Hello everyone!
Know this is rather random, but just decided to post a summary of the session last Saturday. Heh, which was mine lol. Will try my best to make these summary thingies a regular thing, not only for archiving, but for those who miss session to keep track plus for the people lazy to take full notes, ahha.
Plus, if you have anything to share or any reflection thingies, email me, I'll post it up here for you (:
Yes, the obvious effort to revive this, ahaha.
Alright then, off we go!
I apologise if things may not tie up, it's rather difficult to explain online (am heavily reliant on whiteboard). But for all you know, it might turn out better in text. Always fancied myself a better writer than speaker ><
Relationship with
GodThree parts to this topic!
1. God
2. God to me
3. Me to God
1. God is love
Easiest one-word summary of who God is,
for His love is shown in the fruits and blessings in our lives. Perhaps it's a tad simplistic, but (like during the session) if you throw up various adjectives/verbs/word-thingies to describe who God is and what He does, it can pretty much be traced back to love.
I Sacrificial and redeeming love
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. - John 3:16God gave up His Son (Jesus!) for us, while we were still sinners and didn't deserve a single bit of what He did on Calvary. And it wasn't like Jesus had no choice but to die, He was battling fear and suffering up to the very end, but He still went through everything 'cause He knew that by His pain and death, He would save us.
II Unconditional and steadfast loveI have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. - Jeremiah 31:3God loves us just as we are! Which is rather amazing, we sinners, we broken people, we dissatisfied people. God will love you just as much if you become a better person, but He will also love you just as much if you make mistakes and fall on the way. What varies between these moments is you ability to respond to His love (we'll get to that later). Case in point: the prodigal son; he disappeared off and got really messed up. But his dad never stopped loving him while he was away squandering his dad's estate, and was just waiting for his son to come home.
III Providing and faithful loveThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. - Psalm 23:1-6God always provides, and He knows exactly just what we need. In the creation of the world, God didn't just throw Adam and Eve into the dimensionless chaos on Day One; instead He perfected (and made good) everything else before bringing Adam and Eve into the Garden of Eden, where everything they needed was right there. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus says that His Father provides even for the birds who do not work and toil, what more will He provide for everything we need too!
2. God to meGod shows His love in your life through the various events and people you meet in daily life. Write a gratitude list of what you're thankful for this week. It's increasingly difficult to list as you write, but dig into your week and discover the little blessings! All these little incidents have at least one (or two, or three) of the elements of His love in them, because His love is shown through people and circumstances, even you.
3. Me to GodResponding to God's loveDraw near to God, and he will draw near to you. - James 4:8Remember the thing earlier about God's love being constant? It is, He's just channeling all His love to you non-stop all the time! Like the sun, the amount of heat and energy radiating from the sun onto us does not change, we have to way to change it from the source. But what changes is the barriers we put to the sunlight. If you shield yourself with an umbrella, it does not change the amount from the sun, but limits how much sunlight you receive. In the same way, our experience of His love in our lives also depends on if we look to Him and receive the great immense love.
At the same time, we cannot be totally engrossed in His love. To return to the sun analogy, you'd get sunburn! His love is shown to us through the people around us and the various communities in our lives. Not only should we bask in His love, but we also have to do our part in showing His love to others in word and deed.
Awareness; perhaps it is the key! Of His love and faithfulness, and of the people around us as well.
Your relationship with God is a gift by His graceHave you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. - John 20:29While we need to take effort to see God reaching out to us, a relationship with Him is not established independently. Rather, it itself is a gift from Him. A friend once taught me to flip that verse around, instead of the conventional interpretation that we will be blessed if we can believe withough seeing. We are blessed to be able to believe without seeing to begin with.
The relationship at workThey who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. - John 14:21Jesus reveals Himself through this relationship that we build with God, like all relationships, where people get closer and want to know more with each other. There's this epic paragraph in the CCC, article 2015, "He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows." Haha, yeah cheem stuff! Wish I had a whiteboard to explain it properly by drawing. But we'll have to make do.
Three things: Love, Knowledge and Truth. So the love of God we experience pokes us to want to know more about Him. Then the knowledge we gain reveals truths about Him. The amazing truths we realise inspires more love in our hearts for God, which whets our appetite for even more knowledge of him, and the truth we learn from that knowledge stirs up even more love in our hearts... Yeah it goes on. You can start from any one of the three, and it just keeps accumulating and we want more and more of God.
Sidenote: Converse to this equation-of-sorts could be - as speculated by those at session on Saturday - one of sin; Hate, Ignorance and Lies. Might sound a little jedi-ish, as Kim pointed out that day, but doesnt it make sense? Think about it :D
What if we fail?If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9What if we fall of that happy positive God cycle of Love, Knowledge and Truth? Or perhaps even are on the scary-sounding cycle of Hate, Ignorance and Lies? Remember, God loves us 100% no matter what! What is crucial here is (again) our response to His steadfast love, and thus repentance. Sin means turning away from God (seniors: Fr Luke's session ages ago!), so we can choose to keep facing away from God. To reuse the earlier analogy, face away from the sun, open umbrella, etc.. Our refusal to repent or fear of His "wrath" only blocks us off, blinds us from His love that is trying to reach all of us. So acknowledge you've been an idiot or a bobo, that you've done bad things and committed sins, then allow the God who loves you completely to bring you back to Him and heal your brokeness.
Maybe I sound very optimistic, and simplistic. But give it some consideration, maybe things with God don't have to be complex and difficult (:
Jump on the bandwagon of Love, Knowledge and Truth!
<3
Bucca
