I want to tackle a subject that is hard for me.
Not in normal times. Not in what I would call predictable times.
I’m talking about right now - in these times.
Rest
Held
Yesterday I met a pastor who looked like he’d been hit by a truck. I see in the eyes of people around me the question; Will I, will we survive this?
It’s been a double-down difficult year. And then I feel the arms of God reaching to pick me up. These are arms I am learning to trust. They are strong and most importantly, they are full of compassion and such mercy.
In the midst of the storm, I am held.
Healer of My Heart
Will You Surely Die?
I imagine God's deep voice as he said:
“...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Gen 2:17)
And then in kind of a smooth, slick voice a bit later, the serpent:
“You will not certainly die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
God did not create humanity with the intent that we should know good and evil. In this way, God was protecting our hearts, our innocence. He created us to feel, to be, to experience, to love. And when our eyes are opened -- when we know good and evil, we begin to judge. And as we begin to judge, we lose our ability to feel, be, experience and love. We die. Perhaps not a physical death, but we die to our ability to live fully.