LOVING GOD'S CHILDREN (21 OF 49)
Scripture: 1st John 5:1-6
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Loving God's Children (21 of 49)
Lectionary, Year B, Easter 06
Christopher B. Harbin
1st John 5:1-6
I brought our dog out as we were setting up for our Mobile Food Pantry and vaccination clinic this week. He wanted to know who was in the churchyard. He wanted to meet everyone. I knew that once he had met all of his newest best friends, he would not spend the morning barking in the yard. He needed to know whom I was with and who was around me. Once he had greeted everyone, he was more amenable to being left inside the fence. He did not want to be shut out of my contacts. He wanted to participate in all that was going and interact with the people around me. Where I go, he wants to go. Whom I meet, he wants to meet. Those I accept, he is ready to accept. Why is it so hard for us to respond the same way to God's dealings?
Growing up, loving Jesus was a simple thing. Of course, I loved Jesus. Jesus was my friend. Jesus had died for me. Jesus loved me. That was more than what I needed to know. My family talked of Jesus as a friend. My church spoke of Jesus kindly. My parent's missionary colleagues spoke well of Jesus, so it was only natural that I should grow up loving Jesus. A few of Jesus' followers, on the other hand, were a bit of a different story. They did not all look, act, and interact after what I knew of Jesus. They were a little harder to accept, love, and embrace on those same terms.
Some time back, I learned that if I engaged a child in conversation in front of their parents as though the parents were not even present, the parents were never offended. In general, the parents would simply be happy that I was speaking to their child as someone worthy of my attention. If anything, I had their parents' full attention, even as I focused on speaking to their child. Most often, I would find that the parents felt seen and heard, even as I was ostensibly ignoring them. I was granting attention in the very center of their lives, and attention to their ch ...
Lectionary, Year B, Easter 06
Christopher B. Harbin
1st John 5:1-6
I brought our dog out as we were setting up for our Mobile Food Pantry and vaccination clinic this week. He wanted to know who was in the churchyard. He wanted to meet everyone. I knew that once he had met all of his newest best friends, he would not spend the morning barking in the yard. He needed to know whom I was with and who was around me. Once he had greeted everyone, he was more amenable to being left inside the fence. He did not want to be shut out of my contacts. He wanted to participate in all that was going and interact with the people around me. Where I go, he wants to go. Whom I meet, he wants to meet. Those I accept, he is ready to accept. Why is it so hard for us to respond the same way to God's dealings?
Growing up, loving Jesus was a simple thing. Of course, I loved Jesus. Jesus was my friend. Jesus had died for me. Jesus loved me. That was more than what I needed to know. My family talked of Jesus as a friend. My church spoke of Jesus kindly. My parent's missionary colleagues spoke well of Jesus, so it was only natural that I should grow up loving Jesus. A few of Jesus' followers, on the other hand, were a bit of a different story. They did not all look, act, and interact after what I knew of Jesus. They were a little harder to accept, love, and embrace on those same terms.
Some time back, I learned that if I engaged a child in conversation in front of their parents as though the parents were not even present, the parents were never offended. In general, the parents would simply be happy that I was speaking to their child as someone worthy of my attention. If anything, I had their parents' full attention, even as I focused on speaking to their child. Most often, I would find that the parents felt seen and heard, even as I was ostensibly ignoring them. I was granting attention in the very center of their lives, and attention to their ch ...
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