The Dominant Characteristic Of An Authentic Spiritual

The Men And Women Who Are Truly Filled With Light Are Those Who Have Gazed Deeply Into The Darkness Of Their Own Imperfect Existence.

To Lend Each Other A Hand When We're Falling, Perhaps That's The Only Work That Matters In The End.

If We Maintain The Open-mindedness Of Children, We Challenge Fixed Ideas And Established Structures, Including Our Own. We Listen To People In Other Denominations And Religions. We Don't Find Demons In Those With Whom We Disagree. We Don't Cozy Up To People Who Mouth Our Jargon. If We Are Open, We Rarely Resort To Either-or: Either Creation Or Evolution, Liberty Or Law, Sacred Or Secular, Beethoven Or Madonna. We Focus On Both-and, Fully Aware That God's Truth Cannot Be Imprisoned In A Small Definition.

In My Experience, Self-hatred Is The Dominant Malaise Crippling Christians And Stifling Their Growth In The Holy Spirit.

I Have A Word For You. I Know Your Whole Life Story. I Know Every Skeleton In Your Closet. I Know Every Moment Of Sin, Shame, Dishonesty And Degraded Love That Has Darkened Your Past. Right Now I Know Your Shallow Faith, Your Feeble Prayer Life, Your Inconsistent Discipleship. And My Word Is This: I Dare You To Trust That I Love You Just As You Are, And Not As You Should Be. Because You’re Never Going To Be As You Should Be.