Now the people under the sea age differently than those on land. They can live to 300 and never look it. She was 50 but you couldn’t tell. Her hair flowed out as she swam. He had relented and gave the warning,
“You don’t know what men are like. Never trust them. They would put you in a cage and charge gold to see you.”
Now, I don’t know if that was ever true. Her father was over three hundred. She put on two necklaces; one her mother gave her and the other she took off a dead woman’s skeleton. The wreck had gold but she wanted only the necklace.
Her two sisters went with her. I’m not really sure they were sisters. They make their own rules. They vow to protect each other and call each other sister after that. Another thing is hair color. Each mermaid has their own color. Our mermaid has golden hair, of course. She was called by a name you could not spell or even pronounce.
Those who live below marvel at writing. To put letters together is beyond their interest, really. And do they have paper underwater? When she took her necklace off the previous owner, she signed a thank you. They have hand motions that mean something. Holding up both hands shows surprise. Her sister showed her where some rocks poked their heads above the sea.
“But these are so far from land,” she said.
“Safe they are,” her sister said.
She went with them to the surface several times. She found the sun delightful. It shone so brightly on the waves.
She decided she would go alone. It was dark. Her face came up over the surface. She saw the full moon for the first time. Her hands went up automatically. What a wonder was this orb. She could see the queen face on it. She sat on the rock in silence. How quiet it was. Only the lapping of the water against “her rock.” Then a sound came across the water. A ship was signaling a lighthouse.
She didn’t know what a lighthouse was. Its light seemed weak next to the glow of the moon. She had never seen live humans. Mermaids are told that humans are an inferior race. They fight and kill each other. They are advised to avoid them. You can believe it when they cast nets to capture fish. They think people want them, too.
The ship would not come near her rock, she thought. But it had a light that moved over the water. She sat as it came closer. She got in the water for safety. Now, it was coming straight at her rock! She moved away. Boom! It hit the rock. They stopped and a man was lowered down by rope to check for damage. Then he called up and they pulled him up. She didn’t think her rock could damage such a large ship.
“I know you are there,” a voice in the dark said, “I will not harm you. Come back next full moon. I will bring no net or weapon. Only me.”
She went down and tried to forget all about it. But next full moon, she found herself near her rock. She saw a small boat. She was too curious. She clapped her hands. The light came on.
“I have no weapon or net. I do have rope to tie up to your rock.”
She saw him loop it over the rock.
“I don’t even have an anchor.”
“Why should I trust you?” she sang.
“No reason. I’m just amazed at you.”
“Why?” she lilted.
“You live under the sea,” he said.
“And you live on … Land,” she echoed.
“We must. The sea is often dangerous to us. We do like to catch fish.”
She pondered his words. So much English. His voice sounded good. She felt he was speaking the truth.
“Why do you come to this rock?” he asked.
“It is my rock, she sang, “I come to see the glorious moon.”
She had said too much. She was proud to speak so much English but she regreted it now. Yet, she could not leave.
“Can you come up on your rock. I will stay in the boat.”
Foolishly, she obeyed his request. She sat on the rock close to the water, ready to dive.
“You are beautiful,” he said and did not shine any light.
“You should not talk to me,” she warbled, “aren’t you afraid of my power?”
“What power is that?” he questioned.
“Don’t you know we have magic power?”
“No, I thought your power is to live underwater.”
“We are not like you,” she said firmly.
“I know that but are the tales true?”
“I don’t really know what you heard. Should I try a spell on you?”
“What kind of spell?”
“A love spell. You would fall hopelessly in love with me. It would be your ruin.”
She was making it up as she went along.
“Don’t do it. I am enamored enough right now.”
“What is ‘eemamorred’?”
“It means I am drawn to you by some great desire.”
“Oh, really, and how can I satisfy your desire,” she sang innocently.
“Just seeing you will fill my dreams tonight.”
“You are a poet, I think,” she lilted.
“You are right; I have written poems about you. I have one in my pocket right now.”
“Read it.”
Her fascination with writing made her say this. A poem about me, she thought.
I have to turn on my light to read it,” he said as she heard the sound of some paper. A strange sound, indeed.
Here it is:
I saw her from the boat. Her hair flashed and then she was gone. No one saw the vision but I. No one believed my sigh. I knew she was real. In my dreams, I did feel I must see her again I will go with the moon. I must see her soon. The End”
“So that is a ‘poem’,” she sang.
“Now you know my heart,” he said
“You should not love me and I cannot love you. I am fifty of your years. We retain our beauty for many years. My mother lived to 290!”
“Really, I had no idea,” he said and was silent.
She said, “I must go now. Forget about me.”
She splashed and disappeared.
He slowly went back to shore. A friend of his sat on the dock.
“What, fishing this late?”
“Fishing? Yes, I suppose. Have you more to drink?”
“Plenty. Take some.”
They sat drinking beer.
“It’s a woman, isn’t it,” he said.
“She stole my heart and has said goodbye forever,” he sighed.
“If that’s the case, you’re better off without her.”
“Am I? I don’t feel it.
“Any last words?”
“Forget me…”
“That’s pretty final.”
“I know. I read her a poem.”
“No.”
“Yes. And that was it.”
“Girls are funny. Some like poetry. Some don’t.”
“She said it was impossible. In so many words.”
“Is she from here?”
“Not really. English is not her language, really.”
Adam I wish you could talk,Dog. I rename you, Friend of Man. Want to go for a walk? Dog Arf Adam Look there, a new fruit. Mmm. Want some? No good, huh? I am feeling really tired…
Waking up later.
Adam That was a crazy dream.
The Lord comes towards him with Eve.
Adam This is right out of my dream. I call you Woman because you were taken from me. Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone… Dog Arf (bone?) Eve I heard about you. Adam What? Eve You like to name things Adam I’ve named a few animals. This is Dog. Dog meet Woman. Dog Sniff sniff Eve What about Dog? Adam He sleeps by the fire. Eve What’s fire? Adam Well, it’s just an idea now. It’s going to be hot. Tell me about your day? Eve So far, came to be. Then, came here. Can you believe the Lord showing me off? Adam Where did he go? Eve He told me some stuff Adam Like, what? Eve That I would meet you. Adam Me? Eve And some other stuff. Adam What? Eve There are two special trees. Adam Come this way. Eve Okay. Does Dog always go with you? Adam Lately. He is a faithful friend. Eve What about me? Adam You are… Wife! Eve What about those trees? Adam See this one? It’s the Tree of Life. Eve Beautiful. Adam Now that one is the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil. Eve What a long name… Adam I know. If you eat it, you get to know good and evil. Eve Should we eat it? What do the other trees do for you? Adam No, we should not eat from it! If you do, you will die. Eve What’s “die?” Adam Let me show you.
They walk a bit.
Adam Here it is. Look.
A bird lies dead on the ground.
Eve What’s wrong with it? Adam It’s dead. Eve No flying? No singing? Adam No. Dead. Doesn’t move. Eve Sad. I don’t want to die. Adam Then, we don’t eat from that tree. Eve What about the others? What do they do for you? Adam The fruit is different on different trees. They don’t have special names. Eve What about this one? Adam Try it. Eve It crunches, it’s yellow. And this one with the red ones? Another crunchy one. Adam Those seem to be the same kind. Eve Apples! Adam What? Eve Yellow apples and red apples. Adam Who said you could name things? Eve Did you name them? Adam No, I just eat them. Eve You’re eating apples. Adam Okay, apples it is. Check out these little purple ones. Eve Mmm. Sweet. They’re in bunches. (Eats another.) Grapes! Adam Stop doing that! Eve Why? Are you going to say to me: Go gather some little purple, not quite round ones that grow in bunches on vines? Adam Vines? Eve Yeah, vines, different than trees. Adam Okay, apples, grapes, vines. Take it easy. No more naming for today. Eve What about the ones up high on that tree? Adam They will drop down. Eve I don’t see any. Adam Something eats them, not dogs. Eve Much to learn. Adam Let’s go down by the river. Eve River? Adam There should be some animals drinking water. Did you bring your bathing suit? We can swim. Eve Bathing suit? Adam Just kidding. Fish live in the river, too. Eve Fish?
There was this young giraffe that ended up lost. How he could get lost on the savanna, I don’t know. You can see for miles. Anyway, he was alone. He stood around crying. A bird questioned him. “Why, long neck, are you so sad? We birds sing and you cry.”
“I’m all alone,” he sobbed.
“We can point you towards other long necks…”
“Really?”
“Yes, we use the bird grapevine. I will send out a message and let you know what is going on with long necks.”
“Thank you. (sob)”
“Can you believe it? He is lonely for other long necks. See if you can locate some other long necks, Fast Flyer.”
“Got it.”
Flyer loved to go up high in the air and swoop down at high speed. But when he was high, he couldn’t see clearly on the ground. He took a big chance. He landed near an eagle nest. She had several baby birds. “What are you doing here?” she screeched.
“No harm, no harm, said Fast Flyer. ” I was sent to find long necks” he chirped.
“I should feed you to my babies!”
“Just tell me, wonderful eagle, if your keen sight has shown you any long necks” he said politely.
“Yes, towards the mountain, now get away!” She beat her wings in a threatening way. Fast Flyer left quick.
Fast Flyer brought back his report. There was only one big mountain around. The sad little giraffe set off for it. “At least, we won’t have to listen to all his blubbering, ” said one bird.
The giraffe could see the mountain in the distance. It slowly grew bigger as the day went on. When night came, he had to stop. It was a whole day more of travel and he still wasn’t there. He came to some trees. “Have you seen others like me,” he asked some birds.
“Who do you think ate our leaves,” one bird said. Birds think trees and leaves are theirs. He looked for footprints and found a few. “Did they go this way?”
“Who cares, they’re gone.”
The giraffe set off in the direction of the footprints. One bird followed him, “Try by the river,” was all he said. River, he thought, that makes sense. He went on and smelled a smell that might be the river. He approached slowly. He saw two flat creatures sunning themselves on the bank. They were crocodiles. “Have you seen giraffe?” he shouted. One croc opened one eye.
“Did you hear something?” it said.
“Why bother?” said the bigger one, “We are full now.” The giraffe moved on. Some mud-covered hippos were soaking. “Seen any giraffe?” he shouted.
“Yes, you,” quipped a smallish one, “Do you know where we keep our money?” “No,” said the giraffe. “In the river bank!” It submerged giggling. The giraffe moved on.
Some strange birds were standing among plants in shallow water. “Seen any like me?” He questioned.
“No time, no time, ” said one and grabbed a fish with his long beak.
“Look out for crocs,” voiced another and stabbed at a fish. They were too nervous to be of any help.
He went a long and found some monkeys in a tree. “Seen any giraffe?”
“We did, we did,” they all chattered.
“Where?”
“Over there,” they all talked at once, “Crossed over,” they said, and all pointed down the river aways. The giraffe went along and saw footprints in the mud. He looked left and right and plunged in. The water never got past his long neck. He clambered up the other side. Snap! A croc tried to bite his leg. “No good,” he squeaked. The giraffe footprints went on a bit and grew fainter.
He saw many trees in the distance. He arrived at the trees at sundown. He tried some leaves. They tasted delicious. I’m sure they were here, he thought. He passed the grove and peered into the distance. Was that them? He caught up with them. But none of them knew him. “Can I please join you? he pleaded. An old giraffe stepped towards him. “We must decide if you are worthy.”
“How?” the young giraffe asked.
“A test,” it said simply.
“Test away,” he croaked.
“Questions first,” said the old one. “How did you lose your herd?”
“I don’t know,” he whined, “I just found myself alone.”
“That is not a good answer,” he said, “We will assume a lion chased them away. Very common.” “The next question: where is your mother?”
“I, I, I, she was… EATEN!” he said, finally remembering. “It was horrible!” he said slowly, “I ran and ran. I remember…”
“A sad answer but say no more,” the old one said, ” Wait here.”
He gathered some other giraffe. ” Let’s see you run,” they said. The giraffe went aways off and ran past the little group. “Very fast,” they agreed. “Last thing: do you seek a mate?” They all looked at him in silence.
“I haven’t thought about that, ” he said.
“A fine answer,” said the old one beamed. “Some giraffe only come looking for a mate. They want to fight us.”
“No fighting from me,” he said.
He settled in with the herd. One young female said to him, “Did you have any adventures searching?” “A croc tried to bite my leg by the river,” he ventured, “I talked to birds, monkeys, a hippo and two lazy crocs, always asking about other giraffe.” “I followed you from the river crossing. I thought you were my herd.”
“We are now,” she said, ” were you many days alone?”
“Too many, ” he said slowly, ” I feel like I’m home now.”
“I think you are a good addition to us. I’m glad they let you in.”
E Shorty. That’s what we called her, a nickname, I suppose. She was not tall.
I Where did you sleep?
E At first, under a bush, near the river. Later, we tried a cave. It had good and bad points.
I Like what?
E It could get cold. Adam got sheep skins. That was a lot of work. I sewed four together. The spiders liked to surprise us.
I Did you block the entry?
E We tried many rocks with one big one for a door. It was too heavy for me to move. Adam would push it at night to close it up.
I I heard the spider liked it.
E I don’t know why. Because we let the dog in? He was jealous? I gave him a good talking to. Then it indicated it was a female.
I Did that matter?
E To her, I guess.
I Okay, another subject, Naming. Did Adam name everything?
E Not really. Just the animals. I named the fruit. Apples, grapes, oranges, and the nuts, pecans, pecans, Brazil nuts.
I Brazil nuts?
E Got you on that one!
I You have a sense of humor.
E You have to, so much sadness. Adam would come in from the field and say, “Just look at my brow!”
“Very wet,” I would say. “Want a leaf?” He would say, “I’m too tired to go down to the river, right now. I’ll just sit in our cool cave a while.”
I Very interesting. What about him blaming you?
E Oh, that was a cheap shot. “She gave it to me.” Man up.
I You blamed the serpent.
E Who was left? I guess I was not really beguiled by it. I do hate snakes, though. Always have.
I Did you ever get over it?
E We finally agreed to drop the subject. Adam agreed and we never mentioned it again.
I What did you tell your children?
E That is your best question so far. That was a thing. Do we tell them how we messed it all up?
We did warn them about the way to the old garden with the fiery sword. I think Cain went to see it.
We told them how God created us but glossed over our mistake.
Cain asked why we couldn’t go to the Garden. That was a tough one. Adam said loudly, “Because we just can’t!”
Another question: “Where is God?” They didn’t see him. I heard Cain talked to him but not what that was about.
Cain was a poser. Hard worker. But very jealous of his younger brother. So jealous! You could see it in his face.
Were we to blame? We just liked Abel better. We admired Cain a lot. He worked so hard.
I think we were prone to mistakes because of, you know…
I That is so much information. no more hard questions. What was your favorite fruit?
E Again with the fruit!
I Sorry. Was Adam adventurous?
E Yes, at first. He climbed a tree to see how far the garden went. When he told me, I said “What if you fell?” Do you know what he said? “Angels. Angels would catch me.”
I Did you see angels?
E That was just it. We never saw angels until after…
I He believed angels were all around you.
E And they kept us safe. He had an idea to float down the river on a broken tree. He talked himself out of that one.
I How?
E He said, “I would have to walk back a long way.” He didn’t want to do that.
We have invented the word “trinity”. In doing that. we created our own problem. Now we have to explain how God is a “Trinity”.”
God is under no constraint to explain Himself to human beings. Moses asks God who he should say is demanding that the Pharoh release his people. God answers: ” I AM THAT I AM” This is not an explanation. It is a statement. Jesus says: “I and the Father are one.” This, too, is not an explanation. It is a statement of truth.
I have read the explanations of several learned Christian men. After much reading, I am no further along in understanding. I am not confused by their elaborate writing. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit is like the wind…” That’s not an explanation. Jesus later tells where the Holy Spirit will be. “He is with you and he shall be in you.”
Again, God is under no obligation to explain Himself to us. We have assigned ourselves this task. It is not required. When did Jesus say, ‘I hope all you boys understand what I have been implying. You must have an explanation ready when someone accuses you of having “Three Gods” in your religion, and they will.’ No. He says nothing like this.
We are individuals, sadly disconnected from God. God is a relationship. We are made to be in relationship to God. Else, why would he let us know that we are made in the “image and likeness” of Himself?.
This means we are made for relationships. A relationship with God and relationships with other people.
Now in the Old Testament, we find these are relationships of love:
Love the LORD…
Love your neighbor…
But God is relationships of love. “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” The fruit of the Spirit is love first. These and other statements show this.
Where is the command to explain God?
I believe in the Father. I believe in the Son. I believe in the Spirit. The LORD, your God is one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”
Mark 12:29 quotes Jesus And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.”
The human mind is wonderful. But when it comes to discovering God, it is not the first place to go. It says: the natural mind does not reveal God in an intellectual manner. If you don’t believe this, read the Greek philosophers. They went as far as “The Prime Mover” and even if the regarded the existence of God, they could not say much about what the Creator was like except that he was creative.
First comes revelation from God. Jesus said, “Flesh and blood has not revealed (who I am) to you, but my Father which is in heaven.” Then we may reach a point where we say, “This makes sense.”
We create our own problem. We hear there is Father and Son. We conclude, “Oho! There are two!” When informed of the Holy Spirit, we say, “Ha! Now there are three.” But our kind of counting does not work towards God.
We have not been told that there are three. We have been informed that “The LORD, your God, is One God”
John who told us things that Jesus did, now has had time to think. He makes this statement: “God is Love.” He does not explain it. He simply states this. We cannot really “understand” this. We don’t understand God or Love. This has been revealed to John by the Spirit.
We can believe it. We can say it is true. This is the Divine Being and divine love. But we can’t explain it. A person can have a moment from God that makes this fact clear to them. But they still won’t be able to explain it in a logical way. They can say, “I know this is true.” or “God has shown me this is true.”
Why not? There is nothing to compare it to in our understanding. We usually explain things with “This is like that.” But what if it is beyond comparison?
But God has made us so that we can recognize love.
I lay upon my bed in tears, feeling sorry for myself and my condition. I felt the bed move slightly. I opened my swollen eyes and perceived a woman sitting at the foot. I did not trust my own vision and did not speak. “Is your sadness so profound that you cannot speak?” “No,” I said, “I did not know you were real and so did not address you.”
“You wonder who I am. I go by many names. Some call me Grandmother. Others call me Conscience. It is true I am old, even older than conscience or even consciousness.”
“Why have you honored me with your presence?”
“I was sent to help you. Your thinking is not right. You go against your own beliefs.”
“In what way?”
“You feel Fate has dealt you a great blow. Yet, you did not credit her for your success in the past.”
“I thought my cleverness had brought me happiness. Was this wrong?”
“You are clever but Fate is fickle, she is not like me. I always give my best to humankind. She is capricious. She raises one up while letting another fall. She knows nothing of Justice.”
“What can I do?”
“You can do much. Have you failed?”
“I think not. Jealous men have opposed me.”
“They brought your downfall?”
“This is what I have seen.”
“There is more to see. What inspires jealousy? Men see one who excels. They see them above and shoot arrows to bring them down. They find nothing in themselves to soar higher.”
“But why do those who have done no wrong have to suffer?”
“You have the answer within your grasp.”
I thought for a bit on her words. “Is it because they have not talent? They have risen by another means.”
“By what means?”
“By association with those who have risen. They encourage them with flattering words. The one flattered knows he is more lucky than skilled. He shows the flatterer the way to succeed. It involves a compromise with morality.”
“Is there more?”
“Yes,” I said, “He resents the man who applies skill and succeeds. It exposes the method that is devious and cannot hold up to bright daylight.”
“That may well be but now we come to your reaction to all of this. Are you sorry that you can’t compete against evil methods? Or are you sorry that goodness in not rewarded in this world?”🌎
“Your question confuses me. I do not know the answer.”
“Let us start in a different place. What is the most important thing in life?”
“Your questions are not easy. I think to have a clear conscience is the way to live in peace.”
“A fine answer. Now, why are you sad?”
“Because my good actions have had bad results.”
“You may be in a bad situation but is it a result of your good actions?”
“No. Should I blame Fate?”
“For what?”
“For my circumstances.”
“Have you seen others have bad results when doing good?”
“I have not looked for this.”
“There are many who suffer. Some from the their own actions, yes. But not all. Many have been tripped up while running. What was your goal?”
“Happiness, I suppose.”
“And what adds up to happiness?”
“Enjoying what you do. Gaining a benefit from your work. Having security.”
“Ah, I see the problem. You anticipared a secure foundation that would support your good efforts.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“And what is the secure foundation?”
“It can’t just be good luck.”
“No, Luck is no foundation.”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s try and find one. Answer these three questions: where did your skill and ability come from? Why did you excel at what you do? What do you have that others do not?”
“The first is the hardest. I had an ability within me. I learned from others how to apply my natural ability. The others had experience. Others recognized my potential and gave me opportunity.”
“All you said is true, yet my question is not answered. Where did it come from? What is the source? Where do abilities come from to people?”
“Is the answer: God?”
“Well, can you say more?”
“If it doesn’t come from me, then it must come from another source. That source would be able to equip people to do something in their life. ”
“Yes, a benevolent Source. And this Source, is it intelligent?”
“It must be, because we are intelligent. It must also be good and wise and powerful.”
“Now, if this is your foundation, why do you think you have failed?”
“Because I am not happy.”
“So, happiness is the measure of a good life? Have you had no challenges in your life?”
“Yes, I have overcome a few setbacks.”
“What if this very moment was a gift to allow you to think about what is most important? And to evaluate whether you are going towards the best goal?”
“You are making me think harder than I ever have before.”
“That is my intention. You must have a goal that is worthwhile and attainable. Happiness is not a very good goal. Life is capricious, we have agreed. Your foundation and your goal must be of the same kind. Can you gain help from this God you have mentioned?”
“Wait, who sent you?”
“I must go now. You have enough to think on. Self pity will not help you. Gaining wisdom will.”
Today, we have Matthias in the studio. You were there for everything right?
Yes, that is true. I saw Jesus after his resurrection . I saw him ascend to heaven.
I’m not gonna lie to you. We tried to get Phillip, but he had to leave town.
That’s fine, he’s a great guy.
Now, you were not chosen by Jesus to be an apostle.
No. I was chosen by lot.
Who is Lot? I never heard of him.
No, they cast lots to see if it was me or Joseph or Barsabbas.
Why did they cast lots? Why not pray?
That’s a good question. We don’t follow that old method anymore. But we used to use it to make decisions where we asked God to give the result he wants. It goes back to Moses and Aaron.
Interesting. Now, they were one short of twelve and they wanted a replacement.
We might as well say it. It was to replace Judas who betrayed Jesus for money.
So, you won the Replace Judas lottery.
Something like that. Judas was not coming back. He had killed himself.
Moving on. In your ministry, has it been like with Phillip? Miracles?
Yes, there have been miracles. But what I really want to say…
What about healings?
Sure, but it’s really about…
What about speaking in tongues?
Without a doubt, but I came here to say something. All these remarkable things happen because God is showing that this is the continuation of the ministry of Jesus.
Right.
Jesus called these happenings evidence that he was sent from God.
Oh. I see what you mean. I came in after all this. After Pentacost. I never saw Jesus personally, My cousin did.
Here is what is my focus: To tell the gospel of Jesus clearly and simply.
But what about these other things, these works of power?
Who does these things?
The Holy Spirit, I suppose.
Right. Now what does the Holy Spirit want to do in your life?
To make me a good person.
To empower you to be like Jesus. The power of the Spirit is to change you inside. The Law worked from the outside to make us act good. But the Spirit works from the inside.
We don’t have much time left. Do you know Paul?
I met him once. He’s in prison now.
But he’s more famous. He writes letters, I hear.
That’s right. They let him write to people. What else can he do? You just can’t stop the guy. There is a downside to being well known.
What do you mean?
They kill you sometime like James, John’s brother. They imprison you, like Paul. That’s why you didn’t get Phillip. He moves around a lot. As do I. Thanks, gotta run.
Have you received the Holy Spirit? What is your evidence? Some say speaking in tongues. This is one manifestation of the Spirit but there are others. We focus on this because of the mystery and drama of it.
Paul says love is above the gifts or manifestations of the Spirit. It is greater than faith and hope. Faith and hope are pretty big. Love is greater. Why?
Faith will be replaced by sight. We will see that which we now believe by faith. Hope will be realized in a new reality in the future. But, Love. Love is eternal. It is more than eternal. It is timeless. Love was before time. Love exists now beyond the reach of time.
So Love is beyond time. Do you exhibit divine love? Timeless love inside of time on earth. Now this is evidence of what is beyond time itself. This is the evidence of the Spirit of God.
You know, it’s rather easy to speak in tongues. To speak in a language you never learned. You can do it in your car. You can do it walking down the street. But loving another person with divine love is quite a different thing. It involves action. It involves your body and soul, all of you. Even if it is a prayer for another offered to God on their behalf.
It may involve a conflict. It may involve a hard choice. It may be the rejection of a selfish act for a kind one. It may be to deny yourself and give to another. It may involve doing something for another that they don’t even know about. Or it maybe they do and are not grateful for it. What about that?
That is divine love. Kindness to the ungrateful. Jesus said God gives rain on the crops of people who don’t regard him at all. God is kind to the ungrateful no matter what you have heard. Like he wants to punish sinners. He does not. He wants to forgive his enemies. He wants to reconcile them to himself. He does not want even one to perish.?
Jesus quoted a common saying, love your friends, hate your enemies. That makes sense. But I say, love your enemies. How can that be? Really? Love your enemies? Like how? Pray for them. Hmm. Do not resist them. If they demand your coat, give them your hat.
Now this is the amazing advice of Jesus who gave his time and energy to people who went away and never thanked him. Cured of leprosy? On their way to a good life. No goodbye.
He did what he said. I didn’t come to condemn anyone. Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Father, forgive them…
This is the evidence of receiving the Spirit of God: you act like him. Impossible? No, expected by Jesus. This receiving the Holy Spirit must be really big. A change within. Your hard hearts become real human hearts the prophet said. The human heart that loves God and does his will is what God intended when he made us in his image. The heart that is one with others in Christ is the intent of God from the beginning.
Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness. I and the Father are One. Yes. like that.
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