Suffering

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and Peace to you.


The devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you.'”
— Luke 4. 9-10


Yeah, God I want that one:
not to get hurt.
Not to get hurt if I fall or fail,
never to have to lose anything.
Which means, of course, never to love.

To love is to abandon myself
to another's well being: to open my heart,
to give myself without repayment,
to feel with another, to renounce control.

To love is to suffer.

So I do not ask that you protect me from suffering,
but protect me from selfishness,
not that you hold suffering away from me,
but that you hold me through it.
Hold my heart open, willing to suffer,
unafraid, for the sake of love.



Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve


_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com