God's Other Name

 

Blessed be God, the Creator of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed—not because of anything we have done, but because of what God has done for us. Ephesians 1:3

This week we have explored showing up fully and authentically, contributing what we can, where we can, how we can.  We can bless God in this moment – not because of a Divine demand but because doing this is a delight.  One of the many reasons why I love this passage it that these words affirm us showing up in our God-clothed/soaked/created self ~ but that we don’t do this to earn a reward.

Wait…this is counter cultural.  You don’t earn God’s grace.  For grace to be grace it is given from God’s heart like the Jello salad and cool whip from Tuesday’s morning devotion.  For God’s love to be unconditional ~ it doesn’t depend on us blessing God or saying the right thing or volunteering endlessly or showing up at that rally. 

 

Wait…you may think, what about all we have explored this week with blessing God and living the blessings of God and sharing with others?  We don’t do this for a reward, we do this because the love God fills our lives with fuels us to be a presence in the world God so loves.  God loves us, this sets in motion a way of living.  God love us, not because of who we are but because of who God is.  This love is circuitous and circular, or an ever deepening spiral that the more we dive and dwell in God’s love, the more God’s love dwells in us shaping us.  Too often religion gives us a surface level of faith.  Or tells us that God’s love depends on a pledge and you serving on a church committee and you helping to grow the church.  God’s love is.  God’s love enfolds and holds us and will never let you go.  God’s love empowers and equips too.  I know that this can be frustrating for those who want the ten-steps to being faithful, but we make the way by walking into the unknowable-ness of this day.  We make the way by walking with God, others, and our created in God’s image self with our full self.  We do this not to earn our way or prove our worth or to change others, but because there is a love that is guiding us.  This love is named, “God”.  Amen.