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"Abide in my love" may be the most profound words ever spoken by Jesus Christ. Scholars may argue whether these are actual words of Jesus or not. One of the criteria scholars use is originality. Those of us who grew up in the Christian faith are so accustomed to hearing these words from the Gospel according to St. John that they don't seem unusual or original at all. We are also very accustomed to thinking of Jesus Christ as Divine, as God, and we've been schooled in the theology of God as loving.  Unfortunately, what we take for granted loses its power to affect us. In sensory psychology this phenomenon is referred to as habituation. Habituation, normally, is what enables us to give attention to what is important and filter out background stimuli. The challenge of abiding in God's love is precisely that it is not novel. It is the air we breathe and just as we rarely pay attention either to air or to our breathing, so it is with God's love.

Abiding in God's love sounds wonderful. It IS wonderful, but it is also a great deal of work, the project of a lifetime. I am working on it, and I believe I am making some progress and so I feel called by God to help others if I can. The reality is that hate, because it is less common and more novel, gets our attention much more than love. Even for those who are not attracted to hatred, there are other obstacles almost as formidable. The unconditional quality of God’s love is extremely difficult to accept as it is so very different from human love. Personally, I’ve never been attracted to hatred in any deep way. My struggle has been more about hating myself and feeling myself unworthy of God’s love. I have come to understand, intellectually at least, the weirdness of God’s love. It is really weird! Sin separates us from God, not because it affects God’s love for us at all, but because it gets in the way of our appreciating/abiding in that love. Shame and guilt are useful when they lead to repentance. They are counterproductive when they make us uncomfortable with the One who loves us unconditionally.

The most essential key to abiding in God’s love is repentance. I did not say being sinless. That is impossible in any case. Repentance means one wants to behave only in ways that are pleasing to God. It does not mean that one is always successful. We open our minds and hearts to God despite our weakness and that enables God to enter our lives and bring us peace. Interior peace, which can be experienced in the midst of any and all of life’s trials, is the both the sign and the gift of God’s presence.

There is much more to say and the links on this Website will expose you to my thoughts on a wide variety of topics. I hope you find them useful on your journey.  Included on this site is some information about me. I am in no way the focus of this site, but understanding my background may be of interest and, in any case, providing information about the tree as you assess the fruit.  I am working on my writings and only a few of the links are active at this point. “Dialogue” is my blog to which you are welcome to respond. I don’t use the word “blog” because, again, it’s not about me. It’s about God and you. Thank you for your visit and “. . . the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 4:7]