Para la versión en español, haga clic aquÍ.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” –John 14:27
Jesus brings peace and never fear. Isn’t it strange, then, that religion has so often been a carrier of fear and anxiety for so many? Obviously, it’s not Jesus who’s producing the fear. Self-righteous people who speak in his name are the hosts for this infection.
When I was a younger person, I remember episodes where I did wrong and knew it. In those times, I was convinced God would not love me anymore because I was too far from perfection, which is what God finds loveable and beautiful. Just imagine if that were true! If perfection were all that could be loved, God would not love most of Creation, most of human history. Thank God it’s not true. God loves us even in our brokenness and failure, even in our sinfulness.
Is it possible to live beyond fear in our journey with God? Can we stop treating God like a referee who’s making calls on every move we make? God is more like the friend who helps us to parallel park by standing on the curb: a little this way, that’s enough, okay you’re there.
Who or what has given you valuable guidance along the way?
How do you share what you know?
LET US PRAY… Lord God, we seek the arrival from ahead of us, the Kingdom coming, the satisfaction of our heart’s desire. Help us to remember that our hearts will be restless until they rest in you. Amen.
While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.
Image credit: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons