Today we push into a new section of William Willimon's work in "Who Will Be Saved" called, Creation Continued.
The point of the whole world is to be the Creator's dialogue partner in conversation, in connection. Calvin said that God could have created us for God's usefulness but the great thing about God is God created us for God's sheer delight. God delights in having conversation partners, even poor dialogue partners like us. The Revealer who delights in revelation desires recipients for the revelation. So a first response to the question, "Who shall be saved?" might be, "Well, who is created? What creatures are so beloved by the Creator that the Creator cannot let them alone? Who is God's favorite conversation partner? These are the ones God saves."
Try this: look around the room the next time you are in a room filled with other people. No matter what the the group may be and no matter who may make up the room of people. Now, what happens when you let yourself prayerfully consider that these folk...all of them - without exception...are created for the sheer delight of our God - as partners in dialogue. That doesn't mean that we are all really good folk. Rather, in the mix of things and in the mix of all of our brokenness God delights in being a part of it all - with all - alongside all. What might be a room that we would choose to avoid, God settles in and begins to engage everyone with nothing else in mind than to be delighted by the dialogue. It is in this kind of dialogue that the miraculous takes place - doors open, healing occurs, minds change, people are pulled into new life.
Connection: I need to have eyes that see what delights God for I can too easily miss the delight and go right to judging. How about you?
Gracious God, help us all to see this delight-full creation in which we are a part of the delight. It is not easy to see such things and yet it is your will that we too can be delighted in the presence of one another. Amen.
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