Scripture: Colossians 1:20
And through him God was pleased to reconcile to God’s self all things, viagra whether on earth or in heaven, sale by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Thought for the Day: We tend to read passages like this and go for the literal—Jesus died and now everything is okay between God and us. But that really doesn’t get at the deeper meaning of the idea of Jesus’ death as reconciliation. In fact, if you ask 100 theologians (people who study God) the meaning of Jesus’ death, you’ll get 100 different answers. Many don’t even consider Jesus’ death the most important aspect of this idea that we needed to be reconciled with God. Some, like Richard Rohr, believe the annunciation (Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would conceive God in the flesh) is the important point. Others will say the resurrection is the key.

Something they would likely all agree on is that all the stories are metaphor, parables that point to a deeper meaning as we quest for a relationship with God. It’s enough to make your head spin.

All I can say is that the God I have come to know throughout my life-long search (which continues), and the God I see at First Christian Church in Naples, and the God I see comforting those who mourn in Colorado, and protecting innocent people in Syria, and saving a young addict’s life, is a God of unequivocal, unconditional, reconciling love, who, if God were indeed a fleshy human, would gladly die for me, because that is what Love does. Love makes you willing to give your life for someone else. Love allows you to care more for another than you do for yourself. Jesus cared for everyone that way.

Which makes Jesus all the more extraordinary.

Prayer: God of Everlasting Grace, may I continually seek newer and deeper ways to come into relationship with you, so that I may become an extraordinary human, full of love for all my brothers and sisters. Amen.