God is intimate to our soul, knows our every longing, knows all of our groans. His kind heart is present with all of us, inviting us to let our burdens go. All of our sadness, all our depression and anxiety, do not go unnoticed by him. He is more intimate with us than we can be with ourselves. He is the author of peace, of mercy, of love, and he created us for these things. When he created us, he put his mark on us, we are bound to him and him to us. He loves us so much, that he became like us, bearing the burdens we bear, so that he may bring us close to him.
It is a story of love. A story of intimacy, then separation, but then offered intimacy again. When we as humans walked away from God, we walked away from true understanding, undeserved gift and grace, and his presence. But even now, he offers us these things. He is calling to each of us, speaking from without and from within, pleading us to let his love take effect in our life. He wants his roots to go deep into us, nourishing our souls. God is the essence of reality, the ground of our being, the Father of our souls, our home. This is the home of every human, and is freely offered to all. It's not something we can earn, or deserve, but simply something we can accept, something we can acknowledge and let wash over our souls. This love starts from God, flows to us and beckons us let it take effect. The fact that it starts from God means that as humans we are equal. The essence of our worth is God's love for us, a love that doesn't discriminate but that draws all things to itself. In this light, we don't need to compare ourselves to each other, but can celebrate each other as we are celebrated.
This is good news. Not just for the future, but for the present as well. I need not neglect the physical is hopes of reaching the spiritual. The physical in life, my body, all that I smell or touch, can all point me to the eternal. In fact, to become more spiritual is to become more human. I awake to the deepest parts of me, parts that may have been sleeping but that were present none the less. To know God is to know ourselves better. To be intimate with God is allowing love to be intimate with our soul.
The trajectory of history:
Believing in a God that loves the human soul radically changes what I believe in about his plans for history. If his primary motive towards us is love, than all actions he takes towards us are love. I believe God wants to restore us to intimacy with him, and that all his efforts are towards that end. In this light, I can prepare for the future in an open and accepting way. I need not convince others to be afraid and of fire and brimstones, but rather invite then to open their lives to a love that is calling us all. If I believe that God's primary motive towards us is love, than I'm more able to enjoy each day. I need not neurotically examine myself in the hopes of purifying myself from my ailments. It's not our job to change us. All change is gift, all change is grace. This is truly a generous orthodoxy.
