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Reflection Question 3
Sometime last week I got an email as part of a UM Campus Ministry list I'm on. It had a link to sign up for emailed devotionals during Lent. The one that was sent today applied to the A218 Lent Reflection Question for today... so interesting when God does that :) The article is below. If you would like, you can sign up to receive these as well at http://www.goshen.edu/devotions/subscribe
The Temptation of Unworthiness
Isaiah 6:1-8
"Your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.... Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us?" And I said, `Here am I,. send me!"
While few people in mainline Protestant churches might use the word "sin" to describe their brokenness, many of us know the meaning of sin and brokenness first hand. A student came to me one morning. Successful, talented, beautiful, but anxious, she had just concluded another short term and tempestuous relationship. "I always choose the wrong persons to love. I feel unworthy of a lasting relationship," she confessed. Later that day, another student came with a similar confession. "I just can't forgive my father. He was never home and when he was, he always criticized my brothers and me. I don't think I love him.
But, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll go to hell because of my unforgiveness." There is a part of all of us that feels unworthy of love and respect. Whether we call this sin or low self-esteem, it can debilitate us and ruin our relationships. With Isaiah, we anxiously confess "woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips."
When Jesus referred to God as "abba," or "daddy," he raised the standard for parenting. God does not love us in spite of who we are but because we are God's children. I believe that God pronounces upon us the same words pronounced upon Jesus at his baptism: "You are my beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased." Many of us feel so unworthy that we cannot accept the marvelous promise that God loves us. The God whose love welcomes back a lost son and searches into the darkest night for a lost sheep is also in search of our love. This is a love that cannot be defeated by death, sin, low self-esteem, or guilt. It is a passionate love that awakens our own love. We don't have to earn this love anymore than you as an infant had to earn your parents' love. With Paul, we can proclaim for ourselves and then turn to one another in. acceptance and affirmation, filled with thanksgiving at the amazing news that "while we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8).
In a time of prayerful reflection, place your unworthiness and sin in God's hand. Let God transform it into compassion and service. "God of infinite love. Let me accept your love and share it with others. Let me know that nothing can separate me from your love. Transform my mind."
The Temptation of Unworthiness
Isaiah 6:1-8
"Your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.... Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us?" And I said, `Here am I,. send me!"
While few people in mainline Protestant churches might use the word "sin" to describe their brokenness, many of us know the meaning of sin and brokenness first hand. A student came to me one morning. Successful, talented, beautiful, but anxious, she had just concluded another short term and tempestuous relationship. "I always choose the wrong persons to love. I feel unworthy of a lasting relationship," she confessed. Later that day, another student came with a similar confession. "I just can't forgive my father. He was never home and when he was, he always criticized my brothers and me. I don't think I love him.
But, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll go to hell because of my unforgiveness." There is a part of all of us that feels unworthy of love and respect. Whether we call this sin or low self-esteem, it can debilitate us and ruin our relationships. With Isaiah, we anxiously confess "woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips."
When Jesus referred to God as "abba," or "daddy," he raised the standard for parenting. God does not love us in spite of who we are but because we are God's children. I believe that God pronounces upon us the same words pronounced upon Jesus at his baptism: "You are my beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased." Many of us feel so unworthy that we cannot accept the marvelous promise that God loves us. The God whose love welcomes back a lost son and searches into the darkest night for a lost sheep is also in search of our love. This is a love that cannot be defeated by death, sin, low self-esteem, or guilt. It is a passionate love that awakens our own love. We don't have to earn this love anymore than you as an infant had to earn your parents' love. With Paul, we can proclaim for ourselves and then turn to one another in. acceptance and affirmation, filled with thanksgiving at the amazing news that "while we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8).
In a time of prayerful reflection, place your unworthiness and sin in God's hand. Let God transform it into compassion and service. "God of infinite love. Let me accept your love and share it with others. Let me know that nothing can separate me from your love. Transform my mind."
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