The Royal Birth!

Amidst the huge outbursts of emotions all along the spectrum after George Zimmerman's acquittal for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, many have longed for a distraction and have found it in the birth of the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the royal birth!  Such pomp and circumstance!  There were gun salutes, a royal crier and minute by minute news coverage for all the adoring fans.  Yes, the human tendency to disengage with reality and escape into fantasy stood unhindered this week.

Can you guess that I wasn't one of the adoring fans waiting with bated breath for the royal birth?  Sorry! I was just too busy mourning the gutting of The Voting Rights Act and a victory for Florida's fundamentally flawed and biased "Stand Your Ground" law which will only cause more unnecessary violence and gun proliferation and outrage.  "Oh come let us adore him!"  That's basically what the media was saying about William and Kate's baby boy, but there is another royal birth of far greater significance that I am waiting for and that is the birth of Christ in our hearts.

A dear friend of mine has a habit of saying "Merry Christmas!" on any given day.  It seems a bit strange, but the truth is that Jesus is born in our hearts every day whenever we allow him to be, whenever we make room for him.  Whenever we turn from violence and seek peace.  Whenever we seek reconciliation instead of revenge.  Wherever there is love.  Wherever there is compassion.  Wherever there is gentleness, kindness and mercy, Jesus is born in our hearts and is free to live out his resurrected life in us.  Now this is a royal birth to get excited about!  This is the royal birth the world is desperately in need of.  And when it happens it will not be televised.  There will be no fanfare, or gun salutes or royal criers with feathered hats, only a still small voice letting us know we're headed in the right direction.

So may all of the love, all of the compassion, all of the mercy, may all of the sheer goodness, humility and kindness of Jesus be born in our hearts on this day and everyday.  May we all learn to love one another as dearly and tenderly as Jesus loves us so that we may create a world free of hate, bitterness, poverty and war, a world full of the abundant life Jesus comes to bring us whenever we let him in.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Our Weeping God

Indeed, God has a sense of humor or at the very least an exceptionally developed sense of irony!  It was just a few days ago that I was watching an episode of Project Runway with my roommate (Don’t judge me).  I was getting irritated because there were grown men on the show coming undone emotionally and weeping like somebody died over something as small as a dress!  There was one in particular.  I know he couldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t help but talk to the screen and say “Man up!  For God’s sake man, pull yourself together!”

Well, what do you know a few days later I find myself collapsed on the cold tile of the bathroom floor weeping like somebody died!  The next day I thought, “Ok Jesus, well played.  I hear ya.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  I get it now.  Point taken Lord, point taken. Can we move on to the next lesson now?”

Jesus wept.  John 11:35

 It’s the shortest verse in the Bible but it says so much.  Jesus wasn’t weeping because he was having a bad day or feeling particularly emotional that day.  He wept because he looked upon the pain of Martha and Mary as they mourned the loss of their brother and was moved by it.  He could not see their pain and not feel it himself.  He could not look upon their tears without shedding his own.

This is our God, our weeping God.  A God who loves us so much that our pain becomes God’s pain.  A God humble enough to leave the majesty of heaven to come weep with us, in our pain, in our sorrows, in our difficulties, in our broken places.  In the silence of our grief our God can be found holding us, comforting us, simply being present and bearing witness to our pain.

I was not alone on that bathroom floor.  Jesus saw my pain and just couldn’t help himself.  He came down, found some space on that bathroom floor and wept with me.  For this I am grateful.  For this my heart is overflowing with love for this weeping God and my mouth with praise.  For this I cannot help but tell the world I have a found a Love beyond words that never fails, never fades, and never falters.   It is always enough.  This weeping God is enough. 

My heart is fixed on this, that I am never alone and we are never alone.  Our God is never ashamed to weep when we weep and I will never be ashamed of our weeping God.

Following the Way,

Kevin

More Than Grateful

This Christmas I didn’t need anything waiting for me under the tree because I had already received so much.  I experienced the faithfulness of God in such a profound way in 2010.  I feel so full right now.  I’m so tempted to leap out of my chair and have a praise break right here in the office!  GOD IS GOOD!!!  This is the cry of my heart right now.  In the midst of transition and uncertainty God is good and has proven to me over and over again that He can be trusted.

I just need to publicly thank God for all that I have received in 2010.  It was a year of major transition for me and God was there to lead me every step of the way.  He never left me alone. When I couldn’t walk he carried me.  When I was weak his presence made me strong. When worry began to grip my heart he gave me peace.  When friends walked away he brought wonderful people into my life to fill the void.  When I needed a new church home he blessed me with an amazing community of faith I am honored to be a part of.  When I experienced lack he provided.  When I failed he showed me grace.  When I fell he showed mercy.  When I was hungry and thirsty for something more than this world could provide he filled me with himself and now I am satisfied. 

What did I ever do to deserve such love and what can I ever do to repay God for it?  I am overwhelmed and I must say thank you.  I am more than grateful for God’s abiding indwelling presence.  I am more than grateful for this strength and joy that leaps up out of my soul when I need it most.  I am more than grateful for this love that cannot be named, that cannot adequately be described or measured that I can feel deep within the marrow of my bones, coursing through my veins, echoing in even the darkest corners of my soul where no one else dare go.  I am more than grateful that I have fallen in love with a God who had already fallen in love with me from day one.

It’s too much to take in.  I am held by love.  I am carried by love.  I am drowning in love.  I can’t understand it.  I can’t explain it.  I can’t repay God for it.  All I can say is thank you!

Following the Way,

Kevin

Love Makes Us Real

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

Jeremiah 1:5

This thought is just amazing to me! How is it possible that I yet without form could be known by the One? Doesn’t life start in the womb? How can God know me before then? How is there any “me” to know?

I believe that when I was just a thought in the mind of God, just an idea, just a possibility — even then God loved me and that divine love made me real. My origin is not the womb of my mother, but the womb of God, the womb of divine love. Divine love is our source as well as our destination. It is love that makes us real. Without love the human heart becomes a cold empty shell, beating simply to mark the time, counting down to the end. Life begins when we learn to love, to receive and give love. Until then we are not truly ourselves, only possibilities of what we can become once love makes us real.

Following the Way,
Kevin

You Are Enough For Me

It is an awesome thought to consider that we are often rejected by men, but are totally accepted by God.  The world is constantly telling us that we are not enough, that who we are is not good enough to garner its approval.  We are told that we are too young, too old; too fat, too skinny; too dark, too pale.  The list goes on and on; it's never ending.  No matter what you do, no matter how many changes you make, no matter how arduously you twist and contort yourself to fit the mold society has created for you, the world's message essentially remains the same: you are not enough.  And so, many young women starve themselves to be thinner.  Some black people buy bleaching creams to be lighter, while other white people are using tanning creams to be darker.  It's all insanity! 

But in the midst of all the world's pomp and circumstance, if you are still enough, if you are quiet enough, you hear a gentle voice saying, "You are enough for me".  That is what I heard this morning.  I knew instantly who it was and I could feel my spirit tremble in the presence of a truth so simple, so unassuming, so liberating and yet so easily overlooked and forgotten. 

I am enough for God.  I don't have to be any taller or shorter; lighter or darker; younger or older.  No, I am enough for God.  The world requires more, but all that God wants from me is me, to see my face, to hear my voice, to walk with me and talk with me.  I satisfy God.  What a thought!  Almighty God, the indescribable Mystery who is the source of all that is, all that ever was and all that will ever be is satisfied by me and my company.

You are enough for God.  You.  Just as you are.  Black, white; rich, poor; gay, straight, you are enough for God and all that God wants from you is you, to see your smile, to hear your laughter, to go through life's journey with you.  When everything is going well and when everything has shattered to pieces on the ground God wants to be with you.  You are enough for God.  Your presence satisfies God.  Divine Love is extending itself to you.  Why wait another moment to embrace it?  You are enough for God.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Just A Thought

Without love the human heart becomes a cold empty shell, beating simply to mark the time, counting down to the end. Life begins when we learn to love, to receive and give love. Until then we are not truly ourselves, only possibilities of what we can become once love makes us real.


Following the Way,
Kevin

Created To Be Loved

As you walk with God you go through different phases, different seasons where you begin to see the different faces of God.  I have known God as Father and rested in his security; as Mother and found comfort in her embrace, as Provider, as Healer and now more than ever I am experiencing God as love, pure, divine, ever-present, unfailing, unconditional love. I can scarcely put into words how radically the course of my life has been fundamentally changed by this love.

I have heard it said many times that we were created to serve God, to love God to worship God. I couldn't disagree more! You were not created to worship God. God has all the angels in heaven to worship Him; if God was in need of more worshippers God could have certainly met the need in a much less troublesome way than creating human beings! Let's just be real here if it were possible for God to have a headache it would because of us, not the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea or the flowers of the field. No one has given God as much trouble as we have! So why were we created?

You were created to receive the love of God. That is the primary purpose of life. You were created to be filled up to overflowing with divine love. Your soul, the shape of your heart, your very essence was fashioned to receive this divine love. Everything else is a response to God's love. Loving God, serving God, worshipping God, spending your life walking alongside the Mystery never quite knowing where you'll end up, truly loving yourself and others, all of this becomes possible only after we have received the love of God. I'm not sure how well religion understands this. Many times religion gets in its own way and instead of pointing to the wondrous Mystery that is God it points to itself and misses the whole point entirely.

You were created to be loved by God. God brought you into existence so that He could have the privilege of loving you. That is how much you mean to God. I will say that again, that is how much you mean to God. Whoever you are, whatever you've done, wherever you find yourself in this particular moment along your journey, feel the truth of this deeply within you. You were created to experience God's love. Don't ever let anyone take this from you. Don't let the noisy distractions and illusions of life take this from you. You were placed on this earth to experience God's love and you don't have to wait another moment to begin experiencing this divine love. God's love is already there. It's all around you, animating everything that lives, infusing every second with its presence. Take a look inside; you will find it there.

Following the Way,
Kevin

March's Theme: Divine Love

I want to spend the month of March reflecting on God's love.  I have never experienced anyting purer, deeper or more beautiful.

Here You Are

I can feel you reaching out to me and I find it bewildering.
What have I done to deserve such grace, such care, such love?
I cannot count all the times I’ve failed you,
All the times I shut
My ears to your still small voice,
My eyes to your hands extended to mine,
My heart to your own.

And yet here you are,
Calling me,
Wooing me,
Loving me,
Inviting me to come
Closer and closer and closer,
Forgiving me,
Washing me,
Making me your own,
As if I never left,
As if I never caused you pain,
Or pierced your heart with grief,
Or repaid your kindness with rebellion,
Your faithfulness with unfaithfulness,
Your compassion with my apathy.

O my God,
Your love cuts me to the heart,
Shatters my defenses,
And baffles my understanding.
Your love makes me laugh and weep.
Your love brings me to my knees
And renders me helpless to resist,
Regardless of how hard I try.
I can feel you reaching out to me and I find it bewildering.
What have I done to deserve such grace, such care, such love?


Following the Way,
Kevin

Divine Love

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

I John 4:8

Here is one of my journal entries during a retreat I went on this past weekend.  It was absolutely incredible!

We are all so surrounded by God and so many of us don’t even know; don’t even see it. We are all being pursued by this wonderful Mystery and Love is its Name. Whenever we open ourselves up to love—sincere, genuine, authentic love—we open ourselves up to God. God can be experienced in the other, in knowing the other, in trusting the other, in loving the other and being loved by the other. A simple smile between friends, a word of empathy and compassion, simply holding hands—God is in it all. There’s no separation between the secular and the sacred because it is all sacred: the alarm going off in the morning, the daily shower, the brushing of teeth and combing of hair, the time we spend commuting to work or school can become just as sacred as a prayer. Indeed they become sacred prayers themselves if we lift up those daily routine moments to God. The Incarnation didn’t just take place once. No, the Incarnation is taking place every single moment of every single day, transforming the secular into the sacred, infusing humanity with the divine.

The veil has been torn. The separation has been done away with. There is now only One Divine Life that we are all partakers of. The blade of grass, the human soul, the single-celled bacterium, we are all partakers of the One Divine Life. God is the space that makes existence possible, the space from which all life arises and the space is everywhere and around everything. God is the inescapable reality without and within, the Riddle, the Puzzle that can never be fully solved, the Mystery that is beautiful to behold, marvelous to ponder, wondrous to embrace, even if we can never fully grasp this Mystery, this Love with our limited understanding.

Love, Divine Love is all there really is. Every second is infused with Divine Love. Everything else is illusion, temporary distractions that are passing away: the suffering, pain, fear, separation—they are all momentary disintegrating distractions. We were all put here to experience this Divine Love and it is always with us. From Divine Love we’ve come and when this particular journey is over to Divine Love we will return because it never left us in the first place. It cannot be denied and it animates all life. We can ignore it or forget about it, which is so easy to do; it’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, but this Divine Love never leaves us, never leaves the human soul.

There is a Divine Voice within every human heart whispering, however softly, one word over and over and over again: love, love, love. When we hear this still small voice over and above all of the noisy illusions and distractions of life then and only then do we truly begin to live; we have passed over from death to life. We are set free from sin, and fear, especially the fear we have of ourselves. We have been born again into this Divine Love, to live in this Divine Love forever and ever and ever.

Better Late Than Never

Ok, so this is long overdue! I've been writing here and there for years and I have finally gotten around to starting a blog (I have always been a late bloomer :) I am very excited to share this journey with you! This blog is about my walk with the awesome Mystery we call God. Every one of us is on a personal journey through life and for me God has been a part of my journey for a very long time.

God cannot adequately be defined with words, cannot adequately be understood with the mind, cannot be seen with the eye or touched by the hand, but God, God's presence, God's love, God's joy, can be felt, and for the millions of us all around the globe who are believers, this is all we need. Not to see God with our eyes, not to touch God with our hands, not to prove the existence of God with science or mathematical equations but to feel the presence of God deep down in the marrow of our bones, filling up the deepest crevices of our souls, illuminating the darkest and coldest corners of our hearts.

To be loved by God and to have the honor of loving God in return as well as our fellow man. What could be better than this? For me, nothing. I am following the Way and you are welcome to come join me.