July 14, 2016

“ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:26-30

“G-d created (people) with a soul that was made not to bring itself to perfection in its own order, but to be perfected by G-d in an order infinitely beyond the reach of human powers.” Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 8)

Thomas Merton is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. He was a mystic, a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemane, Kentucky, a poet, a social activist, and student of comparative religion. I will be inserting devotions based upon Merton’s writing from time to time.

The struggle to be a self-made person, and to allow ourselves to be remade in the image of Christ is a life-long struggle. Some will never achieve the level of faith understanding they were meant to become. Others will just never be able to understand what Merton is talking about. And still others, those who have a sense that they were made for something more than the vision of life they currently are presented, they can seek and welcome G-d into their lives in order to become what G-d intended all along.

Paul wrote that we are to be remade into the image of Christ – that we are to be conformed by the love of Jesus and breathe in the very Spirit of G-d. As such let us continue that journey to become the very image of Christ.

Pastor Dave