by Pastor Kathy Itzin
The other day, I was noticing how people dress in ‘Fall colors,’ which tend to match the colored leaves. We do the same thing in the Spring, wearing pastel greens, yellows, and other light colors that symbolize new life. I love that people in this area of the world try to ‘match’ what nature is doing around them! I imagined what this would look like from God’s perspective, and found myself thinking, "God must think we’re adorable!"
Does God really feel that way? I look at everything going on around the world and wonder how God could feel so positively towards humanity now. But then, I realized that even though the situation in the United States was significantly different a few years ago, we were still all the same people. Did God love us more then? Is God less enamored with us now?
I was surprised during a meeting with the N. Minneapolis ministers, when one of them said that percentage wise, there are far less killings and violent crimes in the world than in the past. A second minister agreed. In fact, this is true. Max Roser, a German researcher and economist from the University of Oxford has published these findings. You can find them at www.ourworldindata.org. But that’s almost beside the point. God is enamored with us anyway.
How can this be? When we see all the suffering in the world, how can God be ‘in love’ with us? God’s love doesn’t depend upon how we behave. God delights in the good, the beauty, and the passion of who we are regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. Our essence, our soul, is part of the Spirit of God, and God delights in that. We share God’s DNA on a personal level!
What if God didn’t become human to ‘save’ us? What if God became human because God wanted to be human? What would this say about humanity? About the goodness of creation? About us? Maybe it was all so good that God wanted to ‘try us on for size.’
The beginning of John 3 keeps running through my mind. "For God so loved the world…" "For God so LOVED the world…" God did love it, and God loves it now, with a passion that only deepens with time. God loves creation so much that God joined our humanity long ago, and God still is part of us today. God loves the world, and God loves us. Merry Christmas!
--Pastor Kathy
The other day, I was noticing how people dress in ‘Fall colors,’ which tend to match the colored leaves. We do the same thing in the Spring, wearing pastel greens, yellows, and other light colors that symbolize new life. I love that people in this area of the world try to ‘match’ what nature is doing around them! I imagined what this would look like from God’s perspective, and found myself thinking, "God must think we’re adorable!"
Does God really feel that way? I look at everything going on around the world and wonder how God could feel so positively towards humanity now. But then, I realized that even though the situation in the United States was significantly different a few years ago, we were still all the same people. Did God love us more then? Is God less enamored with us now?
I was surprised during a meeting with the N. Minneapolis ministers, when one of them said that percentage wise, there are far less killings and violent crimes in the world than in the past. A second minister agreed. In fact, this is true. Max Roser, a German researcher and economist from the University of Oxford has published these findings. You can find them at www.ourworldindata.org. But that’s almost beside the point. God is enamored with us anyway.
How can this be? When we see all the suffering in the world, how can God be ‘in love’ with us? God’s love doesn’t depend upon how we behave. God delights in the good, the beauty, and the passion of who we are regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. Our essence, our soul, is part of the Spirit of God, and God delights in that. We share God’s DNA on a personal level!
What if God didn’t become human to ‘save’ us? What if God became human because God wanted to be human? What would this say about humanity? About the goodness of creation? About us? Maybe it was all so good that God wanted to ‘try us on for size.’
The beginning of John 3 keeps running through my mind. "For God so loved the world…" "For God so LOVED the world…" God did love it, and God loves it now, with a passion that only deepens with time. God loves creation so much that God joined our humanity long ago, and God still is part of us today. God loves the world, and God loves us. Merry Christmas!
--Pastor Kathy
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