(that hesed/agape is motive, and method)
I started looking out. And that's not bad.
I now recall that Jesus Christ himself
warned well his followers to use that rad-
ical, and earthy protocol* "for health
& quality assurance reasons" both;
but training, growth, & life & love, I bet!
And then because a life of love in trōth
(that's covenantal, where more pleasures get
born onto Earth from heavenly abodes
more lasting, deep, but then fecund as well -
for heaven's blessings come to us in loads
and bathe us, show'er down, against the hell
that we seem able to unleash on Earth
as portals, gateways, for more UP, or DOWN -
ward movement, growth, development t'wards birth,
or coming out, to wear a godly crown.
Much change & growth, in possibilities
unleash down here, within our mother's womb,
a foetal god could look before it "sees"
while growing eyes in head. Or meet its doom.
For if a foetus doesn't IN remain,
& keep connected to its source of life
until its time is up, its end is plain,
though sad. It would't handle good (or strife).
Miscarriages down here, we don't want more.
But things are complicated with somethin'
as complex as a human being for
what happens on the outside, dimension
is more than we could say from small side. Hey?
Could baby understand before it's born
what could be done in hospitals today?
So we need not be overly forlorn!
We're surer than the hell we bring into
existence by our choices against all
the good of the shebang, the whole, the who
are not ourselves, but why we're in this ball
of life-giving, sustaining air and stuff
the ecosystem, elements, system
(both solar, stellar, if that weren't enough
the Universe, with holes that go and come).
So surer than the hell, there's heaven too!
And tastes of it are here, and to be had.
But then to bear that wit'ness here with you,
and walk with you right into hell, and bad
seems what you want us here for, now that we
can see with eyes of mind, and are awake
sometimes, and others sleep & do not see.
Our simple trust bears wit'ness. They may take…
Footnotes:
* "Look out, watch, be on guard, be on the look out, take care against the mishap & mishapen motives and methods of these earthly leaders (Pharisees, Saducees, Herodians); the play acting to impress human watchers (but not the divine watcher)." [] Therefore watch & pray, so that you won't fall into (temptation, which means the miscarriage of justice for the neighbour you don't yet know, and of love of the neighbour you know c.f. Cain) []
Bibliography:
(Genesis) Adam & Eve hiding instead of walking with God; Enoch, the 7th decendant (of God), who went walking with God (some texts say for 300 years, so not just once - by accident)
[They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:8-11, 21-24 NRSV
This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “Humankind” when they were created. When Adam had lived one hundred thirty years, he became the father of a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years; and he died. When Seth had lived one hundred five years, he became the father of Enosh. .. Kenan .. Mahalalel. .. Jared. .. ..When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him. Genesis 5:1-24 NRSV]
Large scriptural theme: Though God may still be invisible to our present eyes and vantage point, & cognition (as its parents are to a babe in the womb), God is living with his children, & his hope is that they will "be revealed to the world", & that he will live with them in reality in such a way that he is their GOD, and they are his people. This GOD is not territorial, he goes with his people wherever they go. He walks among them (each night, and maybe ev'ry day).
God makes a covenant with Noah, all humanity, & all life on Earth, with a beautiful, varied, shimmering, colourful sign, by which he says when he sees it he will link the seeing of something bezutiful like that (that one wants to look at, will be his cue to remember his covenant with them in the future (this is a model for them as to how to live in loyal covenant love (hesed) with someone else) God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:1-17 NRSV
God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt. At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do; now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have resided as an alien.” And Abraham said, “I swear it.” …p Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there both of them swore an oath. When they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. Genesis 21:20-24, 31-33 NRSV
And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham's sake.” Genesis 26:24 NRSV
And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, …" Genesis 28:13-21 NRSV
The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph's care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. Genesis 39:2-6, 20-23 NRSV
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” …. Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. …. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” …. Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.” The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes. …. Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world. Genesis 41:15-16, 25, 38-41, 50-52, 57 NRSV
I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph's own hand shall close your eyes.” Genesis 46:4 NRSV
Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.” The Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Exodus 33:12-17 NRSV
I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. Exodus 29:45 NRSV
I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. Leviticus 26:11-13 NRSV
See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:37-41 NRSV
My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezekiel 37:27 NRSV
For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 NRSV
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NRSV
The God of peace be with all of you. Amen. Romans 15:33 NRSV
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; Revelation 21:2-3 NRSV
Paul talks about Christ being with us because he is in us & we are in Christ, and his spirit being in us, & we are his (as a husband or wife are the other's). But also the whole world is watching on in anticipation too:
"..For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.…
…Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:1-39 NRSV
For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. … Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16-17, 21-23 NRSV
No road-blocks can block God's coming, and we who are hanging out with the God of gods, get to do demolition work on things that are set up to be roadblocks.
"I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards. Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 NRSV
Recent Blog posts on www.appallinglife.blogspot.com: [apparently a parasite; Responding to HIS initiatives.; a mate travelling through God's world; & with God ]
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