906AFC020609
Happy Aloha Friday! This week I have been thinking about two BIG things: Obedience and Hope. Today I am going to combine a couple of writings on those topics. The one on obedience is “fairly new.” It’s been rattling around the old brain pan for a while, and is probably still in need of refinement. I wanted to use it today because I want to reissue an older item titled Circle of Life. You remember that song from The Lion King, right? Well, this circle of life is a little different from that because its central subject is Spiritual Life. So let’s begin with Obedience and then see how that leads into the Circle of Life.
Obedience without understanding is fright.
Obedience with understanding is trust.
Obedience with trust is faith.
Obedience with faith is righteousness.
Obedience with righteousness is the foundation of hope.
Hope is the outcome of humble love to the very end of everything.
Humble love can be visualized like this: As Jesus carried the cross to Calvary, the entire world was on his back and he carried all of it to God his Father. This is humble Love unto the very end. Many martyrs have loved humbly unto the end. Many parents have loved unto the end despite tragic consequences for their children. Humble love unto the end is a gift of Grace, and that gift is the seed from which hope sprouts and bears fruit. Hope comes from humble love because hope is neither selfish nor proud. Indeed, hope is selfless and humble. Remember that old aphorism “Where there’s life there’s hope.”? Well, where there is hope, there is also peace because true hope is always the same, always faithful, never broken by greed, or pride, or any other evil. Many seek hope in religion like Simon the Pharisee. Religion can show us the effects of humble love until the end, but only hope can help us live like that. Humble love seeks only to give love because love that is freely given always returns, and that is a lot to hope for.
My hope for you today is that you will know you are freely loved in ways that surpass all understanding, and that is a love so great that it can’t help but engender greater hope.
906AFC020609
Happy Aloha Friday! This week I have been thinking about two BIG things: Obedience and Hope. Today I am going to combine a couple of writings on those topics. The one on obedience is “fairly new.” It’s been rattling around the old brain pan for a while, and is probably still in need of refinement. I wanted to use it today because I want to reissue an older item titled Circle of Life. You remember that song from The Lion King, right? Well, this circle of life is a little different from that because its central subject is Spiritual Life. So let’s begin with Obedience and then see how that leads into the Circle of Life.
Obedience without understanding is fright.
Obedience with understanding is trust.
Obedience with trust is faith.
Obedience with faith is righteousness.
Obedience with righteousness is the foundation of hope.
Hope is the outcome of humble love to the very end of everything.
Humble love can be visualized like this: As Jesus carried the cross to Calvary, the entire world was on his back and he carried all of it to God his Father. This is humble Love unto the very end. Many martyrs have loved humbly unto the end. Many parents have loved unto the end despite tragic consequences for their children. Humble love unto the end is a gift of Grace, and that gift is the seed from which hope sprouts and bears fruit. Hope comes from humble love because hope is neither selfish nor proud. Indeed, hope is selfless and humble. Remember that old aphorism “Where there’s life there’s hope.”? Well, where there is hope, there is also peace because true hope is always the same, always faithful, never broken by greed, or pride, or any other evil. Many seek hope in religion like Simon the Pharisee. Religion can show us the effects of humble love until the end, but only hope can help us live like that. Humble love seeks only to give love because love that is freely given always returns, and that is a lot to hope for.
My hope for you today is that you will know you are freely loved in ways that surpass all understanding, and that is a love so great that it can’t help but engender greater hope.
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
