05-22-2007, 08:06 AM
Dear Friends:
It never ceases to amaze and upset me that so many individuals proclaim loudly their "Love of God" and at the same time express hatred towards their fellowman. Far too many atrocities have been done "In God's Name" in our past history and continue to this day to be committed by "God Loving" nations and individuals. The basis of our hatred seems to be that we think we have a monopoly on the way God is to be understood and worshipped. All that is truly accomplished is a demonstration of how little we know God and His ways. We demonstrate how little we are removed from the state of the beast.
In 1st John we are told: "Let us love one another, for love comes from God." It is through love that we come to know God and demonstrate our understanding of Him, our likeness to Him, and our understanding of the ways in which He works.
It has been rightly said that, "Whoever does not Love does not know God." This is because God is the very essence of Love. This love: not that we say we love God, is the fact that He loves us (all of humanity). He formed this world, universe, etc., for us, not as a playground, but as a training ground, so that we might learn to become truly Children of God not in word only but in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. Unfortunately, humanity as a whole has demonstrated that we are still in the preschool stage of development. Over and over again we repeat the same mistakes, never seeming to learn. Fortunately for us, God has been infinitely patient.
Since God so loves us; shouldn't we learn to love one another; shouldn't we learn to understand one another; shouldn't we learn to live together in harmony and peace?
Many claim that no one has ever seen God, but this is not entirely true. We may not see Him in His entirety, but we do see His manifestations and workings up to the level of our understanding. As we learn and grow, more and more of who and what God is -- is revealed. Unfortunately most of humanity is not learning and growing in understanding and is putting little effort into the process for which we are given this physical existence.
It is not till we learn to love one another, that God truly lives in us and His Love is made complete is us. Jesus truly taught the two great commandments: to Love God and to Love our fellow man.
In following the two great commandments, love is made complete among and within us so that we will have confidence in our fellowman, in ourselves, and in God's plan for this world and all that follows.
In our society, that is so based on fear, we should realize that as long as we have fear in us, we have not yet attained to the perfection of love because perfect love drives out fear. As long as we have fear, we have not learned all that we are capable of learning. We have not yet developed our full potential to love. We have not yet learned that we are capable of love because God first loved us.
If anyone says, "I love God" yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. All human beings are your brothers and sisters, not just those born of the same earthly parents, or those of the same religious background. This seems to be a hard lesson for us to learn. It is written, that anyone who does not love his brother and sister, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen, nor fully comprehends.
We are truly given this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brothers and sisters. Everyone who truly loves the Father, loves his children as well.
To demonstrate our love for God is not a burdensome task. It is simply to walk in truth, to walk in love, and to continue the teachings of Jesus, that the kingdom of God is at hand. This does not mean that all have to follow the same doctrine, belong to the same church, or worship in the same way. To walk in truth, is to acknowledge that there is only one God worshipped in many many ways according to individual levels of understanding. To walk in love, is to acknowledge that all of humanity is one family and to understand our differences and similarities as seen through the eyes of God. That the Kingdom of God is at hand should be self-evident to those who believe. This is one of the oldest teachings we have; first documented in our Bible in the Book of Genesis, but even predates our scriptures.
It is time for us to learn and grow and enter the true school of life. It is time for us to begin to walk in truth, to walk in love and to learn to walk as Children of God in God's Kingdom.
May today mark a new beginning in our journey as Children of God. May we truly begin to walk in truth, and to walk in love of God and all humanity.
So Be It:
The basic thoughts in this writing are from 1&2 John.
Written with Love.
Rev Dorris
1-23-03
It never ceases to amaze and upset me that so many individuals proclaim loudly their "Love of God" and at the same time express hatred towards their fellowman. Far too many atrocities have been done "In God's Name" in our past history and continue to this day to be committed by "God Loving" nations and individuals. The basis of our hatred seems to be that we think we have a monopoly on the way God is to be understood and worshipped. All that is truly accomplished is a demonstration of how little we know God and His ways. We demonstrate how little we are removed from the state of the beast.
In 1st John we are told: "Let us love one another, for love comes from God." It is through love that we come to know God and demonstrate our understanding of Him, our likeness to Him, and our understanding of the ways in which He works.
It has been rightly said that, "Whoever does not Love does not know God." This is because God is the very essence of Love. This love: not that we say we love God, is the fact that He loves us (all of humanity). He formed this world, universe, etc., for us, not as a playground, but as a training ground, so that we might learn to become truly Children of God not in word only but in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. Unfortunately, humanity as a whole has demonstrated that we are still in the preschool stage of development. Over and over again we repeat the same mistakes, never seeming to learn. Fortunately for us, God has been infinitely patient.
Since God so loves us; shouldn't we learn to love one another; shouldn't we learn to understand one another; shouldn't we learn to live together in harmony and peace?
Many claim that no one has ever seen God, but this is not entirely true. We may not see Him in His entirety, but we do see His manifestations and workings up to the level of our understanding. As we learn and grow, more and more of who and what God is -- is revealed. Unfortunately most of humanity is not learning and growing in understanding and is putting little effort into the process for which we are given this physical existence.
It is not till we learn to love one another, that God truly lives in us and His Love is made complete is us. Jesus truly taught the two great commandments: to Love God and to Love our fellow man.
In following the two great commandments, love is made complete among and within us so that we will have confidence in our fellowman, in ourselves, and in God's plan for this world and all that follows.
In our society, that is so based on fear, we should realize that as long as we have fear in us, we have not yet attained to the perfection of love because perfect love drives out fear. As long as we have fear, we have not learned all that we are capable of learning. We have not yet developed our full potential to love. We have not yet learned that we are capable of love because God first loved us.
If anyone says, "I love God" yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. All human beings are your brothers and sisters, not just those born of the same earthly parents, or those of the same religious background. This seems to be a hard lesson for us to learn. It is written, that anyone who does not love his brother and sister, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen, nor fully comprehends.
We are truly given this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brothers and sisters. Everyone who truly loves the Father, loves his children as well.
To demonstrate our love for God is not a burdensome task. It is simply to walk in truth, to walk in love, and to continue the teachings of Jesus, that the kingdom of God is at hand. This does not mean that all have to follow the same doctrine, belong to the same church, or worship in the same way. To walk in truth, is to acknowledge that there is only one God worshipped in many many ways according to individual levels of understanding. To walk in love, is to acknowledge that all of humanity is one family and to understand our differences and similarities as seen through the eyes of God. That the Kingdom of God is at hand should be self-evident to those who believe. This is one of the oldest teachings we have; first documented in our Bible in the Book of Genesis, but even predates our scriptures.
It is time for us to learn and grow and enter the true school of life. It is time for us to begin to walk in truth, to walk in love and to learn to walk as Children of God in God's Kingdom.
May today mark a new beginning in our journey as Children of God. May we truly begin to walk in truth, and to walk in love of God and all humanity.
So Be It:
The basic thoughts in this writing are from 1&2 John.
Written with Love.
Rev Dorris
1-23-03