I Stand By The Door
All Saints' Day -- November 1, 2008 . . . and
in Australia on November 18, 2008 . . . and
on October 29, 2009
I saw this again this morning and decided to put it on the blog since the whole of it is so dear to my heart. If you have read it before, please just pass it by unless you feel led to re-visit the heart behind the words.
The earliest form of my call to ministry came when I was six years old, in the 1st and 2nd grade choir at West Pullman Methodist Church on the South Side of Chicago, as I may have told you before. I finally answered my call to ministry at the end of May, 1987. I stood up and announced my intentions at the closing worship service of my Indian River Cursillo weekend in Cocoa, Florida.
The following fall I began my studies at Garrett Evangelical-Theological Seminary near my home town of Chicago, Illinois. My kids and I moved to the seminary campus in Evanston, Illinois from Satellite Beach, Florida. After going off active duty with the Air Force, I had been working as a Security Awareness Instructor for the Base Operations contractor at Kennedy Space Center.
When we got settled in our student apartment in Evanston, one of the first purchases I made at the Cokesbury Book Store on campus was a book called "A Guide to Prayer For Ministers and Other Servants"* by Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuk. Many years later, when I was studying at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., Bishop Job came to reside on our campus for a semester to work on some writing. At that time I was blessed to be able to thank him in person for the ways the Lord had used that one of his many books in my spiritual journey.
One of the resources in the volume was the following poem:
I Stand by the Door*
by Sam Shoemaker
"I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world—
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door—the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch—the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter—
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it—live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door.
Go in, great saints, go all the way in—
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics—
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving—preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door—
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But—more important for me—
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door."
* * * * *
That's as far as I got when writing this on All Saints' Day, but now that I am in Australia, I feel drawn to finish what I was trying to tell you about the poem and my call to ministry.
"I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world—
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is."
While I served the people of the three churches in rural West Virginia in the mid-90s, a growing restlessness nagged. I loved the people there very much -- and still do. But they already knew the Lord.
They had a special knowledge and joy that is missing from people who don't know the love of God in Christ. So many people don't even know what they are missing.
Or they have long ago rejected a relationship with God for what they think are very good reasons. Nevertheless, they often feel there is something missing from their lives and they try to fill the void they perceive.
They may fill it with the busyness of work, work, work.
They may find themselves hooked by addictions to a variety of substances, unhealthy relationships, or other distractions.
They may be "looking for love in all the wrong places" without even knowing that they are really seeking God. The fullness of God's love is available to everyone.
But there are many forces, circumstances, people, and mindsets that keep people from being able to receive the love and blessings God has available for them to receive and to share with others.
How can they find the way unless someone (or many people) who have found it help them?
"And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door."
The saddest thing in the world to me is the way people suffer when they don't know they are loved.
So much suffering comes from not being able to receive God's love and the benefits of God's grace and mercy. Those of us who know have a responsibility to minister in love to those who do not know.
This does not mean that we should be judgmental.
This does not mean that we should behave like we belong to an exclusive club that people have to dress, act, and speak a certain way to be able to join.
This does not mean that we should ever think we are better than those who are struggling with the hardships of life all alone.
"The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door—the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch—the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch."
Please just think about it for a minute. How did you come to know God's love in Jesus Christ?
Do you know it?
Were you raised in church?
Did God find a way to reach you in a youth group?
Were you at the very lowest point in your life and heard an evangelist or a preacher?
Was someone kind to you and invited you to church?
Did you feel that you should seek help?
What was it like when you first came to believe? How did the Lord prove Himself to you?
"People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter—
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it—live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door."
Yes -- people die!
And they are dying without knowing the wonderful love of God in Jesus Christ.
This love can be a feeling inside ourselves.
But it is so much more the result of loving action by people.
The only thing that counts is this love in action.
It is also the only thing that lasts.
This love is not about religion.
This love has to do with a relationship . . . this love has to do with people helping people.
The face of God is everywhere people out of kindness help one another.
"Nothing else matters compared to helping" people find the way to this love. They go in and they find Him -- LOVE. They can only find Him if they have loving help.
"Go in, great saints, go all the way in—
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics—
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood."
It's amazing to hear about the saints of God -- or to read their writings. When people get a chance to experience the holy silence of a retreat at a monastery there can be wonderful revelations.
Think of St. Teresa of Avila. Her passion for God in Christ is a beacon to many people so many years later.
And what about St. Francis of Assisi? Thomas Merton? There are many, many others.
Even in our times recently -- think of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who have joined her in serving people!
Sometimes people seek experiences instead of that special loving relationship lived out in community with others who know they are completely loved.
Sometimes they forget that they are filled up with that love so they can allow the blessings to flow out to others.
Think of John and Charles Wesley. . . their mother Susanna and their Dad, Samuel. Think of the busy lay women and lay men in the churches all around you.
Think of everyone you know who loves people by helping and nurturing each person they know.
There are so many facets to a relationship with God in Christ. When we allow the Lord to draw us deeper into His heart, we can really be blessed.
But what good is that unless we share that love with those who are in need?
"Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door."
No matter how wonderful our deep spiritual experiences are, no matter how glorious the view from the mountain top is, it is so important to turn back to the world. People are in great need.
And their greatest need is for the Lord.
Before Jesus healed people or cast out demons or fed them, He taught them about God.
His disciples reported that Jesus always taught in parables -- a kind of spiritual poetry that pointed out the mysteries of life in the fullness of God's love. Before all of Jesus' deeds of spiritual power, He drew aside to pray.
When his closest disciples, Peter, James and John were privileged to witness one of Jesus' prayer sessions on the Mount of Transfiguration, they were amazed.
And others have known the same kind of spiritual conversation and consultation in prayer.
But so many more don't even know where the door is. So those who are called to do so stand by the door.
"There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside."
It is true that coming closer to God can be scary. People get frightened and need reassurances.
They need someone to hold their hands and say, "It's all right."
They need people to explain how it was when they first encountered the Lord.
They need to be strengthened and reminded that God is with them and will help them in the transition and throughout the rest of their lives.
"The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving—preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door."
It is easy to get overwhelmed when you answer God's knock at your door. Life in the spirit is a different reality and we can become disoriented and long for all that is familiar and comfortable.
Love only exists in community, and we are meant to celebrate and share the love of God in ways that gently spread the nurturing grace of the Lord's mercy and faithfulness.
No matter how many times we turn away, the Lord calls us back.
It is so important to let everyone who is having a hard time know that they are loved, forgiven, sought after and yearned for by the One who loves us all, and everyone on earth, every creature and all of creation.
"I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too."
There are distractions, and it is easy to get "holier than thou" and forget that the purpose of knowing God's love in Christ is to share it.
St. Francis of Assisi wrote -- "Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."
I read that for the first time when I saw it written on the wall in the office of my friend and spiritual big brother, Charlie Parker, when he was the Executive Director of Bread for the City in Washington, D.C. At the time it struck me as strange, but I have come to appreciate it.
Love is not a feeling. Love is commitment, a decision, an activity.
The grace, mercy, faithfulness and fullness of love is expressed only through the ways we reach out and care about people in imitation of our Lord. With the help of Gods Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus we find all sorts of ways to share that love. There are always even more ways.
So keep coming to the well of God's love and grace. And wherever you move in God's house through prayer and meditation, remember that there are those who are still looking for the door.
"Where? Outside the door—
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But—more important for me—
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door."
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Alleluia! Amen.
Blessings in the Love of Jesus -- Kathy
* "A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants" can be found at:
http://www.cokesbury.com/
* * * * *
Sam Shoemaker, founder of Faith At Work at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, in 1926,
was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the 12 Steps of A.A.
*If you wish to read other articles by Sam Shoemaker: *
* "What the Church can Learn from A.A.
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
* "Twelve Steps to Power
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
* "A 'Christian Program'"
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
http://www.faithatwork.com/
___________________
Kathleen Ware Harris, M.Div., M.T.S.
The Peace Fellowship Association
Thanks be to God and may the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours, now and always.
When you seek God you will find Him,
when you seek Him with your whole heart.
[Jeremiah 29:13]
Now this is eternal life:
that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
[John 17:3]
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD:
his going forth is prepared as the morning;
and he shall come unto us as the rain,
as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
[Hosea 6:3]
/s.d.g./
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com
All Saints' Day -- November 1, 2008 . . . and
in Australia on November 18, 2008 . . . and
on October 29, 2009
I saw this again this morning and decided to put it on the blog since the whole of it is so dear to my heart. If you have read it before, please just pass it by unless you feel led to re-visit the heart behind the words.
The earliest form of my call to ministry came when I was six years old, in the 1st and 2nd grade choir at West Pullman Methodist Church on the South Side of Chicago, as I may have told you before. I finally answered my call to ministry at the end of May, 1987. I stood up and announced my intentions at the closing worship service of my Indian River Cursillo weekend in Cocoa, Florida.
The following fall I began my studies at Garrett Evangelical-Theological Seminary near my home town of Chicago, Illinois. My kids and I moved to the seminary campus in Evanston, Illinois from Satellite Beach, Florida. After going off active duty with the Air Force, I had been working as a Security Awareness Instructor for the Base Operations contractor at Kennedy Space Center.
When we got settled in our student apartment in Evanston, one of the first purchases I made at the Cokesbury Book Store on campus was a book called "A Guide to Prayer For Ministers and Other Servants"* by Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuk. Many years later, when I was studying at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., Bishop Job came to reside on our campus for a semester to work on some writing. At that time I was blessed to be able to thank him in person for the ways the Lord had used that one of his many books in my spiritual journey.
One of the resources in the volume was the following poem:
I Stand by the Door*
by Sam Shoemaker
"I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world—
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door—the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch—the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter—
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it—live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door.
Go in, great saints, go all the way in—
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics—
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving—preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door—
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But—more important for me—
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door."
* * * * *
That's as far as I got when writing this on All Saints' Day, but now that I am in Australia, I feel drawn to finish what I was trying to tell you about the poem and my call to ministry.
"I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world—
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is."
While I served the people of the three churches in rural West Virginia in the mid-90s, a growing restlessness nagged. I loved the people there very much -- and still do. But they already knew the Lord.
They had a special knowledge and joy that is missing from people who don't know the love of God in Christ. So many people don't even know what they are missing.
Or they have long ago rejected a relationship with God for what they think are very good reasons. Nevertheless, they often feel there is something missing from their lives and they try to fill the void they perceive.
They may fill it with the busyness of work, work, work.
They may find themselves hooked by addictions to a variety of substances, unhealthy relationships, or other distractions.
They may be "looking for love in all the wrong places" without even knowing that they are really seeking God. The fullness of God's love is available to everyone.
But there are many forces, circumstances, people, and mindsets that keep people from being able to receive the love and blessings God has available for them to receive and to share with others.
How can they find the way unless someone (or many people) who have found it help them?
"And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door."
The saddest thing in the world to me is the way people suffer when they don't know they are loved.
So much suffering comes from not being able to receive God's love and the benefits of God's grace and mercy. Those of us who know have a responsibility to minister in love to those who do not know.
This does not mean that we should be judgmental.
This does not mean that we should behave like we belong to an exclusive club that people have to dress, act, and speak a certain way to be able to join.
This does not mean that we should ever think we are better than those who are struggling with the hardships of life all alone.
"The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door—the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch—the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch."
Please just think about it for a minute. How did you come to know God's love in Jesus Christ?
Do you know it?
Were you raised in church?
Did God find a way to reach you in a youth group?
Were you at the very lowest point in your life and heard an evangelist or a preacher?
Was someone kind to you and invited you to church?
Did you feel that you should seek help?
What was it like when you first came to believe? How did the Lord prove Himself to you?
"People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter—
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it—live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door."
Yes -- people die!
And they are dying without knowing the wonderful love of God in Jesus Christ.
This love can be a feeling inside ourselves.
But it is so much more the result of loving action by people.
The only thing that counts is this love in action.
It is also the only thing that lasts.
This love is not about religion.
This love has to do with a relationship . . . this love has to do with people helping people.
The face of God is everywhere people out of kindness help one another.
"Nothing else matters compared to helping" people find the way to this love. They go in and they find Him -- LOVE. They can only find Him if they have loving help.
"Go in, great saints, go all the way in—
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics—
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood."
It's amazing to hear about the saints of God -- or to read their writings. When people get a chance to experience the holy silence of a retreat at a monastery there can be wonderful revelations.
Think of St. Teresa of Avila. Her passion for God in Christ is a beacon to many people so many years later.
And what about St. Francis of Assisi? Thomas Merton? There are many, many others.
Even in our times recently -- think of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who have joined her in serving people!
Sometimes people seek experiences instead of that special loving relationship lived out in community with others who know they are completely loved.
Sometimes they forget that they are filled up with that love so they can allow the blessings to flow out to others.
Think of John and Charles Wesley. . . their mother Susanna and their Dad, Samuel. Think of the busy lay women and lay men in the churches all around you.
Think of everyone you know who loves people by helping and nurturing each person they know.
There are so many facets to a relationship with God in Christ. When we allow the Lord to draw us deeper into His heart, we can really be blessed.
But what good is that unless we share that love with those who are in need?
"Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door."
No matter how wonderful our deep spiritual experiences are, no matter how glorious the view from the mountain top is, it is so important to turn back to the world. People are in great need.
And their greatest need is for the Lord.
Before Jesus healed people or cast out demons or fed them, He taught them about God.
His disciples reported that Jesus always taught in parables -- a kind of spiritual poetry that pointed out the mysteries of life in the fullness of God's love. Before all of Jesus' deeds of spiritual power, He drew aside to pray.
When his closest disciples, Peter, James and John were privileged to witness one of Jesus' prayer sessions on the Mount of Transfiguration, they were amazed.
And others have known the same kind of spiritual conversation and consultation in prayer.
But so many more don't even know where the door is. So those who are called to do so stand by the door.
"There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside."
It is true that coming closer to God can be scary. People get frightened and need reassurances.
They need someone to hold their hands and say, "It's all right."
They need people to explain how it was when they first encountered the Lord.
They need to be strengthened and reminded that God is with them and will help them in the transition and throughout the rest of their lives.
"The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving—preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door."
It is easy to get overwhelmed when you answer God's knock at your door. Life in the spirit is a different reality and we can become disoriented and long for all that is familiar and comfortable.
Love only exists in community, and we are meant to celebrate and share the love of God in ways that gently spread the nurturing grace of the Lord's mercy and faithfulness.
No matter how many times we turn away, the Lord calls us back.
It is so important to let everyone who is having a hard time know that they are loved, forgiven, sought after and yearned for by the One who loves us all, and everyone on earth, every creature and all of creation.
"I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too."
There are distractions, and it is easy to get "holier than thou" and forget that the purpose of knowing God's love in Christ is to share it.
St. Francis of Assisi wrote -- "Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."
I read that for the first time when I saw it written on the wall in the office of my friend and spiritual big brother, Charlie Parker, when he was the Executive Director of Bread for the City in Washington, D.C. At the time it struck me as strange, but I have come to appreciate it.
Love is not a feeling. Love is commitment, a decision, an activity.
The grace, mercy, faithfulness and fullness of love is expressed only through the ways we reach out and care about people in imitation of our Lord. With the help of Gods Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus we find all sorts of ways to share that love. There are always even more ways.
So keep coming to the well of God's love and grace. And wherever you move in God's house through prayer and meditation, remember that there are those who are still looking for the door.
"Where? Outside the door—
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But—more important for me—
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door."
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Alleluia! Amen.
Blessings in the Love of Jesus -- Kathy
* "A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants" can be found at:
http://www.cokesbury.com/
* * * * *
Sam Shoemaker, founder of Faith At Work at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, in 1926,
was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the 12 Steps of A.A.
*If you wish to read other articles by Sam Shoemaker: *
* "What the Church can Learn from A.A.
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
* "Twelve Steps to Power
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
* "A 'Christian Program'"
<http://www.faithatwork.com/
http://www.faithatwork.com/
___________________
Kathleen Ware Harris, M.Div., M.T.S.
The Peace Fellowship Association
Thanks be to God and may the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours, now and always.
When you seek God you will find Him,
when you seek Him with your whole heart.
[Jeremiah 29:13]
Now this is eternal life:
that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
[John 17:3]
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD:
his going forth is prepared as the morning;
and he shall come unto us as the rain,
as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
[Hosea 6:3]
/s.d.g./
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com
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