1 Peter 8-9. Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing.
“A life defined by love will not seek to protect itself or to justify itself.
It will be content simply to be itself and to give itself away with abandon.
If denied, love embraces the denier.
If betrayed, love embraces the betrayer.
If forsaken, love embraces the forsaker.
Love never judges.
Love simply announces that neither the person you are nor the deeds you have done have erected a barrier which the power of this invincible presence cannot overcome.
If life is holy and if love creates and enhances life, then love is also holy.
…Love and God cannot be separated and that to share love is nothing less than sharing God.”
John Shelby Spong. A New Christianity for a New World, (San Francisco: HaperCollins Publishers Inc., 2001) p. 140.
Dave Smith
Hennepin Ave UMC
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.
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