BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

I am often asked about the “signature” which appears at the bottom of all my emails.  It is a quote from retired Bishop John Shelby Spong, and as a standard by which I want to live my life and engage the world, I have never found anything to improve upon it.  To explain it briefly:  Spong argues that the most revealing words about Jesus and his mission come from the gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10:  “I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  Thus Jesus defines his own mission in terms of giving life, and after his death, that mission became ours.  I try to live out that mission like this:

First,because I believe that God is the author and creator of life, then the best way I know to honor God is by living my life fully.  To me, that means that life is to be engaged, it is to be plunged into, it is to be lived as if each moment might be my last.  It is stopping to smell the roses, as well as going into the ditches to assist those who must have help.

Second, because I believe that God is the author and creator of love, then to honor God, I must love as God loves….wastefully, prodigally,  with no thought for worthiness, and no regard even for whether that love will be returned.  Such love is without reservation and knows no boundaries of race, creed, nationality, religion, or orientation.  It is, in a word, unconditional.

Finally, because I believe, as Paul Tillich taught, that God is the infinite ground of all being, then I honor God when I seek to become all that I can be with the gifts, talents, and opportunities I have been given.  This is not coasting downhill, but climbing to the peaks using all the God-given tools with which I’ve been equipped, with plenty of help from the community of the faithful.

There are many who disagree with some of the good bishop’s statements.  I don’t know how anyone could disagree with this one.  Like all good mottoes, it doesn’t cover everything, just what is indispensable.�

Filed under: Blogging Toward Sunday