With all of me

I need not mistrust the different parts of me.  For all of them are given by God.  All are to be used in unison, all are good.  I need not fear thinking, for God has given me my brain.  I need not fear exercise, for God has given me a body.  I need not fear rest, for God created us to need it.  I need not fear excitement, for we are given a capacity for it.  I need not fear fun, for it unites all of the other parts of me.

God made our minds and bodies to be used.  Accepting a Christian life isn't resigning from the use of our brains or any other part of who we are.  It is to use them more fully, in the blessed confidence of children of God.

I think we forget sometimes that Jesus became enfleshed.  He took on a human life.  I believe that this shows us that we are good.  God was willing to become what we are in order to show us that we need not fear or mistrust what God has created, ourselves.

Yes I make mistakes with my mind and body.  But that does't change their inherent goodness.  Remember, before we did anything wrong, before we took our lives into our own hands, we had perfect communion with God.  Before the fall, Adam and Eve didn't fear or hate themselves.  They were able to humbly accept that they were radically loved without limit.  The love of God is what they knew.  Grace was first.  Love was first.  Sin came later.  So to return to Christ is to return to our original destiny, being lost in the love of God.

I picture God as an energy radiating through the universe, drawing all things into it, making all things one.  We were not only created by God, but were also created in his image.  We need not fear that this all surpassing love doesn't reach us, or that there are recesses in our soul that it doesn't reach.  I believe accepting our identity of a loved child of God is the task of our lifetime.  To internalize this love, to dare to believe it's true, to dare to let it accept us in our brokenness, is our calling.

So in light of this, I don't need to fear myself.  I can think with the power provided by God.  I can experience life fearlessly, without reservation.  I can use all my faculties in bringing him glory.

I believe that human love gives us a picture and snapshot of God's love.  I picture a father, playing with his child, not concerned if the child is doing anything right, only caring that the child is smiling and laughing.  The father, only concerned with life for the child, delights in the child's joy.  If I can believe this about human love, it opens me up to the possibility about a grander love, still deeper, still more persistent, still more present, than we can imagine.  And believing this about the divine, helps me still broaden my capacity for human love.