Text: Again from: The Courage to Be Paul Tillich
The affirmation of one's essential being in spite of desires and anxieties creates joy.
The affirmation of one's essential being in spite of desires and anxieties creates joy.
...Joy accompanies the self-affirmation of our essential being in spite of the inhibitions coming from the accidental elements in us. Joy is the emotional expression of the courageous Yes to one's own true being.
Rather than a presentation of a surface smile, joy is the innermost reverberation of our contentment with being who we are and who God claims that we are - God's beloved. Maybe it is when the bells toll in our mind as we come to know we are worthy and we see that this worth is able to motivate a life within us no matter what the presses in upon us. In a consummer oriented world in which we are continually hounded about how much better our lives will be if we had "this or that" or lived "here or there" (the list goes on and one), there is a truth about our the very core of our being that calls us to let it rule us rather than being ruled by the desires and powers of the day. God's unconditional declaration of our status as God's beloved, is a word that cannot be subverted by any other news within our world. From that essential declaration, that is a joy that makes our lives vitally available within this day and free to be truly who we are.
Connection: Easier said than owned. But own it. "I'm baptized!" Sometimes such a simple reminder as that can inspire us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love this person God loves and therefore dance within a bit of Joy-filled affirmation. Today may be a time to remember this not only for ourselves but for others...we are given the gift of life that can remind others of their worth and the joy it can bring for them.
Lord of all hopefulness and joy, keep us grounded in the truth that is your love for us. When we face the temptations of the day that attempt to move us to trust in the lies of our desires and anxieties, send your Holy Spirit to touch us and ignite a spark of your new life within us. Amen.
Rather than a presentation of a surface smile, joy is the innermost reverberation of our contentment with being who we are and who God claims that we are - God's beloved. Maybe it is when the bells toll in our mind as we come to know we are worthy and we see that this worth is able to motivate a life within us no matter what the presses in upon us. In a consummer oriented world in which we are continually hounded about how much better our lives will be if we had "this or that" or lived "here or there" (the list goes on and one), there is a truth about our the very core of our being that calls us to let it rule us rather than being ruled by the desires and powers of the day. God's unconditional declaration of our status as God's beloved, is a word that cannot be subverted by any other news within our world. From that essential declaration, that is a joy that makes our lives vitally available within this day and free to be truly who we are.
Connection: Easier said than owned. But own it. "I'm baptized!" Sometimes such a simple reminder as that can inspire us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love this person God loves and therefore dance within a bit of Joy-filled affirmation. Today may be a time to remember this not only for ourselves but for others...we are given the gift of life that can remind others of their worth and the joy it can bring for them.
Lord of all hopefulness and joy, keep us grounded in the truth that is your love for us. When we face the temptations of the day that attempt to move us to trust in the lies of our desires and anxieties, send your Holy Spirit to touch us and ignite a spark of your new life within us. Amen.
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