Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Open hands - A prayer for when Thanksgiving and Advent collide

God, thank you that you call us into a life where you do not require of us, where you do not demand of us, but where you invite us and you ask us to just open the hands and receive from you.  That the God of the universe didn't create little minions or little servants or little elves to follow him around and to work for him.  But that the God of the universe created and shaped human beings and bestowed his image upon us and created within us the capacity for love and for joy and for service and creativity and creation.  Thank you that you didn't create us to work for you, but you created us to open hands and receive your love.  And that you are so open handed.

And when we messed up in the brokenness of our humanity, you didn't abandon us.
You didn't destroy us.
You didn't give up on us.
You created and orchestrated a way to bring. us. back. to. you.
A way for you to live within us and overcome the brokenness of our flesh.
And not only did you create a way... you became the way.  

You became the sacrifice.  You became our sin.  You became the propitiation for our sin that we might draw near to you again.  And not only that, but that you could dwell in us.  You not only came and pitched your tent with us.  You pitch your tent within us, that we might live.  That we might breathe.  That we might have love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control.  That we might contain these things within the very fiber of our being and be made new.  That we might breathe grace and mercy.

You not only love us.  You not only make a way for us, but you live in us.  And you do not demand of us.  You do not require that we work or we earn.  You call us children and you ask simply that we open hands and receive.  And when we do work, when we do serve, when we do, it is not out of obligation.  It is not out of duty.  It is not trying to earn something.  It is out of overflow.  Because you come and you fill us with love.

And you fill us joy.
And you fill us with strength.
And you fill us  with mercy.
And you fill us with grace.
And we overflow.  And we can't help but show mercy and grace because we can't contain that which is bubbling over within us, that which we open hands to receive from you.

So here I breathe it in.  And I breathe out thanks.

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