Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
The commandment we have from God is this:
those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
And God’s commandments are not burdensome,
for whatever is born of God conquers the world.
—1 John 4.21, 5.3-4
However daunting it may seem to face the world’s suffering and evil, don’t fall for the illusion of the power of empires, or of the smallness of your life. A far greater power enfolds us, the power that creates the universe, that raises the dead, that transforms all the world bit by bit. The law of God is not the sort that we may obey or disobey. It’s The Way Things Are—more like the law of gravity: universal, unfailing, absolute and without exception. You can live in harmony with it or fight it, but it will prevail. It conquers the world. It is no impersonal “Force” that you can use; it’s the living presence of The Holy One, whose power is hidden in loving kindness.
What conquers the world is what created it: God’s pure, self-giving love. What conquers the world will not appear as the victory of armies, the domination of empires or the capture of market share. It will be hidden in the restoration of the human heart, in people’s return to one another and to the root of their being, in the human family falling in love with life. To love is not a burden; it’s the secret key to the deepest joy, to participating in what makes the world real.
God’s presence is the root of your soul. God pours love into your heart breath by breath. Receive that grace, and let it fill you to overflowing. Don’t worry how long it takes to start a galaxy spinning. Don’t expect a miracle on the scale of the re-creation of the universe to occur visibly within your lifetime. But neither doubt that the world is being re-created, bit by bit, nor that sometimes, for a moment, you may catch a glimpse of resurrection. Trust the infinite, miraculous power of love. Love your neighbors, and you join in a great miracle that even now, without their knowing it, conquers the world.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
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Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net