Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
God, Jesus, the Trinity, is not the problem
January 2, 2020
“Dear children, I know that I am present in your lives and in your hearts. I feel your love, I hear your prayers and direct them to my Son. But, my children, according to motherly love, I desire to be in the lives of all of my children. I desire to gather all of my children around me, beneath my motherly mantle. This is why I am inviting you and calling you, apostles of my love, to help me. My children, my Son pronounced the words of the ‘Our Father’—Our Father, who are everywhere and in our hearts—because He desires to teach you to pray with words and feelings. He desires for you to always be better, to live merciful love which is prayer and limitless sacrifice for others. My children, give to my Son love for your neighbors, give words of consolation, compassion and works of righteousness to your neighbors. Everything that you give to others, apostles of my love, my Son accepts as a gift. I am also with you, because my Son desires for my love, as a ray of light, to bring your souls to life; for me to help you in the search for peace and eternal happiness. Therefore, my children, love one another, be united through my Son, be children of God who all together, with full, open and pure heart, pronounce the ‘Our Father’. And do not be afraid! Thank you.”--Medjugorje January 2, 2019
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One day I was talking to a man who was about my age. He asked me a question, which is presented to me at least a couple of times each year. He wanted to know if I was saved. Some Christians believe that they can pinpoint the exact time that they became a Christian. For instance: I was saved on my 20th birthday. I do not disagree with that. We can all make a very conscious choice to give our lives over to Christ. Yet it is also a process, one that can take years for a person to make that deliberate decision to give their lives to the Lord. Yet have been on the path for many years through their seeking.
Yet, Christ Jesus is calling each of us, myself in particular, to look deeply into our hearts and to see how we love others, or not. Serve those around us, or not. Jesus said: “Whatever you do the least, you do to me”. So yes, an act of kindness to another that is rooted in love, is a gift to Jesus, since it is Jesus that we are kind to. Christ Jesus lives in all hearts, in some, he is asleep, or even dead, yet he is there, loving the place where he dwells seeking to bring to life each heart in all men, women, and children.
Yet, I have seen many who tell me that, that they are saved, and who am I to judge. Yet, they are still living in anger and bitterness and cling to it like some sort of security blanket. The fruit of which is to spread it around. Take it out on others, to share the pain. Seeds can grow slowly if the soil is arid, yet the living waters work on all of us. So, again, the Lord tells us not to judge the souls of others.
Yet, Christ Jesus is calling each of us, myself in particular, to look deeply into our hearts and to see how we love others, or not. Serve those around us, or not. Jesus said: “Whatever you do the least, you do to me”. So yes, an act of kindness to another that is rooted in love, is a gift to Jesus, since it is Jesus that we are kind to. Christ Jesus lives in all hearts, in some, he is asleep, or even dead, yet he is there, loving the place where he dwells seeking to bring to life each heart in all men, women, and children.
Jesus is the “Word”, infinite, eternal, and the all-encompassing intelligence that holds us all in existence. Each moment is an act of creation, to exist, means we are seen by God, and yes loved. Yet, it is easy to reduce Jesus to a tribal deity, a war god, or Zeus, and to make our faith seem like slavery instead of the path to infinite freedom.
A pure heart (something I am still working on) is one who sees deeply and can let go of the compulsion to judge others in ways we are actually commanded not to. Each day we are to give our lives to Christ Jesus in a conscious manner. Each time, this giving of ourselves comes from a deeper place, and we are healed over time from the effects of our sins. Our acts of love have a ripple effect on the world, just as our sins do, and our compulsions. Jesus wishes only to free us from that burden of our tendency towards self-destruction.
God, Jesus, the Trinity, is not the problem. We are. Jesus did not come to save us from the Father, but to save us from ourselves. Let us grow in trust of God, his love, and to bring that to others. To also have the courage to let go of our limiting concepts of God—Br.MD