The great theologian Karl Barth was once asked by a reporter to sum up his life's contribution to Christian thought. This legendary intellect and author of volumes of complex theology articulating the nature of God, man, Christ, and much more, said this, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Does it really just come down to love? Jesus said so…
“I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
In his prayer to his heavenly Father on his last night in human form, Jesus spoke of having made known the name of God to his followers, so that God’s love, with which Jesus had been loved, would reside in them – and further, that he himself would be in them. That is what we claim happens at baptism (and may happen in other times and ways; baptism is simply a guarantor): that we are united with Christ, and his spirit dwells within us forever. Already. Now.
That means we are filled with the Father’s love too. Do you feel filled with God’s love? I confess it’s not what I’m most aware of most of the time. I’m aware of being filled with energy or anxiety, peace or hope or fury or love for another. Rarely am I conscious of being a repository of God’s love, made available to the world, through me, through you.
Yet that is arguably our most important goal in the spiritual life: to become conscious, intentional conduits of that love that made the universe into a world thirsty for it. We need to be aware of our belovedness and share that gift with others. This is old news, and yet so difficult to live into.
We don’t have to find this love and ingest it – Jesus said it is already in us, on board, because he made God’s name known to his followers. And we are their descendants, apostles ourselves. Our job is to release this love into the world around us. How will we to do that today?
In his prayer to his heavenly Father on his last night in human form, Jesus spoke of having made known the name of God to his followers, so that God’s love, with which Jesus had been loved, would reside in them – and further, that he himself would be in them. That is what we claim happens at baptism (and may happen in other times and ways; baptism is simply a guarantor): that we are united with Christ, and his spirit dwells within us forever. Already. Now.
That means we are filled with the Father’s love too. Do you feel filled with God’s love? I confess it’s not what I’m most aware of most of the time. I’m aware of being filled with energy or anxiety, peace or hope or fury or love for another. Rarely am I conscious of being a repository of God’s love, made available to the world, through me, through you.
Yet that is arguably our most important goal in the spiritual life: to become conscious, intentional conduits of that love that made the universe into a world thirsty for it. We need to be aware of our belovedness and share that gift with others. This is old news, and yet so difficult to live into.
We don’t have to find this love and ingest it – Jesus said it is already in us, on board, because he made God’s name known to his followers. And we are their descendants, apostles ourselves. Our job is to release this love into the world around us. How will we to do that today?
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