refrigerators and rabbits

full fridge

I came across these quotations today on Facebook.  


The power of the gospel:


"You want to know how big God’s love is? The answer is: It’s very big. It’s bigger than you’re comfortable with." ~Anne Lamott*


“The bread that is spoiling in your house belongs to the hungry. The shoes that our mildewing under your bed belong to those who have none. The clothes stored away in your trunk belong to those who are naked. The money that depreciates in your treasury belongs to the poor!”
-St. Basil the Great


This came as an unplanned culmination of what I've been meditating this week: the first and greatest commandment this week.  And, I'm realizing that loving your neighbor is an act of worship because of the imago dei.  It's the same logic employed in the command to resolve conflict before offering sacrifice.  It's about integrity (wholeness).  


I've been wrestling with this and how to live it.  I had a friend to compare her single life (described as "fun") and her wedded/motherhood life (described as "real").  Her comments made me think of the Velveteen Rabbit: He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him. It hurts to love and be loved.

Velveteen Rabbit

I think the call of the gospel is to become real, and I have the same reservations as the bunny.  To love, forgive, talk, think, buy, work, eat, laugh and sleep in a way that worships our big and good God is uncomfortable.  My faith, theology, ideas, love, and life are far too puny and abstract.  They are made real in living in community.  Our shortcomings are painfully evident as we live in community.



Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.- Goethe  



I think this is where I've fallen short in looking for a job and conceptualizing my life... and other people.  God's love is big enough to make me forever uncomfortable.


* I have a quibble with the emphasis on God's love vs. God's love.  The simple grammatical structure renders emphasis on love.