Debt Rattle November 9 2021
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Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This was in response to, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Have you ever been in the presence of a person that expressed an authentic love for you. It could be your mother, your father, a sister or brother, friend or spouse. It’s usually rare and fleeting or happened well before you able to recall the memory. But in that moment, nothing seemed impossible. That is the essence of the truth captured in the two greatest commandments of the Lord. Unfortunately, while we might desire this, we desire it along with other things.
God is vulnerable.
So that they obey me, just as I am obeyed by the universe? I don’t want my children to obey laws. I want them to love. I will but myself in their service. If they don’t believe my words they shall believe my deeds. Your creation is set before them yet they do not see.
My creation can not teach them to love. Who can teach them to forgive and ask for forgiveness? The water? The sun? Who can teach them to serve on another? The trees? The mountains? My word will become flesh? I will thrive in a woman’s womb just like them. I will resign all privileges. And I will teach them unconditional love. I will let them take me in their hands and submit myself to their will. They shall see that love is not an imposition.
I will be their servant and I will nurture them. The simplest food of all, so that the world can come to me. Whoever wants to be first will be last. Whoever wants to be the biggest will be the smallest. Serve one another. Don’t fear the one that might kill your body. Fear the one that might kill your soul.
“You (David) have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.”
God wanted a man of peace (Solomon) to construct the temple, not a man of war. His house was to be “a house of prayer for all nations”
Suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Violence is not in my future.
Really really lovely post, chooch.
Myself, I make no predictions about violence in my future. I only klnow that, about 4 years ago, I released myself from driven anger to right wrongs, spoke to the Unknown Hoped-For ALmighty, and said, “God, I will not fight unless you tell me to.”
What form such telling might take, if any, I cannot say. But it has probably kept me from crippling one or two persons. Never say magical thinking doesn’t have practical applications. 😉
To the moon and back, even.
@cooch: LOVEly post inDEED.
To expand the exploration, go to The Bhagavad Gita, Eknath Easwaran translation. Reading the Introduction is essential/exceptional – and same with the pre-chapter overviews.
Some refer to the Gita as “the book of choices”. (In A Man’s Search for Meaning, V. Frankl also came to recognize the role of choice + responsibility in shaping one’s destiny). From Easwaran:
“The Gita is not an external dialogue, but an internal one: between the ordinary human personality, full of questions about the meaning of life, and our deepest Self, which is divine.”
From the Gita:
” “. Let the Gita speak for itself.
@ Dr. D: To fight or not to fight, to shoot or not to shoot, to kill or not to kill, to die or not to die. To LOVE or not to LOVE. From Easwaran: “The struggle is between the two halves of human nature…fighting is built into human nature…which side do we choose to fight on? Human destiny is in human hands. We shape ourselves and the world by what we believe, and think and act on, whether for good or for ill.
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@phoenix and Mr. Roboto: Am an INFJ-A – the ADVOCATE. Ha! Advocating for LOVE with every thought, word, deed.First time poster here but long time reader from Wellington, NZ. Can I first extend my thanks to Raul and all the commenters here for a truly excellent site and keeping me sane throughout this madness. This is my “go to” site these days.
Re the subject of bots. In my experience the general rule seems to be, the more refined/focussed the subject matter, the easier it is to create a bot that gives the impression you’re dealing with a human. The more general the subject matter and the opposite is true, bots will quickly be revealed for what they are.
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