By Fr. Bjorn, OES How awful would it be to have to go through life always looking over your shoulder, certain that an attack could come from anywhere? To have to watch your every move, thought, or desire, for fear that you will be punished by an angry and wrathful overlord? And it would be awful indeed. So why do so many people do it?
Why do people crowd into churches week after week to hear of an angry, wrathful being that is watching their every move, ever thought, every desire, waiting to cast them into a place of eternal torment? Who would want to have faith in such a deity? The God of my knowing is the opposite of the "hellfire and brimstone" being that is taught in many churches. The God that I know is the essence of pure love, who is merciful and who waits patiently to shape our hearts into the vessels of pure love that is a mirror of God Itself. The God I know is incapable of hatred. It excludes no one from Its loving embrace, and is quick to show mercy to any that would seek it out. This is the God that I fell in love with, who called me to a life of prayer and thanksgiving, of mercy and compassion toward others who are suffering. The God of my knowing can not be placed into neat little boxes, and certainly does not share our opinions about what is good, right, or holy. The God of my knowing is sovereign, and completely beyond knowing by the human mind. So dear friends, ask yourselves whether your God is one you fear, or one you love. The difference affects everything you do and say, how you treat others and most of all, how you treat yourself.
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AuthorsReflections from the monks and nuns of OES. Archives
February 2019
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