Category: Mercy

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Give-Away

Lord, You said an extraordinary thing to me the other morning. I was driving, not taking notes. And by the way, I love that we can talk, do talk, anytime, anywhere. Thank You. Thank You for that. So I want to restart that conversation, because I never got back to You on what You began to tell me.

I was thinking about friends who are vegetarian, and wishing I were, actually. And thinking how often, even though I try to thank You, and thank the animals, for my food, I regret that something else died so I could be nourished. In the midst of that thought, which is a very old thought for me, I remembered the verses in Genesis, where in the beginning of the story, The Great Story, You gave humans the green growing plants to eat. And then after the Ark, You added in the animals. And so, driving the other morning, I said to You, why did You do that? I wish You had never done that!! And then You said…

I said, it was the animals’ thank-you to humankind, for saving them in the great flood. It was their idea, to give-away back to humanity.

So…NOT Your idea. I mean, You didn’t. I mean. I don’t know what I mean. You didn’t force them. You didn’t throw them under the bus, so to speak.

No.

But if I am reading the story right–and let me just say, maybe I am not, maybe all of us aren’t–the point of the whole story seems to be, You made the flood happen in the first place. The story’s point is, You caused all that destruction, to punish and destroy humanity. Because we were, collectively, so awful.

That is one way to read the story. Here is another: how many times have you wished for a do-over? You’ve wished that the minute a sentence came out of your mouth and you saw the reaction on the face of the one you were speaking to. Or you took an action you later regretted. You’ve wished for whole chapters, months and years of your younger days to be rewritten. The idea of a Great Ark and a Great Flood could be read as a story of destruction. It can also be read as a story of redemption and hope. In the story, Noah spent years building that Ark. It could have held much more than sailed with him. The point is that many were invited to come aboard, but refused. Who listened? The animals listened–as you sometimes experience them listening to you. It is really a story, again, about taming and saving this planet’s creatures, more than a story about condemning this planet’s peoples. It is a story about choices, and consequences, and about one man’s determination to do all the good he could, for anyone and anything that would listen to him. Noah did not view creation as something to be exploited but as something to be cherished, and preserved. That is one lesson of the story that is rarely taught. And in response, the animals thus spared decided to forever knit their lives with humanity by giving the ultimate sacrifice and allowing themselves to exchange their individual lives for the health and nourishment of humanity.

So when you eat, you do well to remember their earliest intent. Try not to focus on the product, or the process, at least not at first. It’s the same as when you ask for an animal or a bird to come to be photographed. They are nourishing you. You are calling them, and they are coming to you. If you continue to approach your photography with love in your heart, you will not have subjects, you will have collaborators. The creatures will collaborate with you. And if you could approach your meals with the same love, the same receptivity, you would find your body strengthened and nourished so that you could continue the work I have called you to do.

Eventually, everything and everyone comes Home to Me. So much fear has been woven into this! But I Am Source. From Me you have come and to Me you will return–all of you, all of everything. Some sooner, some later. Some dancing, some weeping. But all come. All come Home. And here is the Mystery: all find Love waiting. For Love overcomes All. Love overcomes fear, Love overcomes greed, Love overcomes pride, and at the last, Love overcomes Death. Light overtakes darkness, all the time, every time, and beyond Time.

So whether a deer dies of old age in the forest, or gives away to an arrow or a rifle, that deer comes Home to Me. And whether a young hunter dies of starvation in a harsh winter, or is nourished by a Give-Away deer, and lives to grow strong and lead his people for many years, in the end, the hunter comes Home to Me. Sometimes people give up too soon. The hunter could have said, it is no use. There is no game to feed me or my family. Many among you have not, because they ask not. More and more you are being schooled to believe that I Am Not. Not Good. Not Loving. Not Involved. Not Participatory. Not a Healer. Not a Provider. Not Interested. Or, simply, Not. Not Real. But I Am. Someday, all of those who believed Not, and taught Not, and spoke Not, shall too come Home. They shall come Home and find Love waiting. And all their Not shall come to Naught, and the Great Yes shall overtake them. The Yes of My Redeeming Love.

God, that’s mercy. That is extraordinary mercy. From You. From creation. And for us. I mean, humans. Honestly, we don’t really deserve it.

This is not a story about deserving. This is a story about Loving. This is a story about Great Love. Go thou and…  You get to fill in the blank. All of you. So what role will you play in the great love story of creation, unfolding? Every day is a new opportunity. Who and whose will you be today? Every rivulet in a waterfall flows in its own way, yet all have the same source. All are part of the whole and all are pure. Stay pure. Flow in Love.

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Grace

Lord, I’ve been remembering, 45 years ago this very weekend, not Easter–Easter was later back in 1973–but this weekend, how I decided even though we were not a church-going family at that point, to give my life to You, to knowing You, to being Yours. What I remember the most was saying to You then, at 16 years old, I want this to be real, and I want this to be for always. I don’t want to make this commitment now and then renege on it later. I want this to last. And it has. Sure, I had some ups and downs, not so much in my belief in Your existence as in my understanding of how powerful and true and real Your Love is. Once I began to build a relationship with You based on Love and not on fear, everything changed. My whole life changed. I am so grateful, God. You stuck with me, even when my understanding was flawed, or incomplete, enough so that I made some really poor decisions at times. Yet You were faithful despite all of that, faithful to continue to call me Yours. I think I will spend the rest of my life, the rest of eternity, trying to find more ways to say thank You. I guess that is why I keep trying to give other folks the benefit of the doubt, as the saying goes. That is what You did for me. Even when I doubted, You gave me the benefit of Your love despite my doubt. I guess that is what Grace means, right? 

Grace shows the lengths that I will go to bring each of My children, each of My sheep, home. And what is home, but a sanctuary of safety and love? I went to the Cross precisely so that I could say, Father forgive them.

Lord, I had this insight a couple years back; at least, it felt like insight at the time. You didn’t say, Father forgive them because they are so sorry. You did not wait for humans to be sorry, or to apologize, or to change, or even to ask for forgiveness. You proclaimed it in advance. And You proclaimed it over a terrible act, Your own betrayal and murder. You didn’t say, Father forgive them when they realize what they have done…not even that! You just said it like it is–they don’t know what they are doing. And isn’t that true so often of all of us? We THINK we know, but we don’t. And in that moment, there was no sorrow, there was no repentance, no change of mind or heart or purpose. So when that insight came, it seemed to me at the time to have come from You. I am not sure I would or could have thought that up on my own.

You did not. Indeed, that was Me teaching you.

So… So Your response was not to judge, not to proclaim righteous judgment, or anger, or even to ask for justice. You did not even ask that they would be made sorry! Your response was to ask for mercy–in the very moments of Your dying, You are asking that those putting You to death be forgiven. Am I right? Is that what You meant? And so…what does that mean today? In our time? At this Easter, 2018?

Just as some believe the window on miracles, or answered prayers, has closed, so some believe the window on mercy has closed as well, or at least, has narrowed and shuttered to admit a very limited number into the inner circle of My Favor and forgiveness. The criteria for earning that forgiveness varies according to doctrine, but the general idea that My forgiveness is limited is the principle that has endured through the centuries within numerous faith traditions that disagree on many aspects of worship or service or the afterlife. The one agreement seems to be, entry into My Kingdom, be that favor on earth or favor after death, is limited. These same traditions then teach different criteria for admission! From each one’s perspective, all the other traditions seem wrong, and only theirs is correct and true. No wonder so many have rejected all of them wholesale!

There are prayers I always delight to answer in the affirmative. One of those is, Father, please forgive them. Of course, I always also hear, Father please forgive me…but those prayers often have to be repeated again and again as the petitioners’ behavior remains the same. But prayers for forgiveness of others, forgiveness for those who have wronged the one praying, those prayers are powerful, and are based in love and compassion and a true commitment to peace and accord. That is the prayer Jesus prayed from the Cross. That kind of prayer always gets heard. Do you think I would answer NO! to a prayer uttered in that spirit, with that heart, from My Own Son? From One Whose life and love mirrors My Father-God’s heart?

Over and over you have examples of His refusal to enact revenge, of His trying to teach about mercy and grace. Yet so many, in His Name, will use this weekend to proclaim a mercy that is stingy or so full of conditions it is not mercy at all–it is reward for following a rulebook of codes for behavior.

What this means in your time is the same thing it meant when Jesus uttered those words in the first place: I, God, Am constantly answering His prayer for mercy, with every act of human injustice, with every deliberate action of evil, for all the ways humans hurt one another. I Am always, always working to mitigate ill-will and to encourage the reuniting of humanity, humans with humans, humans with nature, humans with Me. Here is a hard question–what do you think about that kind of radical mercy? The kind of mercy that would ask for and proclaim forgiveness even in the midst of the unspeakable act? The mercy that would extend a hand not only to the one drowning but to the one watching on shore doing nothing to help? The mercy that turns the key in the lock and throws open the jail cell door even as the sentence of judgement is being shouted out by the pious mob? What kind of justice is this, that offers and extends and in fact insists on mercy? The Divine kind. The kind that says, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy wins the day. The kind that knows, the one who is forgiven much, loves much. The kind that is building a kingdom, one act at a time, one hour at a time, one life at a time, all on love.

Lord, I decided some time ago, I want to be a part of that kingdom. I think I have some friends who will decide that is heresy. That judgment is the last result.

They are mistaken. And you know what is precious about that? Their being mistaken does not jeopardize their eternal destiny one bit! They may well be surprised by discovering how broad and wide and deep and rich My Love actually is. But in that Moment, when they understand, all their misunderstanding will melt away, and only full understanding, and their own reciprocal love, will remain.

The same is true of those who have committed acts of unkindness–or worse–on earth. In the Moment when full understanding comes for them, so comes full regret and the weight of that regret will be unbearable. You were correct when you shared that insight with another recently. That is indeed the Moment of wailing and gnashing of teeth. And right at that exact Moment, Here I Am, the Burden-Lifter. When their burden of regret is lifted, and is replaced by My Mercy and Forgiveness, the answering response of their soul will be gratitude and love so great they will not be able to contain it. The overflow of the love and gratitude from those many would call the “worst sinners” will become the sweetest perfume in all of heaven. No earthly rose can rival that perfume! What will be evident throughout eternity is the strength of My Love and My Grace–not My Justice, nor My Retribution, but My Mercy. For I Am He Who Pardons. Remember when Jesus said, so you love those who love you? What great thing is that? Love in the way Your Father in Heaven loves, for He sends His rain–His blessing–on the just and the unjust alike.

I tell you, that is the “perfection” Jesus was speaking of — full, complete, whole Love. That is the Love I Am. That is the Love I Give. That is the Love you will know in fullness, after your earthly life ceases. That is the Love that everyone will know–for My Will shall be done, and it is not My Will that any perish, but that ALL come to repentance. In that Moment, that Moment of clarity and understanding and regret, all shall come to repentance, to the intensity of wanting to have made a different choice, not out of a desire to save their own souls but out of a desire to not have caused such suffering for others–THAT is repentance, and that is the Moment when Grace and Mercy flow. That is tripping the switch that floods the soul with light and with love.

So who do you think has the most joy, the deepest appreciation of grace, and the greatest capacity for love? Those who feel they don’t have anything to apologize for, that they are righteous in themselves, that they have followed the rules “well enough” — or those that realize all their mistakes, all their missteps, all their acts of unkindness have been wiped off the record books by the mercy and love of Someone much greater than themselves? Someone with the capability and capacity to inflict great punishment, but Who chooses instead to show great mercy?

God, I would assume the second ones. The ones who receive the most mercy, let’s say. The ones I would probably shun, or judge, if I met them here, now, before they received that mercy. Gosh, God, how can I ever learn to love like You love?

You know how married people begin to look like each other after they spend 40, 50, 60 years together? How their gestures begin to be the same? How their shared experiences and shared life make a new whole, still individuals, yet also one? This weekend is our 45th anniversary, yours and Mine. You look a little more like Me with every passing year. You already have grown beyond what you thought was your capacity and ability to love and embrace others unlike yourself. Start with compassion. If you can extend compassion, it is a very small step to extending mercy and forgiveness, and from there, it is a small step indeed to extending Love.

 

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The Edge of Light

Lord, I have friends going through hard times, all kinds of hard times. It’s hard to know how to feel. I am not exactly lost, though I haven’t been in these exact woods before, watching them hurt, watching them struggle.  I can see out the window the dark edge of one tree trunk, sharply defining its distance, its separation, from the lighter trunk behind it. Two individuals, one silhouette. How can I not be an empath, not take on, others’ sadness?  How can I stay focused and affirming and happy when it seems like their worlds are falling apart?

By remembering I Am the Burden-Bearer. By shifting the weight of it onto Me. By remembering I died for times like this–and rose–rose to overcome sorrow and mourning, death itself. By receiving afresh the joy I mean for you to have, the connection. By embracing Light–even at midnight. By knowing dawn comes, is inevitable. By seeking Me for guidance about your rest and priorities. You cannot carry others; they are too heavy for you. You can only bring them to Me, as you have done, as you continue to do. And walk with them. While you are with them, you may have to slow your pace–but you are not with them 24/7. So the rest of the time you must give over to Joy. Skip! Dance! Laugh! You know how laughter heals–don’t let this become a wound in you. Increasingly you trust Me for blessing–don’t let that go now. Trust for yourself and trust for your friends. It is okay to weep for them–I wept, with Mary and Martha over Lazarus–but don’t stay stuck there, weeping.

Roll away the stone of your own grief and call to life anything that has died within you. Mourn that no more. Call it to resurrection. Jubilee is restoration. Think resurrection, too. So many dreams are coming true for you now; call them all to you. Call them all. There is nothing you can want that doesn’t please Me, for you please Me, and your desires and dreams are True. Begin to name them. Make them yours. Let this be prayer for you. You want healing for others? Sing it home, call it out.

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Disconnected

Whew! I just tried to open this page and got the “not connected to internet” message–several times. Tried Pete’s computer which was fine, came back in, jiggled some wires, and here I am.

And what message did you get from that?

Honestly, God, the very first thing I thought of was how hectic my day was, and how I didn’t take time to connect deliberately with You in the morning. I am doing it now, at the end of my day instead of at the beginning.

You felt disconnected?

I did. All day long I was scattered. I’d woken with a migraine which went away a couple hours after I took my imitrex, and thank You and thank them again, whoever was involved in its formulation, but that put me behind schedule. 

But were you really disconnected? Is your internet service truly out, or did it just require a little effort, the tiniest focus and intent, on your part?

That’s all. It was weird.

Not weird. Wired. You just needed a gentle reminder that, despite your feeling disconnected, you are never truly disconnected from Me because I Am never disconnected from you. You might have to–as you say–jiggle your wires a minute, set your receptors and your attention on hearing from Me, and then what happens? Here I Am. Right where I was all day, patiently waiting for you to be ready, to reach out.

God, this connection we have, it is amazing. And I am so afraid that it is like my internet service is sometimes, temperamental, fragile, easily broken. Can I just say it? I am afraid I am going to wake up some morning and it will just be gone. You will just be silent. Or I will just be deaf.

I know. I know all your fears and where they originate. That is why I tell you over and over, in so many different ways, don’t be afraid; you are not alone; I will never leave you. The only reason it seemed to take years to hear directly from Me is that for years, you did not believe you could. You did not believe I would speak to you, “little you.” You tended to belittle yourself instead of seeing how great My Love is, how I long to reach out and connect to every single one of My Children, no matter whether they think of themselves as great, or small and insignificant. There is no one immune from My Love or My Presence. No one is so great that I Am not needed–although that need may not be recognized. And although many, many think themselves too small for My attention, no one is small or insignificant in My reckoning.

God, sometimes I try to quantify your love, and I just can’t. I can’t make it big enough or long enough or wide enough.

Do you remember when you first learned of infinity in math class? How you could keep adding a number at the end of a string of numbers and go on forever? Well, that is one metaphor for My Being. And since My Being is Love, there is no end, no finishing point, to My Love. There is no place and no time where anyone can move past My Love. There is no boundary beyond which My Love does not exist. I, and My Love, are Infinite. Most of your human conversations are about boundaries of some sort, boundaries of geography, of distance, of time; limitations of strength or duration. Even events such as your Olympic Games, where athletes push beyond previous boundaries and set new records, are based on the idea that each new boundary will someday be broken, perhaps by milliseconds. Such precise measurement of boundaries makes the concept of Limitless and Timeless impossible to understand with a finite mind housed in a body whose very physicality imposes constant limits.

So, Lord, I have to ask. If there is no place, no time, no existence where You are not…that is what You are saying, right?

That is what I Am saying.

Then what about Hell? What about that place of “wailing and gnashing of teeth”? That place where You are not. That place of torment that people go to, depending on different criteria but in a broad stroke sense, if they don’t live in a way that provides entrance into Your Presence forever, which is what Heaven is. Are You saying Hell isn’t real? Jesus talked about Hell.

This is hard to explain given the limitations of words and your experience. At the moment of what you call death, everyone will come into My Presence. No exceptions. Now, some folks will immediately rejoice. They will be able to perceive where they are (even “where” is not an accurate word). Let’s say it this way–they will be able to perceive My Presence and literally be engulfed in the Love, the Peace, the Joy that My Presence provides. Other folks, particularly those whose lives caused harm to others, or even to themselves, will also perceive My Presence, and the Light and Truth of that Presence will create a great chasm within them of regret and remorse. They will perceive in that instance every action, every thought, every word that was in opposition to what they are experiencing around and within them. It is that regret and remorse that will cause the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now, I want you to imagine for just a minute, in your finite way, that someone is in front of you in that kind of pain. Maybe that person even hurt you, way back when. What do you do now?

God, good grief. I am crying right now. I think, I hope, I would do anything, anything I could, to quell that pain for them. I hope I would. I can’t stand it, can’t stand the thought of it. Can’t You do something? Can’t You fix this?

You see, you have so much of My Heart in you already. I have done something, and the something I have done has the name Forgiveness. Grace. Mercy. Lovingkindness. So now imagine Me wrapping My arms around that regret, that remorse, and kissing it away. Now how do you feel?

Geez, God, now I am sobbing. 

And?

So much joy. So much giddy joy. Really? Me? This is really for me? That is what I would be feeling, if I were the one in pain. And if I were the one able to relieve that pain, wow. What an incredible feeling.

Love is the Greatest Power of all. It is Mine to give and it is Mine to withhold. Here is what so many cannot understand–I do not choose to withhold it. I could, of course I could. But then I would no longer be Good. I might be God, but I would not be Good. But as you are so fond of saying, I Am Good, all the Time. And Beyond Time.

God, you know one of my favorite verses is, the one who is forgiven much loves much.

Yes, that is why there is only Love in heaven. Even those you might consider the worst offenders, once mercy is extended to them, overflow for eternity with gratitude and love. And those who enter heaven with the most remorse initially are the strongest defenders and protectors of life on earth. To use your human terms, it is their amends.

Wow, God. That…that isn’t what I was taught. But it rings true. I have thought for a while that You had more to say on this subject…but I was afraid to ask.

You don’t have to be afraid to ask, or question. Just remember Who you are talking to, and lean into My Love.

So…there is no disconnection. In eternity.

Exactly. Now you begin to understand.

Can I ask one more question?

Of course you may.

What about faith? What about those on earth who have no faith?

A better way to phrase that is, who have no understanding. In that moment of death, they will all Understand. They will Know. They will Receive. And for eternity, they will Love and they will Give. Rest assured in that. Be at peace in that.