to you because your were priceless in God's eyes.
With all that said, I am not here to debate one's impression of the bible. I'm really not.
I am happy that you have been set free from your addiction. The homeless heroin addicts that I worked with in SF sure could use some saving. I suspect had they not been shamed to their core as a human being and knew of their true identity in God and experienced an authentic love for themselves and God, they most likely wouldn't have turned to heroin in the first place.
Jesus said "God is Love"... no where have I read Jesus saying "God is Wrath."
remember, "Knowledge puffs up, but only love builds up."
So let's walk in love as Christ FIRST loved us.
God's peace and love.
"Rules and systems that shame people have no place in the kingdom of God" I could not agree more. As the partner of a girl who has been shunned from her church for having children out of wedlock I have to agree. Your posts are the most sensible, lucid interpretation of spiritual religion I have read.
Keep up the great work!
I love this:
"When we are most true, authentic selves I think we are most pleasing to God"
The life of the heart is the one that is so difficult for a believer. I guess that is why we live so much from our heads.
Living from our heart is all about being while living from our head is all about doing.
yes i do believe that we're all fallen and sinful, but i also believe that we're all COMPLETELY loved by God, as we are, right here, right now, in all our muck and slime.
but that's not what i want to comment about. basically what you were saying about that sermon and about how we can know that we're loved and yet not feel it. my mother finds it difficult to express the love that she has, and growing up with my dad away so much and a mother who was able to express anger and disappointment, but not love and pride was tough and i have to admit has affected who i am today and my own self worth and stuff. but now that I'm older i can appreciate it's just the way she is and i dont blame her for any of it, but it's just made me realise how important it is that parents convey the love they have, it's not enough to love someone, you have to let them know that love! God's set the example quite well i think. so yes parents need to discipline their kids and all that jazz, but most importantly they need to express their love for them!!!! when a child is confident in themselves and their own abilities there is nothing they cant achieve. and there's nothing quite so crippling to confidence as criticism without encouragement.
Rock, I know you or did know you so well and love you and your messages you post! I miss you and our "Management Meetings" and WCCC so much not to mention Penne. My love to you both and thanks again for finding a way to still touch my life!!
Misi Shelton
robbynmisi@msn.com
Hello Rick and all. Very good message here.
May I add a corollary to it?
Since it is a solid part of our faith we cannot deny the theological truth that God loves and does not hate us. But since we still have such a strong principle of judgment in us we often resort to self-judgment in place of God's "missing" judgment. A sort of "in lieu of God's wrath" or, proxy judgment. In this way we actualize the judgment and wrath that we feel God should have and use it as a dynamo to reach out in with alienation, rejection and judgment toward the particular people around us.
I know - this is the particular trick I have used consciously and unconsciously for many years. It acts as a kind of comfort - but a very cold one.
But there are ways to break through even this insidious hoax. Interactive love: need-love and giving love. Love that accepts me as I am transforms me.
Hi! I'm so glad I found this blog! I was searching for "Life isn't about finding ourselves. Life about creating ourselves..." and I found this beautiful blog. I'm thrilled!
(I saw that quote in a poster today and loved it). If you wish check my site and blogs (www.TeensSelfHelp.com, www.TeensSelfHelp.blogspot.com and www.KarolSpeaksUp.blogspot.com.)
The Meaning of Flowers…
Look at the flowers
when feeling
sad and gloomy…
Look at the flowers
to restore your soul
and learn
how meaningful
life can be.
Look at the flowers
if you ever doubt
that God is Love.
We should never fear God, God is ONLY LOVE... We should fear ourselves, fear our bad actions that will bring us terrible consequences since we reap what we sow; but never ever FEAR GOD...
Love,
Karol
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