June 29th, 2020: Being with God
It
has been wet where I am all weekend long. It was one of those weekends
that the best thing to do is make some hot chocolate, sit and read a
good book. I decided to reread some of the books about what it means to
practice the presence of God in my daily life. I have been thinking a
lot about this because of all of the events that have taken place
lately. I am trying to discern what is the appropriate Christian
response because I am aware of my anger and frustration.
It reminds
me of Jesus' ministry as one of incarnation. He chose not to remove
himself from human suffering. He suffered on our behalf. I am compelled
by the thoughts that I need to follow that very example if I desire to
be a helpful minister during such a challenging time in human history.
Many faces and many names surfaced as I pondered on that thought. Many
of us know people who are suffering from poverty, loneliness, grief,
rejection, and more. The question is whether we dare to be and to walk
with them although we do not have all of the answers? I know people who
have been very angry because their life has been changed drastically due
to the pandemic, and I have been avoiding them because I wanted to
avoid their anger.
In my
time of meditation, I once again relearned the need to be in communion
with God. I have yearned for my need for understanding of God and His
presence at this very moment. We need to hear from God exclusively
sometimes to deal with the many other voices, many of which are angry
ones. When we have communion with God, we will be able to regain the
tranquility of our mind and stillness of the heart so that we are not
overwhelmed by the restlessness of the outside world. Somehow, many
hearts are ruled by anger and revenge these days. The constant
bombardment of slogans has killed the ability to reason. We need to go
beyond this so we may regain true freedom. It is not just freedom from
racism or discrimination. We need to be free from our self-imposed
slavery. Mine is one of cynicism.
It is
time to embrace the compassionate presence of God. To have compassion
is to suffer with others. We don't have to look very hard to see how
compassion is needed everywhere. Many people have lost their jobs, and
our local food bank needs supplies. Many couples are struggling in their
marriages because of being isolated with one another has intensified
their problems. Many young people seem not to have much hope because of
the instability of the world. Many people are grieving for the loss of
their loved ones due to both Covid-19 and other illnesses. Let us try to
be channels of that compassion. God will compensate for our lack of
ability and resources. God cannot do much with our lack of desire.
1 John 4:16
“So
we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God
is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in
him.”
