Blog # 58 OUR ABILITY AND CALL TO FREEDOM AND TO LOVE

BLOG # 58 OUR ABILITY AND CALL TO FREEDOM AND TO LOVE God is always proclaiming His truth and His love to the world. In the sky, in our garden, in the beautiful grain in the wood of our closet door, in the grass, in a flowing river, in the love of friends and family, in all we think or say or do God is there proclaiming His truth and His love . God proclaims His love not only to His human creatures but to all the world. With the good He has placed in a grain of corn God proclaims His love to pigs and horses, to chickens, and to us. With the twisted branches of a tree God proclaimss His love to the birds so they have a place to set their nests. With the strength of the earth God proclaims His love to the trees, supporting their roots and feeding them The trees echo back the proclamation of God's love by growing green and by just being a tree. The birds echo back the love of God by song and by just being a bird. But God loves us His human creatures much more and in a more perfect way than He does His other creatures. The father of a family may want all there is in his home, the kittens the toys the rugs the windows and his children. He wants and appreciates all the rest, but he loves each of the children individually with a personal unique love. This is similar to the way we think of God's love for all the world. "God looked at everything that He had made, and He found it very good." ( Gen 2; 31). Just as sure as you shout a sound to the mountains that same sound will come back in its echo, so in the world when God proclaims His love to horses dogs cows grass trees sky and the sun it always comes back to Him. A piece of wood serves God and echoes back His love by just being a piece of wood, by having a grain that runs a certain way, by burning when put into the fire, and by turning to ashes when it is over. A bird serves God and echoes back His love by singing and flying about, by building a nest and by dying. The sun serves God and echoes back His love by giving heat and light and painting beautiful evening skies. All God's creatures below His human creatures must serve God and echo back His love. They are not free to do otherwise. But God loves human creatures more, and differently. We have received not just more of the same and better quality of the same gifts that God has given to the rest of creation, as for example we probably see much better than a moose, run faster than a snail, and see things in color rather than in shades of black white and grey as does a dog. We have received the gift of freedom to say yes or no to others and even to God. In this we have received the ability and call to love . Because God loves us so much and He is so good and powerful He has given us our gift of freedom. It is not true for us that we must echo back God's love in all things whether we care to or not. We are not like the sun the earth the birds and the cattle in this. We are free. If we echo back God's love it is because we want to do so. Love is the meaning and goal of our lives, and freedom is the foundation of our love. What a gift it is to be free, what a privilege, what a joy!