Christ the Teacher and the Teaching

"For all that is speedful (beneficial, advantageous) for us to learn and to know, full courteously will our Lord shew us....He is the Ground, He is the Substance, He is the Teaching, He is the Teacher, He is the End, He is the Meed (reward) for which every kind soul travaileth (labors, seeks)."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 34)

God wants us to know and understand Him and our life here with Him. He will tell us and show us all we need to know. The biggest secret is already out in the open, and that is the mystery of Christ and how Christ is in us. How wonderful to be shown this mystery, that Christ is dwelling within us, loving us and uplifting us. How wonderful to be shown the mystery of all Christ did in his incarnation, life, death and resurrection and ascension. For it is all about Christ. He is the basis and foundation of our whole life. He is the very substance we are made of, the essence of our innermost being, and the essence of true knowledge and wisdom. When we look deep into our core, we find Christ there dwelling, invigorating, teaching and loving us. He is what the teaching of God is all about, and He is the One teaching us everything we need to know. And He is the reward for all our searching, seeking and desiring. For all our questions, He is the Answer. He is the One we're wanting and He is the One we've found. He is everything we need Him to be and so much more! Knowing Him is truly life eternal!

"They will all be taught by God."

John 6:45 (NIV)

"May your spiritual experience become richer as you see more and more fully God’s great secret, Christ himself! For it is in him, and in him alone, that men will find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Colossians 2:2-3 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank You for teaching me all I need to know!

Only Love and Joy Await Us

"But for [all] my desire, I could [see] of this (hell or purgatory) right nought (nothing)."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 33)

What if there was never anything to fear from God, because He is not a punishing God? What if His justice wasn't to punish or destroy or torment people but to heal and reconcile and restore people? What if our own shame was what tormented us and Jesus died to console us, to comfort us, to take away from us anything that would give us a sense of shame, guilt and unworthiness? What if it was for us, not God! So wouldn't that mean that there is no otherworldly suffering, purgatory, torment, hell, punishment, chastisement, or pain awaiting us at all! Wouldn't that mean that there is only love awaiting us, only a celebration, only a 'welcome home,' only the Father who has loved us since forever, only the most wonderful embrace we could imagine! 

We can put fears of hell or purgatory away and realize that all this time, we have always been safely in God, and that we always will be, for there is no other place to be, no 'outside' of God at all, only inside of God, inside of love, inside of our true Home, in His embrace forever!

"In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

A Prayer: Thank You for the promise of joy forever in Your presence! Thank You that there is nowhere that is outside of You or Your love! 

Hell or Purgatory

"And yet in this I desired, as [far] as I durst (dared), that I might have full sight of Hell and Purgatory."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 33)

If God shall make all well that is not well, then how could there eventually be anyone who is not happily at home with God? How could there be anywhere to 'go' but the Father's arms, in heavenly bliss? If just one person is missing out on fully enjoying God's presence in complete purity and innocence, then all would not be well. And Christ specifically says that all shall be well, and that every kind of thing shall be well, for the least little thing or person will not be forgotten. Perhaps, then, hell and purgatory are simply misunderstandings that people have had of scripture or of God. What if noone is shunned from God's presence because love always accepts and includes and never rejects? He really is pure love, and pure love never harms or rejects people but only accepts and helps them. He really is perfect love, and perfect love never torments people but only comforts and dispels all fear of torment. It follows, then, that coming to be in God's presence and truly seeing Him face to face will be the ultimate love encounter, the most pleasant and joyful and peaceful experience imaginable! 

But still we may worry that we are supposed to 'pay' for our sins. But what if noone will need to 'pay' for their sins or be 'punished' because that is exactly what Jesus already did on behalf of everyone? He became a curse for us on the cross, dying a sinner's death, paying the penalty the law required for our crimes, taking away all the sin of the world and thus cleansing and purifying everyone, even taking us out from under the law that demanded  punishment. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Him, not counting their sins against them, that is, forgiving them. All are forgiven and reconciled to God. And all are free from the law that condemns and brings down penalties. So doesn't that mean there is nothing to be punished for, nothing to pay, nothing to fix, nothing to reconcile, no condemnation or punishment at all? Wouldn't that mean that when we come to be face to face with God there will be no talk of sin because Christ already did away with it and there is no sin on us at all, having been replaced with the righteousness of Christ that He gave us? We live in perpetual forgiveness and cleansing and purity. God truly doesn't see any sin when He looks at us, only the righteousness of Christ. We are sinless before Him! It's a permanent cleansing and an eternal salvation, all given freely by His unconditional grace.  So there no sin on us to 'pay' for; there is only righteousness on us to be honored for! In that case, aren't we truly made 'worthy' and rightfully belonging in heaven? In that case, isn't it true there's no 'hell' to pay, only heaven to enjoy!

"Love will never invoke fear. Perfect love expels fear, particularly the fear of punishment."

1 John 4:18 (VOICE)

"Love does no harm."

Romans 13:10 (NKJV)

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for Your perfect love for us that drives out all our fears of punishment!

God Can Do Anything

"I had no other answer in Shewing of our Lord God but this: That which is impossible to thee is not impossible to me: I shall save my word in all things and I shall make all things well."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 32)

We see situations and difficulties that seem insurmountable at times, and we see struggles with failures or challenges that seem too hard to overcome, but the answer is not our own efforts or our own willpower. The answer is a Someone, our wonderful Lord! There are many things too hard for us to handle, bear or conquer, but there is nothing too hard for Christ to handle, bear or conquer! What is impossible for humans is entirely possible and even easy for God. Whatever situation or struggle, pain or regret we can't imagine getting past, Christ is already past it, Christ has already overcome it. We can be at rest because He is handling things and we can be sure that it will work out and all shall be well, and we will see it with our own eyes! The worst situation will turn around to be wonderful, the greatest tragedy will be reversed, the greatest hurt will be healed, the most hopeless thing will work out to the very best, and things will be so good that they couldn't be improved on in any way. So we can say, 'Of course I can't handle this, but I don't have to; God can handle it and God show me the victory!" For the word impossible just isn't in God's vocabulary. He can literally do anything, and He will do everything for us, His beloveds! He isn't going to let anything get in the way of our ultimate joy in His presence!

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With people, this is impossible. But not with God. All things are possible with God.'"

Mark 10:27 (NIRV)

A Prayer: Thank You for being God of the impossible!

Restoration

"For like as the blissful Trinity made all things of nought [of nothing], right so the same blessed Trinity shall make well all that is not well."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 32)

If God could create the entire heavens and earth and all the universe with just a word, making everything out of nothing at all, with all being very good and 'well,' then surely He can make everything that is not presently good and beautiful into something good and beautiful, making it very, very good and 'always very well.' Surely He can recreate or restore original perfection, innocence, beauty and goodness. Surely He can obliterate all evil, suffering, sickness, sorrow and trouble. Surely He can bring all minds to peace, all hearts to contentment, all peoples to unity, all souls to delight, all through His wonderful love, might and wisdom! Everything will be alright, just as on the first day of creation, and will be even better than that, for all of us will be completely lifted up, taken into and enfolded in the joyous life Godhead. Everything will be as it should be. Everyone will be home with God.  All that was lost or hurt will be restored. All that was broken or divided will be reconciled and reunited. And all this will be eternal! The wonderful restoration of all things instituted by the work of Christ will be brought to visible and tangible manifestation in every way. All will be happy, good, bright, joyful and sweet. And all will be well!

"For he [Christ] must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets."

Acts 3:21 (NLT)

A Prayer: Thank You that You restore ALL things to wellness for ALL people!

The Great Deed

"I understand a mighty comfort of all the works of our Lord God that are yet to come. There is a Deed the which the blessed Trinity shall do in the last Day....And the cause why He willeth that we know [this Deed shall be], is for that He would have us the more eased in our soul and [the more] set at peace in love—leaving the beholding of all troublous things that might keep us back from true enjoying of Him. This is that Great Deed ordained of our Lord God from without beginning, treasured and hid in His blessed breast, only known to Himself: by which He shall make all things well."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 32)

God doesn't want us to be afraid of the future. He doesn't want us to fear that there is any kind of future judgment or punishment. He wants us to be comforted and at peace, and He sets our mind and soul at ease by telling us that He will do a Great Deed at the last day and make all things well. He has had this Great Deed treasured in His heart from before time began. He has always known that He would wrap up everything perfectly for us all. There has never been any doubt about that good happy ending! So there is nothing to fear in the ultimate future. There is only hope in the ultimate future, because God is already in the future and He has promised 'all shall be well!'

"I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My plan will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'"

Isaiah 46:9-10 (NASB)

A Prayer: Thank You that we have nothing to fear in the future, and we have everything to hope for!

He Reassures Us

"There be deeds evil done in our sight, and so great harms taken, that it seemeth to us that it were impossible that ever it should come to good end. And upon this we look, sorrowing and mourning therefore, so that we cannot resign us unto the blissful beholding of God as we should do. And the cause of this is that the use of our reason is now so blind, so low, and so simple, that we cannot know that high marvellous Wisdom, the Might and the Goodness of the blissful Trinity."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 32)

If we are honest, we can see many terrible things happening in this world that hurt many people. So many suffer and it is hard to see how all that evil, wrong, hatred and suffering could 'come to a good end.' It's tempting to give up in despair and feel all is lost, or even get angry with God for allowing such terrible things to happen, making it very hard for us to feel at rest or be able to just enjoy rest in God. But God knows that our minds are very simple and our understanding very limited. Compared to God's great wisdom, our human reasoning is blind, and we just can't see the whole picture like God can. Even though we can't understand how all the problems in this world could be turned into good, God knows and is wise enough and strong enough and loving enough to turn all to good, and He will do just that. His restoration and happy ending will be beyond our wildest hopes and imaginings. For now, He wants us to be reassured and that is why He gives us the promise that 'all shall be well.' 

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" 

Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You that You hold the future in Your hands, and You promise it will be a good future for us all!

Nothing and Noone Forgotten

"One was that He willeth we know that not only He taketh heed to noble things and to great, but also to little and to small, to low and to simple, to one and to other. And so meaneth He in that He saith: All manner of things shall be well. For He willeth we know that the least thing shall not be forgotten."

God our Father is making all things turn out well, not only for the well-known and seemingly important people, but also for the unknown and seemingly unimportant people. For each of us is actually special, precious, known and important to our Father, and no single one of us will be forgotten in His 'making well.' And every single thing we see as not well in our lives and in our world will be make well, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant that thing is, for if it matters to us, it matters to God. Nothing that concerns us is small or insignificant to Him, and He will right ever single wrong, trouble, distress, pain or sorrow. Not one thing shall be forgotten at all. Every single pain we have ever suffered will be healed. Every single broken relationship will be healed. Christ's wholeness will overwhelm every problem and dissolve every hatred, lie, fear or unrest. All the old sorrows, struggles, pains and troubles will be gone. Every single thing about us, our relationships, and our world will be perfect, beautiful and new, like a fresh spring morning. All shall be well!

"Then he who is seated upon the throne said, 'See, I am making all thing new!' And he added, 'Write this down for my words are true and to be trusted!'"

Revelation 21:5 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank You for not forgetting anything or anyone. Thank You for Your promise of making all things new, all things well, all things good!"

He Longs for Each One

"Therefore the same desire and thirst that He had upon the Cross (which desire, longing, and thirst, as to my sight, was in Him from without beginning) the same hath He yet, and shall [have] unto the time that the last soul that shall be saved is come up to His bliss...in this standeth the point of the Spiritual Thirst: which is desire in Him as long as we be in need, drawing us up to His bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 31)

Christ said on the cross, "I thirst." This thirst can be seen as symbolic of the spiritual thirst of Christ. This thirst is a longing, out of His infinite love, to have all of humanity together with Him within the fellowship of the Trinity circle, enjoying union relationship with Him, enjoying the very bliss of the Trinity, forever. How long has He been longing for this beautiful dream to come true? Since before forever! He has always loved us, always wanted us, always had a place in His heart for us, always wanted to share His joy with us, always wanted us to share in the family love of the Trinity. And He will keep on loving and longing, thirsting and desiring for us to be enjoying oneness with Him, till the very last soul experiences this. Then and only then will the spiritual thirst and love-longing of Christ be satiated and satisfied. Isn't it wonderful to think that Christ won't be satisfied till each and every one of us is safely home with Him, enjoying the love and joy of the family life of the Trinity?! Just like the shepherd keeps looking for that one lost sheep till he finds it, Christ won't give up longing, looking for and drawing us to Him, till all of us little sheep are found and safely home with Him!

"I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms."

Ezekiel 34:11-12 (MSG)

A Prayer: It touches my heart to know You have always longed for me, and I am so thankful to be at home in Your arms right now!

His Bliss

"Christ Jesus is both God and man. And anent the Godhead, He is Himself highest bliss, and was, from without beginning, and shall be, without end: which endless bliss may never be heightened nor lowered in itself....And anent Christ's Manhood...He, with the virtue of Godhead, for love, to bring us to His bliss suffered pains and passions, and died. ,,,And this is the bliss of Christ's works... we be His bliss, we be His meed, we be His worship, we be His crown."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 31)

Christ is both God and man. As God, Christ is the highest joy that ever was or ever will be. Noone could be as full of joy as God is, as happy as God is, and noone could give us as much joy as God can. And as Man, Christ died and rose to bring us up to that very bliss. He wanted us to experience and be part of that high joy that is the Godhead. (And it was all the members of the Godhead at work in Christ's passion to bring this about; the Spirit was present with Christ at the cross, and the Father was in the Son reconciling all of us to relationship with God.) And this is the amazing thing, not only that we find ultimate, highest bliss in having and knowing God but also that He finds ultimate, highest bliss in having and knowing us! We are actually His bliss, joy, and crown! What was God dreaming of before time began? He was dreaming of all of us, His created children, being wrapped up in eternal bliss enjoying the family circle of the Trinity! Nothing else would please Him more, and nothing else would please us more. We were made for eternal bliss, joy, happiness, exuberance and delight. Do we realize how delightful we are to God, how happy we make Him? After all, fathers adore their little children and can't imagine their lives without them, so wouldn't God have the same feelings, to an infinitely greater degree? We make His heart leap for joy, and we are going to be experiencing that joy, God enjoying us and us enjoying God, forevermore!

"He happily rejoices over you, renews you with His love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy."

Zephaniah 3:17 (GW)

A Prayer: The happiest place of all is with You, Lord!

Love-Loving

"Where He saith, Thou shalt see thyself, I understand the oneing of all mankind that shall be saved unto the blessed Trinity...Thus shall the Spiritual Thirst of Christ have an end....This is His thirst and love-longing, to have us altogether whole in Him, to His bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 31)

Christ has a thirst, a love-longing, to have all of us together oned in the Trinity, seeing that oneness and knowing all is well, being Christ's joy and bliss. He keeps longing for this and won't stop longing for this with all the love in His heart, till that day comes when this desire is fulfilled. Christ has brought all of humanity up with Him in His resurrection to heavenly life in the Trinity. Yet some do not realize this yet, don't fully see or experience it yet. So Christ keeps longing, and drawing, and reaching people right where they are, opening the eyes of our understanding, bringing us to see what He sees, persuading us to believe what He believes, till we start to fully experience that union we already have with God in Him. He will not stop longing, drawing, reaching and persuading till that day when every last one is fully experiencing the bliss of God in heavenly places! And we will all see that all are one in and with God and all is well, and we shall be Christ's pride and joy, enjoying union relationship with Him forever!

"I will draw all people to Myself."

John 12:32 (HCSB)

A Prayer: Thank You for continually drawing us and never stopping till we are all together experiencing the joys of heaven with You!

We Will See It

 "And thus our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts that I might make, saying full comfortably: I may make all thing well, I can make all thing well, I will make all thing well, and I shall make all thing well; and thou shalt see thyself that all manner of thing shall be well."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 31)

It is not just that the Trinity knows how to make all things well, and is powerful enough to make all things well, and desires to make all things well. It is also that the Trinity will actually do it and make all things well! And not only that, but we ourselves will see it one day. We will see in visible manifestation, right before our eyes, everything being well, whole and perfect. It is the shalom of God coming to visible expression in every way: everything whole and at peace, in perfect harmony, as it should be, with nothing missing or lacking or broken. It is the wholeness and wellness that Christ brought about in His Passion, that we can already experience here on earth in so many ways, fully revealed and experienced by all in every way. And we all will see it.  All will be well!

"The glory of the Lord will be seen by all mankind together." The Lord has spoken - it shall be."

Isaiah 40:5 (TLB)

A Prayer: I am looking forward to seeing Your shalom wellness visible over all the earth to everyone!

All One

"We are all one in God's seeing."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 30)

It's so beautiful and freeing to see we are all one in Christ, in God. We are all united together, in union with God and each other in the Spirit. We are connected, in unity, all together as the Body of Christ, for it is just as Gregory of Nyssa says, "the Body of Christ is all of humanity." In Him divisions and hierarchies break down and we are just one new person in Christ, one Body of Christ. All the distinctions we make to group people as 'us' or 'them' fall away: social, material, ethnic or even moral differences just don't matter here. There is no distinction so that one is greater or better than another and someone else is inferior or less than another. Noone is less than! Noone is inferior! We are each equal to the other and each one is equally special and important to God.  We are all one in God. We are all equally close to God and have the same access to God. We each have all the fullness of God and the perfect relationship with God. We are all His beautiful and innocent children. We are all righteous and holy ones. We are all part of the family. We are all included in the Trinity circle of love in Christ. We are all bonded to God, so close that we are One! We are all the perfect, flawless, precious Body of Christ!

"Gone is the distinction between Jew and Greek, slave and free man, male and female—you are all one in Christ Jesus." 

Galatians 3:28 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You that we are all equally valued and loved before You, and noone is inferior or less than! 

Be Occupied with Him

"The one part is our Saviour and our salvation. This blessed part is open and clear and fair and light, and plenteous,—for all mankind that is of good will, and shall be, is comprehended in this part.... In this willeth our Lord that we be occupied, joying in Him; for He enjoyeth in us."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 30)

In our daily lives we can be concerned and worried about many things, and we can wonder and be confused about many things. But God says we do not need to think about these confusing or stressful things, or try to figure them out. We can just think about Christ and His wonderful work that saved us! The one necessary thing is Christ and we can just enjoy Him and all the wonderful freedom, light, beauty and joy that He is to us right now. God wants us to be occupied with Christ, enjoying all He is and all His blessings that He has already showered on us. We are in such a beautiful place in union with Him right now - a place that is 'open and clear and fair and light and plenteous.' Nothing is missing or lacking from that place we have in Him, tucked into His arms! It's a place of joy, wholeness, peace, freedom, rest, and belonging. He is all we have ever needed and all we've longed for. We can just rest in His arms and think of Him, looking into His eyes and just being held in His gaze, just being loved right now. He is taking care of all the worries, concerns and cares. He is the solution to all the problems and confusions. He is handling it so we don't have to do a thing but rest right here in His arms and listen as He sings lullabies over us.

"You are my secret hideout! You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of rescue!"

Psalm 32:7 (CEB)

A Prayer: I feel so safe and secure here in Your arms. Thank You for taking care of all that concerns me today, so I can just rest with You!

Overwhelmed by Life

"Then signifieth our blessed Lord thus in this teaching, that we should take heed to this: For since I have made well the most harm, then it is my will that thou know thereby that I shall make well all that is less."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 29)

Christ has already made well, amended, fixed and repaired, the worst harm - the sin sickness that has brought corruption and death to God's beloved human creation. Christ has already made that well! He 'became sin' for us and we 'became the righteousness of God." And He entered death and defeated it, taking us with Him into life forevermore. Now we are 'dead to sin' and 'alive to God' in Christ. This work is finished and the effects reverberate through all of creation, manifesting life and light and love in every nook and cranny! Christ is reigning on His throne and we are sitting in His lap reigning with Him over whatever remnant of sin, lies, corruption or death we see on this planet right now. And He will keep reigning till the eradication of sin and death is fully seen in this visible world! So whatever problem we have today, whatever we are going through, whatever struggle we face, we can know that if Christ already made well the 'worst harm,' He is surely bringing that wellness to every single thing in our lives. Nothing and noone is excluded or left out of His healing touch. Everything gets healed by resurrection life! It's like a tidal wave of love and vigor and newness that sweeps over everything for us. It's like an ever-bubbling fountain that keeps on flowing out from within us. It's His life and it has already conquered death forevermore, and nothing can stop that life from manifesting itself in our lives, in our community and in our world. Life is here and death is already dissolved, Light is here and the darkness is already erased, Love is here and loneliness is already defeated. Life has won, light has won, love has won, and it's inevitable that that victory will take over every single dark, loveless, lonely, defeated, dying place in this world and in our lives. Every single thing that is seen to be wrong right now will be overtaken by life and be all right! We are in life now, in beauty now, in freedom now, and there's nowhere to go but up!

"Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!"

Romans 5:18 (MSG)

"I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]."

John 10:10 (AMP)

A Prayer: Thank You for the power of Your indestructible, victorious, everlasting life that is working right now in me and my situations!

Grace Is Greater

"And to this our blessed Lord answered full meekly and with full lovely cheer, and shewed that Adam's sin was the most harm that ever was done, or ever shall be, to the world's end...Furthermore He taught that I should behold the glorious Satisfaction: for this Amends-making is more pleasing to God and more worshipful, without comparison, than ever was the sin of Adam harmful."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 29)

It's as if, when Adam fell, that he became blind and couldn't see the truth anymore. He couldn't see God right there present with him, friendly, open-hearted, generous and good. And he couldn't see himself in God's good image and likeness, a good creation of God and in fact, God's own offspring. Without knowing or remembering how good God is or how good he was, Adam 'fell' in his mind into confused thinking. Believing you are alone, rejected, and shameful breeds a host of other bad feelings and actions. It is like a death to the soul. Adam even suffered physical corruption and death. The worst thing had happened - humanity had lost sight of God and their origin in the Trinity family. But we are not to focus on that 'losing sight' and all the terrible things that came after. We are to focus on what Christ did in making everything right and beautiful! It is like he healed our blindness so we could see God right in front of us in the person of Christ and see how loving, good, generous, nonthreatening, healing and kind God is. And the way Christ treated humanity shows us who we are -  lovable, precious, cared for children of God who are worth helping and healing. Christ healed our biggest sickness by loving us and showing us we are lovable. He healed the inner ache of shame and alienation we have so often felt by giving us Himself to be with us always through His Spirit. And He rescued us from all that was harming us - sin, shame, corruption, lies and death are defeated and we are risen in His life to a new and beautiful world of eternal springtime with Him! This is where we were always meant to be, in beautiful, perfect, everything-right relationship with the Trinity forever! This wonderful work Christ did to satisfy our need for love, to make amends for all that had gone awry, is so pleasing to God that it is worth praising forever. Yes, sin caused terrible things, but God brought infinitely more beautiful things to us through the Son. Grace is always so much greater than any sin!

"Though sin is shown to be wide and deep, thank God his grace is wider and deeper still! The whole outlook changes—sin used to be the master of men and in the end handed them over to death: now grace is the ruling factor, with righteousness as its purpose and its end the bringing of men to the eternal life of God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5:20-21 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank You, Jesus for rescuing me from blindness and giving me the loving relationship I have always longed for! I love being loved by You!

Innocent Babes

"He...beholdeth us with ruth and pity as children innocent and unloathful."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 28)

Jesus has such compassion on us in the midst of our ups and downs in life. He knows what it is like to be human. He has felt the things we feel and gone through the challenges of human life just as we have. Just as He understands our elation and contentment and celebration in the good times, He understands our distraught feelings in the midst of our struggles, fears, sorrows, weaknesses, and fallings. He sees us just as we are: little children of God who sometimes fall down and get hurt, sometimes let our big emotions run wild, sometimes feel tired and alone and needing attention. Compared to our big and amazing heavenly Father, we are just little toddlers who barely know anything yet, just learning to live in this world and growing in our understanding of His love and care. Parents don't condemn a little toddler for falling down when trying to walk; parents just pick the child up and give lots of encouragement and love. Our Father in heaven is the same way. He is not blaming, criticizing, rebuking or judging us for our mistakes. He sees us as innocent little kids that need help, love and hugs, not anger, blame or punishment. The way Jesus treated children, pulling them onto His lap to bless them, is a perfect picture of how God is treating all of us, His dear little children, right now! We are so sweet, lovely, simple and genuine to Him. We are innocent in His eyes, with the innocence of a little child playing in the sunshine, happy and carefree, having done nothing wrong at all, with no experience of evil, pure and perfect and beautiful. Can we see ourselves through His eyes today, and see what pure innocent babes we are, held up to be kissed on the cheek by God?

"I lifted him, like a baby, to My cheek..."

Hosea 11:4

A Prayer: Thank You for holding me, Your innocent little child, in Your arms today!

Love Not Law

"And if we see soothly that our sin deserveth it, yet His love excuseth us, and of His great courtesy He doeth away all our blame."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 28)

Law says sin deserves blame, condemnation. But Love excuses our sin and does away with all our blame. Law has strict rules to follow or else we will be punished, and has no power to heal our troubled hearts; Love gives unconditional acceptance and grace that heals our hearts and makes us want to respond to love with love. In other words, Law gives retribution, ministering condemnation and death; Love gives restoration, ministering grace and healing. And the beautiful thing we learn is that God is not Law but Love! We can all say, my sin deserves blame and punishment. But God doesn't say this to us! God simply and wonderfully excuses us, forgives us, lets it go, and does away with all blame, condemnation, self-hatred and fear of punishment. He sees us for what we are: kids who sometimes get into messes and need not a spanking, but a hug to make it all okay!

"The law does not rule over you now, but God's loving kindness rules over you."

Romans 6:14 (WE)

A Prayer: Thank You for getting rid of my sin and blame. Thank You for pouring Your unconditional love and grace over me!

Compassion for Us

"Thus I saw how Christ hath compassion on us for the cause of sin."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 28)

We can sometimes feel that when we sin, God is withdrawing from us, upset or disappointed with us, or judging us. But the reaction Christ shows to our sin tells us how God really feels towards us when we fail: He has compassion. Compassion is to feel and hurt along with someone. It is to feel for, sympathize with and have caring concern for someone who is weak, hurting, struggling or in trouble. Compassion doesn't carry a judgment and it doesn't contain disappointment. It is simply Love's reaction to those who are down. When we fail, God isn't pointing fingers, meting out punishment, angrily rebuking or turning His back on us with disgust. No! He is moved from the depths of His being with love and care for all that we are going through. Our heavenly Father doesn't see us as rebellious sinners but as little children who have fallen and are hurting, or as sick or wounded ones needing tender love and healing, or as wandering sheep who need care and support. He cares for us and reaches out in love to us even more when we fail, struggle, or are hurt by sin. He is a perfect Father, the God of all compassion and comfort!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles."

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for sticking with me and helping me even when I get myself in a mess!

We Will Know The Reason

"Then were it a great unkindness to blame or wonder on God for my sin, since He blameth not me for sin. And in these words ['All shall be well..'] I saw a marvellous high mystery hid in God, which mystery He shall openly make known to us in Heaven: in which knowing we shall verily see the cause why He suffered sin to come. In which sight we shall endlessly joy in our Lord God."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 27)

It is so easy to wonder, why all the suffering in this world? Why did evil ever have to be present? Why was sin allowed in the first place? But there is no reason to blame God for the entrance of sin in this world, just as we see that God does not blame us for  participating in sin. Even if we cannot understand all the reasons for evil and suffering in this world right now, we can know without a shadow of a doubt that God will make all things well. Every suffering will be healed. Evil will be completely obliterated. This victory has already happened in Christ's death and resurrection, and He will make it to manifest and be experienced completely by every person. And in heaven we will finally see why sin had to be allowed. And we will see how perfectly God has healed everything, and how Love has truly won and saturated every person and thing in all of creation! And all we will want to do is rejoice in God!

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

A Prayer: Thank You that one day I will understand why there was sin and suffering. Thank You that You make all things well!

All Manner of Thing Shall Be Well

"He comforteth readily and sweetly, signifying thus: It is sooth that sin is cause of all this pain; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner [of] thing shall be well."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 27)

Sin has caused so much pain, suffering and anguish in this world. It is important to realize that sin causes pain and suffering, not God. God only wants to help, love, support, heal and bless us. God never harms people or brings suffering or pain. He only wants to relieve our pain! And He assures us that even though sin has caused so much pain to us, all shall be well! God will make everything - every single thing that is wrong and hurt and wounded and suffering - into beauty, wholeness, comfort, rest and joy. Whatever pain we are going through in this life has its end in Christ. He has embraced the suffering and pain of the world and ended all that in Himself. He will ultimately bring His 'life overcoming death' and 'wellness overcoming pain' to visibly manifest spiritually, psychologically and physically for all people. And all shall be well!

"I heard a loud voice from the throne say, 'God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won't be any more death. There won't be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.'"

Revelation 21:3-4 (GW)

A Prayer: Thank You for giving us such hope and assurance, no matter what we are going through right now, with Your promise that all will be well!

Sin Not Seen

"But I saw not sin: for I believe it hath no manner of substance nor no part of being, nor could it be known but by the pain it is cause of."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 27)

God is good and everything that God made, including humanity, is good. That is what is real: God is real, the good creation is real, the good humanity is real. But sin doesn't have any substance or being. In that sense, it is not even real. It is the absence of something - the absence of good. It is like darkness, which is the absence of light; when you turn on the light, the darkness is gone because it wasn't a real 'thing' at all, just the absence of something. God is real, God is good, we are real, we are good. God has substance and we are made of His good substance. His real substantial goodness is in everything, is in us. He is being itself, and our being is in His being. But sin has no being. It has no substance. It is a nothing! When God looks at us, He doesn't see sin; He just sees what is real and substantial - He sees our goodness, our beingness, in Him! So sin is not some evil entity attacking us, and sin is not some 'thing' that changes our essential goodness or makes us different from what we were created as. We always are God's good creation. Our substance is always of God and therefore good. So God doesn't see us as evil sinners but as good little children who get confused about who they really are, the good creations of a good God. Whenever we do wrong acts, we are acting out of an illusion, a false idea of ourselves, acting as who we are not instead of who we truly are. Whatever wrong thing we do in ignorance or under delusion or pain or fear, God only sees the good He is doing at all times, in spite of and even through that wrong. God does not see sin. God only sees what is of real substance. God only sees good. God only sees good in us. God only does good in us!

"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good."

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You that for seeing the goodness in me even when I can't see it!

All That Is Not Good Replaced by All That Is Good

"In this naked word sin, our Lord brought to my mind, generally, all that is not good, and the shameful despite and the utter noughting that He bare for us in this life, and His dying; and all the pains and passions of all His creatures, ghostly and bodily."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 27)

What is this sin that Christ took away by His Passion? It is everything that is not good, anything that is not of God. God is love, God is good, and sin is what is not good, not of God, not sourced in God. Sin comes from being deceived into believing that God is not good and loving and that we are not good and beloved. It comes from fear of abandonment and fear of lack and fear of death. When those feelings and beliefs are present, people can feel so empty, afraid and unloved that they seek to meet their needs in all the wrong ways. They end up hurting themselves and others. So sin is all that's wrong and all the suffering that comes from wrong. It includes all the pain, suffering, corruption and death that comes to us. And that is what Christ bore and carried and took away by the Passion! In Christ, all that is gone and done away with. Sin and pain and suffering and death meets Christ and is dissolved into nothing by His indestructible goodness and life. And all the lies and false beliefs we have had about ourselves and God are also done away with by Christ, because He shows us a God who is such pure love, and a humanity that is so beautiful and precious, that God would rather die than be without us! Our fears of alienation, unloveliness, and death are defeated by Christ's passionate love shown at the cross and resurrection. And not only that, but in place of all the sin and pain that are removed, Christ own life and righteousness is given to us in their place. All that was wrong and 'not good' is replaced with all that is right and truly good. Deception, lies, sin, pain, suffering and death just don't stand a chance when encountering the One who is salvation, holiness, purity, love, light and life! 

"Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!"

Romans 5:19 (MSG)

A Prayer: You took away from my life all that was not good, was not life, and You replaced it with Your own goodness, Your own life! Thank You, Jesus!

All Shall Be Well

"But Jesus, who in this Vision informed me of all that is needful to me, answered by this word and said: It behoved that there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 27)

We don't understand why sin had to be. We can imagine the innocent state of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just stay in that state and not have any experience of sin and its effects. It is true that for some reason, sin is part of how the story of humanity has played out. Yet we are assured that "all shall be well." Even though sin is terrible and problematic, God has worked within a history containing sin to bring about His perfect good. We can be sure that no matter what failure we have in our lives, no matter what wrong anyone has done, that all shall be well. We won't be tormented by sin forever. One day all shall be well, and Christ has already begun such a scenario through His resurrection. He has already pulled all of humanity into new life in Him, a life with no sin at all! A place where all is well for all eternity! We are all included in His resurrection life right now. We are waking up to the joy of living from this wonderful spiritual reality even in this life, and one day this resurrection life will be fully manifested and realized for all and in all. It will be a life in perfect union with God, a life where there is only good and no evil, only light and no darkness, only love and no hate. And truly, all shall be well!

"You know that Christ came to take away sins and that there is no sin in Christ."

1 John 3:5 (NCV)

A Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for bringing me up with You into resurrection life, Your life, where there is no sin and all is well. Thank You that Your resurrection life will fill all people and things so that all shall be well!

Christ is All

"Our Lord Jesus oftentimes said: I it am, I it am: I it am that is highest, I it am that thou lovest, I it am that  thou enjoyest, I it am that thou servest, I it am that thou longest for, I it am that thou desirest, I it am that thou meanest, I it am that is all."

We are born with a natural longing for our Maker, Source and Father. We all come from Christ because Christ is the foundation of our being, like the root the tree of humanity grows from. We are wired to naturally long for our source and foundation, just like babies naturally long for their mother. Jesus is the One we love and enjoy deep in our spirit, where our spirit is always communing with the Spirit of Christ. Christ is everything. Christ is what it is all about and the One who will give our lives meaning, joy, peace and true satisfaction. And Christ is within each person, making himself known and waiting for each person to simply turn within and encounter Him there, so that He can lavish love on us and meet our deepest needs of acceptance and belonging. What a wonderful Source, Savior and Friend!

"He is all I ever need,"

Psalm 73:26 (GNT)

"He satisfies the longing soul."

Psalm 197:9 (ESV)

A Prayer: You are everything to me!

[Pg 55]

Place of Rest

"Our soul shall never have rest till it cometh to Him, knowing that He is fullness of joy, homely and courteous, blissful and very life."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 26)

Many times we can feel weary and beaten down from all the circumstances and challenges of life. We need a place of rest and relaxation, where our worries and struggles fall away and we feel calm and light. Jesus is that place of rest. He is inside us, always being peace, always being calm, always being joy, and He draws us inward not to 'do' anything but to just 'be' with Him. He is all we need. His mood of peace and joy is contagious. We just can't be down in His presence. He is homely, comfortable to be with like a best friend or close family member that we can be ourselves with, laugh and smile with, and just enjoy being with without having to say a word. He is also courteous, like a kind and hospitable friend who defers to us, puts our needs first, and lavishes us with care and pampering.  He is a place of rest, relaxation and fun, a place where we feel we can breathe easy again, where we can feel lightened and refreshed again. Being with Him we feel invigorated and truly alive. Noone else can love us like Jesus can. Noone else is the friend to us that Jesus is. We have found our ultimate place of rest in Him!

"I have called you My friends."

John 15:15 (AMPC)

A Prayer: Thank You for being my Best Friend. Everything about You puts my mind and heart at rest!

Bliss to Christ and to Us

"And now is all my bitter pain and all my hard travail turned to endless joy and bliss to me and to thee."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 24)

Jesus went through hard labor, suffering and laying down His life so we could be free from sin and death. And He completed His work and is now reigning in heaven in endless bliss. All His travail has been turned into bliss for Him and also for us! He joined with our humanity and thus included us in all of His work and all the effects and benefits that come from it. We did not have to do the hard work - Christ did - yet we reap all the benefits of His work. We do not have to labor and work and strive to get saved, get forgiveness, get freedom, get life. Christ already did all the work needed and it is finished! All His hard work is turned into endless joy for both Christ and us. We have been saved, set free from fear of death, forgiven and liberated from our sins, and lifted up from death into life with Christ! He did all the work and gave us all the benefits. Nothing is required of us, all is freely given to us. That is what grace is all about!

"It was by the generosity of God, the free giving of the grace of one man Jesus Christ, that the love of God overflowed for the benefit of all men."

Romans 5:15 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the gift of salvation, Your free gift of grace through Jesus!

 

Beloved Darling

"Our good Lord said full blissfully: Lo, how that I loved thee, as if He had said: My darling, behold and see thy Lord, thy God that is thy Maker and thine endless joy, see what satisfying and bliss I have in thy salvation; and for my love rejoice [thou] with me."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 24)

Do we realize we are God's beloved ones? Let's hear Jesus calling to us, "My darling" and saying to us, "Lo, how I love you!" We are His dear darlings. We are so precious to Him, so cherished and wanted and loved that we can't even begin to comprehend it. He loves us, He loves us, He loves us. All He ever does is love us. We are His very own beloveds, His dearly beloveds. And He is our endless joy! He is the one who makes us completely happy, the one who only brings joy and bliss! He is so happy that we are rescued and free to bask in His love. He is so glad we are His very own forever. Let's rejoice with Him that the darkness of sin and death is destroyed by the light of His grace and love, by the complete work He did to set us free! Now He has all of eternity to lavish His love on us, and we have all of eternity to bask in the bliss of His love!

"You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you."

Isaiah 43:4 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You for calling me your dear darling! 

Everlasting Love

"He showed unto mine understanding, in part, the blessed Godhead, stirring then the poor soul to understand, as it may be said, that is, to think on, the endless Love that was without beginning, and is, and shall be ever."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 24)

As long as God has been God, God has been love. God was love forever in the past, God is love right now in the present moment, and God will always be love forever in the future. There has never been a time when God was not loving, and there never will be. Endless Love is simply who God is.  All the members of the Trinity family are constantly pouring out love for each other. And all the members of the Trinity family are constantly pouring out love for each of us. There has never been a time God wasn't loving you and me, and there never will be a time God isn't loving you and me. And right now, in this moment, no matter who we are or what we have done, believed, or become, God is loving us. God is loving us with all the love the Trinity has to give. God is loving us completely, unreservedly, unconditionally, abundantly, exuberantly. There is nothing God would rather do than love on us right now and now and now! We are the beloveds of God. We may think we are unworthy, inferior, forgotten, or uncared for. But this isn't true. We are precious, we are delighted in, we are worthy of all the love in the universe! Can we stop for a moment and realize how loved we are, known and understood completely, embraced just as we are by the biggest Love in all of existence? We always have been and we always will be, loved!

"I have always loved you and I always will love you. My faithful love for you continues for ever."

Jeremiah 31:3 (EASY)

A Prayer: I love being loved by You!

A Home for All

"Then with a glad cheer our Lord looked unto His Side and beheld, rejoicing. With His sweet looking He led forth the understanding of His creature by the same wound into His Side within. And then he shewed a fair, delectable place, and large enough for all mankind that shall be saved to rest in peace and in love."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 24)

There is a place where all of humanity can find rest, can find home, can be safe in peace and love. It's within Christ Himself. He is our place of safety and warmth, our haven of quiet rest and belonging. He is wide enough and big enough and expansive enough to hold every single person in the whole human race. Noone is left out; all are included, all are embraced, enveloped in love, accepted and warmly taken in. This place of refuge, Christ, is a fair and beautiful, delightful and delectable place. He is our Eden, our Paradise, our Home. He is the love we have always wanted and the family we have always longed for. He is the acceptance, understanding, security, peace, freedom and cherishing we have dreamed of. And we are all in Christ, right now, safe in His great being of pure Love!

"I will draw everyone to Me."

John 12:32 (CEB)

"So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross."

Colossians 1:19-20 (MSG)

A Prayer: Dear Jesus, I am at home in You!

To Please Us

"Christ said: If thou art pleased, then am I pleased;—as if He said: It is joy and satisfying enough to me, and I ask nought else of thee for my travail but that I might well please thee.

And in this He brought to mind the property of a glad giver. A glad giver taketh but little heed of the thing that he giveth, but all his desire and all his intent is to please him and solace him to whom he giveth it."

All He asks from all His work in the Passion is that it might satisfy us and please us. He is a 'glad giver' that gives without taking thought of the hardship He must go through in order to give to us. He doesn't think of Himself, only of us, the dearly beloveds He is giving Himself to and for. All He thinks of is us! His whole purpose and intent is to please, satisfy, solace and comfort us, His dear friends. He gave up His own life to literally make us happy. He doesn't ask a thing of us, and we don't owe Him a thing for all He did for us. He simply wants to know, are we pleased with His offering? Was it enough to prove to us that He will do anything for us, to put to rest all our doubts about His love for us? He gave up His life to get our freedom from sin and death. He paid the ultimate price, not to God but to us. He proved that He would love and forgive us, even if we did the worst thing - murder Him. And He proved that He cares enough to enter into human suffering and death and suffer it with us, in order to deliver us. Is that enough for us, does that satisfy and please us and assure us we really are loved and forgiven, embraced and delivered, friends of Christ and cherished children of God? Yes! 

"Greater love has noone than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

John 15:13 (NIV)

A Prayer: You laid down Your life to show Your love to me - thank You, Jesus!