An Abnormal Answer

My friend Mary asked me a very normal question the other day and got a very abnormal answer. She said, “So, what do you have to do today?” Before I could think, I blurted out, “I have to let God love me today.”

Mary is an easy going, non-judgmental friend who just smiles and nods when I say things like that. She’s grown accustomed to it. Either that, or her hearing is getting really bad.

Earlier that day, during my morning prayer, I felt very convicted that I needed to just let God love me. So, I set out that day to do just that. Which is why it was the knee-jerk reaction to Mary’s question.

We have been studying Henri Nouwen’s book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, this Lent. Nouwen invites us to discover the younger son in us, the elder son in us, and the call to each of us to become the Father. The hallmarks of the Father are compassion, forgiveness, and undemanding love.

To become the Father for others we first have to experience the Father in our own lives. We need to let the Father find us, know us, and love us.

One of the first ways God loved me that day was through the deep sense of belonging I experienced during the Truth Be Told Bible Study Zoom that morning.

We had a great discussion of the early church communities described in the Acts of the Apostles. Communities of caring; not competition, humility, radical generosity, communal prayer, and a deep sense of belonging to each other and to the growing family of God.

I sense that same community whenever I think of Firstfruits and that is often. God loved me by reminding me of the blessing of all of you.

The rest of the day I felt a calm and an unfamiliar lightness in my mind and my heart.

I have to say, letting God love you feels really good. It might become a habit.

What do you have to do today?

Joan

Truth Be Told Video – Session 3, Week 2

Truth Be Told
Session 3, Week 2
Life in the Spirit
Acts 2:14-36  Peter’s Speech
Acts 2:37-47  Growth of the Church
Acts 3:1-11  The Mission Continues