LOSING THE SOUL OF AMERICA

Earlier today when I was thinking about the situation we are in since the election, it occurred to me that in a way we are fighting for the soul of America.  As never before in our history--almost--we are at a crossroads where the ideals with which our founders used as building blocks for the underlying principles that were unprecedented since the founding of civilization.  Through our Constitution they formed a type of government dedicated to the perpetuation of those ideals with a kind of flexibility that has afforded our citizens and our leaders to develop within a framework that allows for historical changes.  

Our founders also very wisely set up a system of checks and balances between the three branches of our government to prevent a dictatorship and to try to ensure that all citizens who voted would be able to truly take part in our participatory republic.

But we are in a crisis today.

And as I continued to meditate on what exactly the soul of America might be, the words of Thomas Paine came to me concerning men's souls rather than the nation's soul.  You no doubt have read or heard them before this:

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated"--Thomas Paine (The Crisis)

In writing about the crisis concerning whether or not the freedom from English rule announced in our Declaration of Independence would be truly won from Great Britain, Paine denounced the power of the British monarchy as tyranny.

Thomas Jefferson, too, believed that tyranny was worth fighting against, of course.  In a quote from a letter he wrote to another one of our founders, his friend Dr. Benjamin Rush, that is carved in marble on a panel in the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., he stated, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

The thing is that with less than a week in office, this administration is already approaching a kind of tyranny that threatens our freedoms and the liberty that we hold so dear.

If you don't agree, consider the diminishment of free speech imposed on government workers of several federal agencies.

If you don't agree, consider the proposed idea of registering people of a certain religion that threatens our freedom of religion.

If you don't agree, considered how soul-stealing to our nation and ideals the executive order targeting the cutting off of immigration from specific countries based on the predominant religion of those countries  is.

And in terms of defining the soul of America, we can make a case that this soul was first brought to life by the Declaration of Independence when it affirmed that our Creator provided that all human beings were created equal and given with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Of course that soul was damaged and diminished by our founders when the Constitution was written to exclude non-white men and women and all other women from the equality so gloriously described in the Declaratiom.

But we've come a long way, baby!

Or at least it seemed like we had up until the election and the activities of the new administration in this first week.

I'm with Thomas Jefferson in abhorring and pledging hostility against every kind of tyranny.  And I think Thomas Paine would recognize that this, too, as a time when human souls are being tried.

Make no mistake, the battles have begun and we are in a struggle for the very soul of our nation in order to preserve the freedoms, opportunities, and ideals we say we hold dear.

Those freedoms, opportunities and ideals do not just belong to a select minority of people who happen to have won an election because of a system that was set up to ensure that the wealthy stayed in power whether or not they won the popular vote. The rights and freedoms, the access to opportunities and the ideals that under gird our society and ensure the perpetuation of our nation have been paid for and  guaranteed over and over by men and women in uniform on local, state and federal levels who have fought and died to preserve our nation.  

At story time tonight my second grader grandson spontaneously showed off to me that he has memorized our Pledge of Allegiance. He was doing very well, and even had his hand over his heart and pretended to be looking at our flag. But he needed a bit of prompting at the part that goes, "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." There are some big words there, and even though he mostly remembered the whole Pledge, I'm not sure he really understands what the "indivisible" part means.  And probably if we asked him to define what exactly "liberty and justice" are, we might see that he doesn't ractually know yet.

But, like most American kids, I have already heard him say to his brother, "It's a free country, so I can" . . . do whatever he has been told he can't do. And I can remember saying that when I was little, too, because as Americans we have all been taught that.

And since even before the founding of our nation, people fleeing tyranny and oppression have come here to find the freedoms we hold so dear and to have liberty denied them by the governments of their countries of origin.  

So there's the rub.  

We are in a crisis again, just as our founders were when Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson wrote about freedom from tyranny, and when Abraham Lincoln defended what they had founded that was "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," but flawed when they decided to continue to allow slavery. 

The soul of a nation can be lost just as the soul of a human being can be lost.  The clear and present danger we face includes, but is not limited to the limitations of freedom of speech for some federal employees. We stand to lose the integrity of our commitment to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States that all federal public servants and military members from the lowest ranks to our commander-in-chief vow when embarking on their sacrifice to serve our nation.

This crisis is no small thing and we cannot take it lightly.  We have our work cut our for us and must have courage, resolve and focus as we covenant to organize and act In the service of our country to join the ranks of those about whom Thomas Paine wrote because, again, we have been born in another one of those "times that try men's souls."

If you do not believe me, you have probably stopped reading a long time ago.  But if you do, please indulge me while I repeat what Thomas Paine wrote:

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated"--Thomas Paine (The Crisis)

May the Lord be with us in the days to come as we fight to save the soul of our nation and that "celestial article," FREEDOM, for all.

POLITICS AND RELIGION (AGAIN)

It occurred to me today that there are two kinds of Republicans that voted for the narcissist in chief. I grew up with one kind in a very wealthy corner of Illinois.  They are people with a lot of money and power because of their financial well-being. The second group includes fundamentalists,  conservatives, white people who enjoy the opportunities and privileges of being white, but who do not want to afford the same opportunities and privileges to people who are disadvantaged, and especially if they are not white. The so-called "moral majority" and alt-right elements are included mostly in the second group of people who voted for Republicans in this last election. But there is an overlap between the two major groups of Republicans because of people who are wealthy as well as bigoted, and who have stoked the prejudices and dissatisfaction with Democratic programs and policies.

 Sadly, the Republicans in this past election and election that brought George W. Bush into the White House had far greater more detailed plans to take back the government from Democratic liberals. Of course in the election that just occurred, Republicans from states like North Carolina with their gerrymandering, made sure that  districts where the majority of people who are not white lost out. Just as there were questions about George W. Bush's brother,  at the time governor of Florida, delivering the state of Florida to George W. Bush because of potential voter fraud, the activities the Republicans of North Carolina than elsewhere, bent on making sure they returned to power were devious and well-thought-out.

Added to this, the political harassment  of Secretary of State and former Senator Hillary Clinton over what happened in Benghazi that has not been proven false, was part of the republican plan to make sure that only white men  would return to power this time. The offensive that was so carefully planned and instrumented put the Democratic candidates on the defensive, or precluded the possibility that minority voters  would have a chance to weigh in and let their voices be heard. 

 So now we are stuck in a situation where an unstable and very sick man and his handlers are causing huge amounts of damage and grief,  with no end in sight for the next four years. People have been talking about the atmosphere being something like what George Orwell described in the novel "1984". I have also been reminded of the way the characters in the novel "Animal Farm" regurgitated propaganda and "alternative facts."

Because of the air-right component of the people in positions of power in the East Wing, and because of appointees to important government agencies and positions who have no their qualifications than their wealth and focus on making sure that financial stronghold and businesses have unimpeded access to the ability to make as much money as possible, we are living in a very scary time.  People have started looking back at the history of the rise of Naziism in Germany and fascism in Italy in the middle of the last century.   We fear that we are heading down the same road. 

Why did the citizens of Germany and Italy allow what happened to take place? Are there similarities to what is going on in the U.S. Compared to the rise of national social socialism and Germany and the rise of fascism in Italy? 

Were there people and organizations  that fought against what happened in those countries? Of course, the answer is yes, but those who protested suffered from violence and the threat of violence in order for Hitler and Mussolini to stay in power. Fear was used to control the masses

 In both cases, suppression of the free press was one of the first tactics that was used to undergird their power, and threats against people in the government who spoke out against policies were followed through so that freedom of speech was cancelled as well as freedom of the press.

Both of these tactics are being used by this administration, and we should work together to keep our rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by our Constitution. These are impeachable offenses, and the question is whether the Republican congressman who have made a vow to uphold the Constitution will honor their vows.

Instead of being appalled by the actions of the first few days of this administration, Republicans in power  are going along with and even encouraging this travesty. 

People who voted for him have said, "Just wait! Give him a chance!" And they should be ashamed along with the senators and congressmen who are allowing this to go on.

Our founders must be rolling in their graves! It is not even a case of the "spirit of the law" versus the "letter of the law." This administration  has started acting as far from the ideals that formed our nation as possible. 

We have our work cut out for us, and we must have the courage to follow through no matter what happens. Already the consequences of executive orders that have been instituted will cause death, illness and suffering beyond measure.  As each new day passes, we try to see if we can wake up from this nightmare, but it is not a nightmare. It is the reality that we have to face and that we have to fight against.

No matter what "alternative facts" are used in an attempt to pull the wool over peoples' eyes,  we must continue to stand up for the truth, and we must continue to stand up for people without a voice. 

 Enough is enough, and doing nothing will lead to the same kind of world that Germans and Italians found themselves in, with, heaven forbid, the same kinds of consequences right here on American soil.

I entitled this piece "Politics and Religion" because despite the provision in the Bill of Rights for separation of church and state, exactly what our founders feared has taken place.  Men with their own religious agenda have taken over the government, and are trying to impress their beliefs on everyone else. 

When our founders wrote the provision concerning the separation of church and state, the standard rule of Western European countries involved the collusion of church and state. This led to persecution of people who did not believe in the dominant religion.  Therefore, the fathers wanted to make sure that the government of our new nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, "as Abraham Lincoln said four score and seven years after our founding, would never subjugate and oppress people because of their ethnic origin or religious beliefs.

This administration has plans to subjugate and oppresss people because of their ethnic origin and religious beliefs. These were not just campaign promises, but they are activities that are being implemented through executive order day by day. 

When will the impeachment proceedings begin?

THEY ARE NOT JUST RACISTS AND MISOGYNISTS

When I was watching the speeches from the Women's Marches yesterday, I started crying several times because of how the speakers touched on painful parts of my life and the lives of some of my dearest friends and because of how this new administration is so unbelievably dangerous to so many people, to our nation and to the world.

And you know . . . still . . . people I love and respect and care about continue to say, "Give him a chance," and voted for him and the other Republicans that have taken over Congress and I just don't understand them. It is sickening.

And especially those who claim to believe in Jesus and use the Bible to keep people down and are intolerant of any other interpretation of it than their own. They totally skip the verse that says, "God is Love." They totally leave out the understanding that when the Bible talks about men using men for sex it is talking about abuse and heinous acts against people, NOT about people who decide to live in committed loving relationships with one another. They act like a woman's body is not her own and believe that the State has a right to tell women what to do and not do with their own bodies.

They are not just men and women who hate anyone who is not white and who hate and disrespect women. They also feel the need to afflict people with their own beliefs that only white people belong in America and totally twist the intentions of our Founders and completely misunderstand the reasons for the necessity they felt when writing down and voting for the Bill of Rights, especially the right to bear arms.

They are not just racists and misogynists. They are sadly deluded and selfish, greedy and overbearing. They want to keep people from having access to health care and they don't believe in equal pay for the same work, And it's just too sad.

So, I was really glad that the protestors marched all over the world and especially in many of our nation's state capital cities and other major cities. The evil that is represented by the racists and misogynists must be worked against and must not be what our nation is known for in the world.

We are a nation of immigrants and our Founders wanted to welcome people from all over the world, even though they also bowed down to the racists and slaveholders that resulted four score and seven years ago later in the devastation of our Civil War.

Sadly, evil has to be fought against . . . continually and every time it has been hosted by people like the racists and misogynists and those who fight against the love of LGBT people have a right to share their lives, and those who hate immigrants who only come here to find the same opportunities our forbears were seeking -- ALL of us, except the descendants of indigenous peoples and the descendants of slaves who were brought here in chains are descendants of immigrants.

Yes . . . we have our work cut out for us because they are not just racists and misogynists. They are now in power here and can wreak so much damage. There is so much to do to keep them from doing what they intend to do.

We have our work cut out for us, because if we don't we can no longer claim that we believe in the liberty, freedoms and opportunity that white people take for granted and that our Founders wanted for all free men at the time and that we know that God wants for every human being.

THE DANGERS OF BIBLE-OLATRY AND BIGOTRY

One of the problems with the conservative "Religious Right" is that they don't seem to know Jesus as well as they know the Bible.  And because the Hebrew Bible was written concerning the experiences of the people of God called Hebrews, the Children of Israel, and others who believed in God the Creator, who became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah,over hundreds of years, there is much in what many Christians call "The Old Testament" that is obsolete because it was about things and situations temporal, not eternal.  In the narrations of the Hebrew Bible are the experiences of individuals and groups of people who related to the Divine, God Almighty, the Living God.

And because what we call "The New Testament" was written over 1900 years ago, we cannot read it without taking into consideration, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the temporal and cultural context about which it has been written and preserved. In the history of the Church of Jesus Christ there are many, many examples of people in power abusing the contents of the Bible in order to kill, imprison, enslave and dominate others. 

The Bible has been used to justify wars and to bring about horrors like the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades.  In the Hebrew Bible it is made clear that God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth is the One True God and Sovereign of all Creation. Some of the people who voted for the current president-elect use it to justify their beliefs as if they are the only ones who can interpret the Bible.

They are stuck in some of the laws of the old covenant and do not recognize some of the most important things that Emmanuel--God With Us taught people and demonstrated to the world about what the Kingdom of Heaven is and how it manifests itself on Earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Reign of God has come to Earth with the coming of the Christ Child, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.  He demonstrated how our loving God the Father relates to people and wants people to live in beloved community with one another.

One of the most important things that Jesus taught His disciples is that there will be a Judgement Day on which not only individuals, but also nations will be judged.  In the parable of the righteous sheep and the unrighteous goats, Jesus made clear that those nations that did not take care of those people who are hungry, naked, sick imprisoned and/or oppressed will suffer the consequences of neglecting those in need.

And the people of the nations who take care of the least, the last and the lost of those Jesus called "brethren" will reap their reward because they have lived out the only main true law of God -- the law of "caritas" -- merciful love.

I am sick to death of people who claim to follow Jesus, but really want to build walls around themselves and others who believe as they do.  I am very sad for them and pray for them, but the people they neglect and oppress -- and the ways they vote for those who only serve wealth, power and money instead of loving and serving people just makes me sick.  That is because what they believe is being lived out in such a way that people will suffer and die because of the policies that the new administration espouses and that the Republicans in Congress continually espouse.

I would love to be able to only write about God's love, explain what Jesus came to do, and write uplifting, encouraging snippets and meditations. But just as Jesus not only taught about and demonstrated the Father's love, He also dealt with sickness and evil.  His purpose in coming to Earth was to atone for the sins of all humanity and to bring all of Creation back into harmony with God the Father and Creator.  

After His resurrection, he remained with His disciples off and on and many people witnessed that He was once again alive before He was taken up to Heaven after promising that the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, his Holy Spirit would come to be with those who believed and believe in Him.  

Whenever we are not living out the Fullness of the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit, but only exist by what we believe the Bible is telling us, we can't but fail to be His disciples.  Each person and each church has his or her or its own way of interacting with God the Father and with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit -- or not.  None of us have the right to judge and condemn people, only Jesus can and will do that at the one time in the future when the Last Judgement will happen.  

Nevertheless, we can decide whether what we or anyone else is doing is loving and righteous.  We CAN and must follow Jesus by taking care of people in need -- by sharing the Love of God in Christ through loving activity.  

Words are not enough, as important as they may be.  Love in action is all that counts and the only true witness to God's love in Jesus Christ,

The Bible is very important, too, unless it is being treated as an idol. When the Bible is being used to promote slavery, hatred, oppression, domination, cruelty, bigotry, hatred and racism, those activities can never be assessed as being part of the Gospel of God in Christ Jesus.

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours Beloved, tonight and always.

<3 <3 <3

THE STAKES

I try to post only positive uplifting things on my Facebook page. In the past I have had to "unfriend" people who insisted on being negative and nasty and not respectful. I have had to make my page such that I am the only one who can post on it, most of the time.I can't stand arguments, and I can't stand it when people insist that denying others the opportunity to have homes, jobs, healthcare, security and safety is okay when all of us can help each other and make sure that no one lives like that, especially in America but truly, all over the world.

In the 17 years that I lived in DC and Northern Virginia, I came to hate politics because there's no escape from it there. In the late 80s when I first came to live there, it used to be that the run-up to presidential elections lasted only about a year and a half before the election. So there was a time that was a breathing space.

Then from the time that the Clintons were in the White House, the conservatives seemed to feel that someone still had to be paid back for the impeachment of President Nixon, and that women needed to be put into their place, again. The Equal Right's Amendment was defeated and Hillary was hounded out of the position of the person that was trying to put together healthcare reform. That was in the mid 90s, and therefore it took all the way until about six years ago for people who did not have access to healthcare to be able to have it, and for people who had pre-existing conditions to be able to get help.

Even beyond the bigotry and racism that has been a tide that has brought about this president – elect, the mendacity, greed, oppression and domination exhibited by the people who have put this president – elect in his position is just sickening. That just goes to show you that the spiritual forces of evil will have their hosts and will continue to wreak havoc as long as they are allowed to do that.

As baby boomers, we were born after the great depression and World War II, but we were raised by parents and grandparents who successfully fought against the spiritual forces and the unbelievable devastation and ruination, death and destruction that was wrought in the middle of the last century.

The United States made a big difference in fighting the forces of evil in the last century, but now we are the ones who seem to be perpetrating the evil. So it will be harder to fight against, because we will be fighting it on our soil as well.

Of course the fight against that type of evil has been in existence since before our founders wrote the Declaration of Independence and our constitution. There was already slavery here, and there was already rampant genocide and oppression against the peoples who were indigenous in the Western Hemisphere.

The spirits of oppression and domination, bigotry and mendacity, along with the worship of wealth and power will always remain with us, and to be one of the most ironic things is that our nation was founded in reaction to all that was evil about those spiritual forces as they were experienced in the 18th century and historically in Western Europe.

The United States of America is an amazing nation founded upon ideals rather than based on any ethnic or cultural milieu. And one of the saddest things is that so much of what our founders wanted to establish has been twisted and abused by those in power who want only white men of Western European extraction to rule. And of course those in power who feel that way do not recognize that all of a sudden they are the same types of tyrants and oppressors that our founders were established in our nation against an order that people could live in freedom and liberty, with opportunities guaranteed to them and to all other people who became citizens here.

During the time of the Civil War our nation was torn apart and then rebuilt with a new hope for those who had been enslaved and oppressed. Sadly, the white men in charge again instituted oppression a domination that lasted another hundred years, and that is still around to try to keep people who are not white from the opportunities, liberties and security that other citizens enjoy.

Enough is enough! 

Truly. 

Everyone who voted for this current president-elect should be ashamed of himself or herself. The thing is, that they are not because they are not ashamed of being racist. They are not ashamed of wanting to keep anyone but white people from the opportunities, freedoms, security, and liberty that they enjoy. They do not believe that anyone but they should be in power. Is very sad.

So, when people have tried to make it clear to them that they are racist by having voted for him, it doesn't work as a way of shaming them. They are not ashamed of it. They are proud of it.

My heart aches for all of those who will still have to fight for everything that so many of us take for granted. My heart aches for our nation altogether and for the world because of what this administration will mean to it.

I know that God has allowed this, and that God intends to use it for good, to further the Kingdom of Heaven. But sometimes I just want to say, "Really, Lord?"

"Seriously!"

"What are you thinking?!!!"

Maybe free will for human beings wasn't that good of an idea after all.

But without it God Who Is Love would not be the one who created the universe and then created human beings with whom to share the beauty and wonder of it.

So, when I come to that place again where I understand it that way, He brings me His peace that passes all human understanding and the guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah! Amen.

❤❤❤

RESURRECTION FROM SOUL MURDER

From the perspective of the premise above, that there are injuries that affect our souls, it's important to remember from Psalm 23 that the Lord restores our souls . . . And to lift up our hearts and open them to discover what that means. 

Our souls are the essence of us and we are here on Earth so that our spirits can help our souls be fulfilled and truly know the LOVE we have been born to enjoy and share. If we believe that everything that happens to us can be used for our good, and keep looking for those good and loving outcomes -- and keep believing that the fullness of love delights in us and always has good plans for us, we can get the help we need to begin to trust again. 

Healing is possible and it is the intention of the mediator of love and goodness that we find and receive that healing . . . spiritual, emotional, psychological, physical . . . there is no separation. All of it is related and all of it belongs to each one of us in a unique and special way. If anyone wants to talk and/or pray, I will listen and do my best to help with Love's help. The ministry the Lord has called me to has involved inner healing prayer since before I first needed it when dealing with my own issues. Please always open your hearts to hope -- and the promises that we already have a victory beyond surviving. 

Sometimes people who have been abused by men cannot connect with a male God, and sometimes they are victims of spiritual abuse and the way that our male dominated society can be brutal to women and children . . .and to men and boys who the dominant men do not consider part of them. So I try to be careful of language. The Divine is so much more than the way human words and symbols can describe the spiritual. I know God in Spirit through very vivid encounters with Jesus Christ. But each one of us has His or her own individual way of relating to -- or rejecting the Divine, what counts is that each one of us comes to know that each one of us is individually, distinctly, uniquely adored and completely, absolutely, eternally, loved beyond measure.

In whatever way we seek healing and wholeness--the ability to be able to be who we were created to be in our lives here on Earth--all that is truly Love, Peace, Joy, Goodness, Righteousness, Faithfulness and Enduring Sustenance of every kind watches over us and is with us whether we know it or not. We only have to respond in the slightest way to begin to find out what kinds of doors will be open to us so that all that is Love will be revealed to us and we will move beyond mere existence into vibrant, exciting, fulfilling, loving life beyond your imagination.

No matter what has happened to you, no matter what you have chosen to do, no matter how long you have been hiding out trying to find your way to get better and no matter how far away you have tried to run . . . emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, physically, the Divine loves you and is with you, waiting to help you, eager to bless you and able to provide for you and everyone you love in every way. You have been given this life and you have a right to rise from the ashes of whatever has happened to you and whatever you have done that has hurt you, harmed others, and brought you down.

If any of this strikes a chord with you, please do not give up hope. Please open your heart and seek the nurture and care you need. Believe you are precious and adored. Believe that help, healing, wholeness and everything you need is available. Even if it makes no sense whatsoever, please begin to hope and trust that you are not alone. The nightmare is over. All that you need and everyone you need will come to you.

The journey may be difficult, but you will never be alone and you will have everything you need . . . maybe not when you think you should have it or in the way you think you want it, but your triumph will be more wonderful than you can imagine. Meanwhile, please reach out in whatever way you find yourself able to do that. I will keep praying for you, and I am here in whatever way I am able to be with Love's help. May you begin to be . . . or may you continue to be under-girded, protected, guarded, guided and blessed. 

BEING LOVE

Saint Paul the Apostle was inspired by the Holy Spirit and writing to his beloved friends in the Body of Christ in Corinth, Greece. Paul gave testimony concerning what God had taught him. The Holy Spirit had transformed him in Jesus. He had not only learned what follows, in Christ Paul had become love in the image of God Who is Love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

"Love never fails.

"But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” [1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NIV)]

Quite a while I was taught that I could make the above passage a prayer for others or for myself like this:

If Kathy speaks in the tongues of men or of angels, but does not have love, She is only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If she has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if she has faith that can move mountains, but does not have love, she is nothing.

If Kathy gives all she possesses to the poor and gives over her body to hardship so that she might boast, but does not have love, she gains nothing.

In the love of God in Christ Jesus, Kathy is patient and kind. She does not envy, nor does she boast, nor does she have false pride. Because she is love in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, Kathy does not dishonor others, she is not self-seeking, she is not easily angered, she keeps no record of wrongs. Kathy does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. In the love of Jesus Christ, Kathy always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Because of God's Love in Christ, Kathy never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

When Kathy was a child, she talked like a child, she thought like a child, she reasoned like a child. When Kathy became fully grown, she put the ways of childhood behind her.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now Kathy knows in part; then Kathy will know fully, even as she is fully known by God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love, and because Kathy is in Christ, she remains as well." [1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NIV)]

Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus --

"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, 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 first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

"God’s Love in Christ Jesus

"What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
             
“'For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. "[Romans 8:28-39 (RSV)]