“Words without poetry lack passion; words without passion lack persuasion; words without persuasion lack power. When the language of should and must predominates, both the preached and written word are a barren wasteland void of passion, persuasion, and power. At the close of too many sermons, the exhortation ‘Now let us...’ carries neither conviction nor clout. Without sharing of personal experience, prophetic preaching is impossible. The Word of God must become incarnate in the life of the preacher.
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“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (whom I think well of; whom I like).”
For just over a decade, the primary focus of my Christian life has been the hourly attemp to root myself completely in the love of God. At times I have wavered from the path and the Holy Spirit has been faithful to bring me back through the honesty of my wife, a look on the face of one of my children, the word of a friend, or the counsel of my Spiritual Director.
When I am aware that I am both loved and liked by God, everything changes. Here are some examples….
Being both loved and liked by God has consistently rescued me from over identifying with my work. As someone who is very focused and very driven, I can easily fall into the trap of thinking "I am what I make."
Being both loved and liked by God has continued to help me to distinguish the truth from the lies that I learned at home, in the church, or by society, or the lies that I tell myself.
Being both loved and liked by God has helped me to step into the spaces of grief and face them for what they really are and to honor the pain of loss, betrayal, and death. Were I left utterly to myself and psychotherapy, I just don't think I could have engaged at the levels I have because the pain was just too much.
Being both loved and liked by God has brought me a sense of peace and trust as life has in some ways not taken the shape that I hoped it would.
Being both loved and liked by God I can engage the world around me.
Being both loved and liked by God continues to offer me strength to accept my own weaknesses and shortcomings rather than constantly overcompensate for them.
Being both loved and liked by God enables me to hear hard things from my wife when I need to be corrected.
Being both loved and liked by God helps me apologize to my kids when I am rude or impatient.
Being both loved and liked by God helps me to stay present and not chase every single opportunity as though it were an obligation.
Being both loved and liked by God helps me to not compete with nor be intimidated by my peers.
Being both loved and liked by God I interpret and experience my friends differently because, they too, even in the more challenging moments, are still a means of God's grace to me.