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BE CREATIVE ... DARE TO IMAGINE ! If you feel that you have something positive to add to our site, be it prose - poetry - or a wise thought, you can email it to
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where it may be adjudged suitable for inclusion ... don't hesitate.
DO NOT JUDGE PEOPLE !
We spend an enormous amount of energy making up our minds about people. Not a day goes by without somebody doing or saying something that evokes in us the need to form an opinion about them. We hear a lot, see a lot, and know a lot. The idea that we have to sort it all out in our minds and make judgements about it is an idea we were born with. The anchient fathers said that judging others is a heavy burden, whereas being judged by them is a light one. Once we can let go of our need to judge others, we experience an incredible freedom. We are free tgo receive mercy, for Jesus said, 'Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy ...' (Matthew 5:7).
Most of us aren't aware of how deeply roote our prejudices are. We've convinced ourselves that we relate easilty to people who are different from us in colour, religion, sexual orientation, or lifestyle. But the truth is, our spontaneous thoughts, our uncensored words, our knee-jerk reactions, reveal that our prejudices c olour everything. Strangers (people different from us) stir up fear, suspicion, and hostility.
They make us lose our sense of security by just being 'other. What's the answer? Only when we understand God's unconditional love for us, and begin to see those 'other' people as equally loved by Him, can we remove the barriers and begin to build bridges; bridge over which we can walk to share God's love, and enjoy His family. -- WORD FOR TODAY --
A THOUGHT FOR 4th Week of LENT; God always makes allowances for us... 'How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God ! And that is what we are.' --- 1 John 3:1. --- What can we say about God's love? We can say that it's unconditional ! God doesn't say, " I love you, if..." There are no "ifs" in God's heart. His love for us doesn't depend on what we say or do, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity, or even on our performance. Think about that ! His love for us existed before we were born, and it'll exist after we're gone. His love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound by any-time-related events or circumstances. Does that mean that God doesn't care what we do or say? No, to love without condition doesn't mean to love without concern. Sometimes we confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God doesn't approve of betrayal, selfishness, pride, resentment, or any other form of disobedience The are opposite to the love God wants to instil in our hearts. God unconditional love just means that He continues to love us even when we blow it ! Aren't you glad? He continues to wait for us as the father waited for the return of the prodigal son. It's important that we hold to the truth that God never gives up loving us, even when He's grieved by what we do. Why's that so important? Because God's love is the magnet that draws us back to Him every time.. ( WORD FOR TODAY )
REFLECTIONS; • It is wrong to think that love come from a long companionship and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity, and unless that affinity is created in a moment,it will not be created in years or even generations.
PRAYER; Lord, I know you are always waiting ready to forgive us, to embrace us when we have faltered on our journey. May we also be ready to forgive and embrace those who have hurt us in thought, word or deed. This Lent let us know the joy of reconciliation. Amen !
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