Have you ever met a person that was “well connected”? Sounds sort of like a mafia thing doesn’t it? Sounds like a way to gain an advantage or get something extra. Being well connected often refers to a certain socioeconomic status and with that, a certain level of privilege and entitlement.
Do you realize that we are all well connected? In the creation story God creates us in the very image of God. From the moment of our creation, we are connected. How well connected you might ask? The answer is we are each connected to the creator of all universes and all worlds. We are directly connected to all of creation, a creation that God made and then said, “It is good.”
Why do we feel so distant from the Creator that has always and completely been within us? Most often it is either guilt or what we were taught. I come from a religious tradition that sees each of us as fallen, as broken, and sinful (or for Reformed folks, in utter depravity). I was taught, as many of you were, that we are not now and never will be good enough and that Jesus had to come to earth and save us from ourselves. And, this leads us to guilt and shame.
It has taken me a long time to understand that all that I was taught is not true. I am not broken, I am not evil, I am not now, nor have I ever been, apart from God. I am God’s creation and had “It is good” pronounced over me at the moment of my creation. I do not have to be more than I am at this very moment. I should never feel guilty for being human, it is who I am. And, Jesus was not Plan B, put in to play because all humankind is evil and lost.
Jesus was always plan A. He came to show us that we can live in direct connection with God and what a life like that would look like. I have a friend who said it this way: “We are all called to do God’s will, which is to love God, self, and others. But if we seek the deeper will of God, we can find that will that makes our hearts happy. But, beware, that deeper will of God does not mean bad things will never happen to us.” Profound words from a profound friend.
Shame and guilt are our own creation, not God’s. We have the example of life in concert with God. In the 70’s, there was a saying “God don’t make no junk”. That is still true and has always been true, not one of us is junk. The greatest joy you can know is to come to the moment when you realize that the Creator looks at you and says, “It is good”. That moment, when you know that you and God are now and have always been together……..that is the moment of your salvation. You are then saved from fear, guilt, hopelessness and shame.
TMM