The Core Truth of our Existence: Part 1

Beloved & Blessed
 

We read in the book of Genesis that at the beginning of time, our Holy living God breathed His breath over the formless void & darkness of the deep & created light & darkness, water & land & all living things. God then created human beings —you & me— in His image, to have dominion over all creation. The Bible tells us that from the very beginning of creation God dearly loved all the human beings that He created in His image & called them His Beloved children.  Beloved children of God is who we are. Being Beloved children of God is our identity, the core of our existence. It is not merely a lofty thought, an inspiring idea or one name among many. It is the name by which God knows us & the way He relates to us. Beloved of God is our permanent & unshakable identity. Every other identity is illusion.

From the beginning of creation, God blessed us with everything we need to live in full partnership with Him reflecting His image & promised to always be with us through all our days & beyond. In order to be able to fulfill our purpose of living into the image of God, reflecting His very nature & heart, God created you & me, with a body to enable us to be His hands, feet, & voice on earth, a mind to freely enable us to make choices, hold a view, & to make decisions & a spirit to guide us & empower us to spread His light & love outward to all of creation. The body, mind, & spirit that compose all human beings are inter-connected. In many ways, created with a body, mind & spirit humans are similar to the three-legged stool in that when one part is missing, cracked or broken the other two will be affected, out of harmony & unable to maintain balance. All three legs are needed in order for a three-legged stool to maintain its full balance. Similarly, all three component parts of human beings; body, mind, & spirit, need to be in harmony in order to maintain full balance. When all three, the body, mind & spirit are equally balanced & functioning in harmony with one another, human beings are most congruent with whom we were created to be.

To say that we are created in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for our existence, for God is love. It is God’s intent & will for us as His Beloved children, to live into His image reflecting His unconditional love which is manifested in the fruits of the Holy Spirit planted within each one of us. The fruits of the Holy Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, harmony, & self-control. When we are able with God’s help to reflect these spiritual fruits to others, as well as, to extend them to ourselves we will be whole, healthy & congruent with God’s intent for us.

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy