Kindness of God: 2015 Beatitudes Blog Top Posts, Part 2

by | Dec 31, 2015 | Top Posts

hands_of_god_and_adamThe previous post reviewed a theme in the most frequently read posts in 2015: Kindness to yourself and others brings healing and grace. Continuing with the remaining popular posts of the year, I will review a related theme: Trusting in the kindness of God.
When our kindness springs from faith, we bear witness to God’s kindness. In “Marrying an Angel,” I quote my bride, Wanda, making the point early in our courtship:  “If thinking of you causes me to turn toward God, to search for the presence of God’s spirit in my life, I am certainly more inclined to trust you than I otherwise would be.”
Trusting in God’s kindness can be challenging. In “Mom Was Right,” I confessed my struggle to accept my mother’s belief that God’s hand delivered us from a house fire in my youth. It did not fit my schema for a fair and just God when others die in such accidents. But life taught me to let go of my schemas and open my heart to the incalculable mystery of God’s kindness at work.
“Let Go and Grab a Mooring,” described how life does that, how losses strip us of myths full of false promises of security. In the face of loss, we can despair or open our hearts to God’s unfinished story being told in our living it. We can trust the promise that it leads to a peaceful climax.
Similarly, “The Willing Way through Resentment” discusses our choice when hurt by others: Either hunker down in a stew of resentment or relinquish the control to God, not the offender. This willingness views life as much more than a game of competing interests. It submits to God’s slow work for peace after injustice.
Perfectionism distrusts God’s promises, seeking security through striving for a flawless life. Two consecutive posts addressed our perfectionism epidemic. In “Perfection Imperfect,” I observed how college students whom I counsel believe, “They must produce transcripts and resumes that slam dunk their career success or consign themselves to a permanent place on the bench.” That drives many to panic attacks, major depression, and suicidality. They reflect our anxious, competitive culture.
I trace this problem back to the great Greek philosophers, founders of today’s common sense, who placed perfection at the heart of happiness. Meanwhile, since perfection requires order, they could find little place in it for messy mercy. As discussed in, “Jesus on Perfection,” mercy makes messes by forgiving enemies and walking extra miles, but such mercy is exactly what Jesus intended when he bid us “be perfect as God is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
These posts that you, the reader, liked most make this bold claim: When we let go of our drive for perfection and other modes of ideal control over our destinies, trust God’s kindness, and participate freely in it, we will find our way home to God and ourselves.
Please click any or all of the above post titles to catch up on popular posts you missed or review some of your favorites. Feel free to share with anyone and everyone. If you are new to the Beatitudes Blog, don’t worry. I keep the posts brief. Subscribe by entering your email address in the widget on the upper right column or below the text on any page. Thank you so much for reading the Beatitudes Blog! May it nourish your soul.

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