“People are difficult to see because we are at least two beings rolled into one. Paul speaks of the “old self” (Romans 6:6) and of the “new creation in Christ” (II Corinthians 5:17)…To practice the presence of people is to choose deliberately to focus on the new creature rather than the old, to see the light in people rather than the darkness…
“The Beatitudes speak of those who travel in darkness but
have abandoned the need to know anything about it. The poor in Spirit, the pure in heart, the
merciful, the meek—such souls are no longer asking, “Why does God permit evil?” or, “If God didn’t want us to eat from that
rotten tree, why did He create it in the first place?” No, these faithful ones are not preoccupied with
evil, for they have “seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). So overwhelmed are they by pure goodness that
they do not know anything anymore—they only know Who…
“Faith, whether in God or in people, can only happen in
utter humility. It implies a willingness
to have neither questions nor answers, only an open ear and a clear eye. It means entering the larger than life
presence of others and letting them teach you who they are.”
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from
the heart.” (I Peter 1:22)
No comments:
Post a Comment