Abi and Individuality

I was re-reading an old post ... and it occurs to me that I have changed so much over the past few years, that many of the things I've said in the past ... well, they just don't represent what I think now.  I leave those old posts up because they are part of the process through which I journeyed to today.

In the crazy world of American politics, I keep coming back to freedom and the individual.  There is a great deal of deeper thinking that needs to go on that has been bypassed, IMO.  And part of what I've been processing lately about perichoresis -- thanks to C. Baxter Kruger -- speaks to the reality that I think is too often missing from the conversation:  being fully part of the covenant community without losing one's individuality.

Too often today, to be part of whatever group is being hailed as essential, individuals are asked to lose their voice -- so that another can speak for them.  When someone represents us, they are to represent our voice, not supplant their voice for ours.

I believe that each and every individual is known and loved by our Triune God -- Father, Son and Spirit. Their voice is unique and valued.  Their own creativity is necessary. When someone proposes to silence the voice of the individual for the good of the community, I start to see the old red flag rise....

The changes I have made are actually quite subtle ... as if the purple hue of my cHesed glasses has changed slightly, or perhaps the prescription has shifted.  I have, really, moved toward God as I have moved away from religion and institutionalization.

Any talk that moves toward more religion or more institution ... and this includes more government ... seems like a move away from God.

Our young Republic is at a huge crossroads.  I hope we do not abandon our Constitution.  I pray there is a way forward that brings together all people of good will and sound mind to reason together without vitriol. Because I'm really so done with the name-calling and the straw-man arguments and the spin-meistering.

People of good will.

People of sound mind.

People willing to reason together.

People without vitriol.

...all coming together to find a way forward.

I know it is possible.  I pray that more will desire the same thing.  I trust God's love for all of Their creation as it spins in time, second by second.

Thy will be done -- on earth as it is in heaven.  If heaven is where God dwells, then heaven is right in our midst, because Jesus has taken up residence in every human heart -- and he has brought his Father and the Holy Spirit with him.

May this Good News spread.  May it cause us to recognize the light of Jesus in each one we meet.  May our love for Jesus inspire us to love one another.  May the great revolution of cHesed/perichoresis begin!

Be blessed....