The Road Less Traveled
I suspect you have read The
Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D. He delves into the human psyche,
which is often selfish and hides its own brokenness. It is only in our
willingness to reveal or peal off layers of our pain like an onion that we can
offer hospitality to another person Pastor/Author Henry Nouwen wrote in Wounded Healer. In our woundedness we
can become a source of life for others. “Love is the will to extend
one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual
growth... Love is as love does. Love is an act of will -- namely, both an
intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We
choose to love” (The Road Less Traveled, Peck). It is in
extending our lives into others that we find ourselves and understand the love
of God. For “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that
whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through Him” (John 3:16-17). It is God’s role to save, it is ours to
love and care for those who are not.
Life
is full of suffering. That is not a negative view of life, it just is. So God
sent His light into the world and through Him we also are lights in the
darkness. This light requires sharing to be fully experienced. In this, the
life that is worth living is revealed. It takes us beyond the suffering and
pain to the hope that is within us. Sharing hope allows us to enter into the
“unknown and fearful territory” (Nouwen) where healing can occur.
As
fellow sojourners, we are here to serve one another through the grace and mercy
of God’s love given to us. This grace is a gift of God lest anyone should
boast. It is to be given freely without finding fault, as God would do. If you
don’t have this love, ask for it. God gives is freely. But don’t doubt, ask courageously
in hope and joy, knowing that you will receive. What you have received, freely
give.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.