Devotional: Heart of God's Word
Here I am…publishing another book. I’ve been working on this book for a few years. It has been harder for me to write than my poetry books even though I’m not sure I can put into words why that’s true. Writing this book has taken me on a very personal journey through faith and friendship, through failing and rising back up again.
I have struggled not with my actual faith but with how my faith connects me to others and how I am seen by God. As I began this devotional, I had to ask myself what I believed about faith communities…what I believed about church…what I believed about myself. Church for me has been both a source of joy and a source of sorrow throughout my life.
At points in my life, I tried to “measure up” to the expectations of those sitting in the pews with me. Then everything changed for me when I realized I was reading Scripture only through their eyes—through the lens of people whose church narratives were limited by their own personal faith narratives. They were telling the story of God as interpreted solely by what they had experienced and what fit their mores. My life story didn’t match up with what they understood and were comfortable with. Often, I was hearing the voices of people who wanted uniformity rather than diversity…people who wanted to feel comfortable in church and have their own thoughts and wishes validated rather than be challenged by Scripture to love others (all others) or to bring true healing to a hurting world.
That’s when I began to seek out the heart of God’s Word. My faith has always been important to me…I believe that God exists and that God loves us. If I believe God speaks to us through written word, what is God saying? I had to search for what the Bible revealed as the heart of the message—the overall themes, messages, and reminders that run through the entire book.
The Bible has many different roles and is written in many different styles. The Bible gives us glimpses of who God is and tells us a bit about the history of God’s people. It is written by poets and historians and storytellers and theologians and letter writers and doctors and tentmakers and rulers and fishermen.
The Bible is meant to be a beginning…a place to start…words to study. The Bible teaches us about community and how to join together to keep the story going. It teaches us how to grow and how to love. The Bible is an introduction to the wonders of creation and the amazing people that God loves. The words remind us that we all get some things wrong in life. We mess up, but who we are is not wrong. We are God’s beloved…we are loved. That is clear throughout the Bible. God loves me. God loves you.
God created a colorful and diverse world. God created people with different gifts and talents. God draws us together in community so we can bring love, healing, and hope to this world. That’s the heart of the word.
Yes, there are six “clobber” verses that people will pull out to try to deny the beauty of the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, in the past (and unfortunately still today in some areas), white Christians pulled out verses to justify both slavery and segregation. Yes, some people justify their desire to control other people or silence their wives or keep women out of the church by quoting only select verses while ignoring others. (I do not deny those verses they use are in the Bible. I just read those verses as part of the whole book that has a heart to the message that they overlook.) When they pick and choose what to declare as “literal” and what verses to use to justify their actions, they are taking verses out of the whole…away from the heart of the word. We don’t do that with any other books we read. People fight in Romeo and Juliet, but we call it a love story instead of a guide to sword fighting. The characters travel in Frankenstein, but we don’t call the book a travel guide. If you take sections away from the whole, you miss the overall message…the heart of the word.
You can read other books that talk about the “clobber” verses and how they are misinterpreted. Several authors do a great job analyzing that topic. I’m sticking to the messages that are clear throughout every book of the Bible…the concepts we are introduced to that turn the world upside down…the “radical” beliefs that bring love and hope and healing to all of us seeking. I am sharing verses in this book that I think reflect the heart of the Bible—the truth of Jesus—the intent of God. I started this reflection while earning my Master of Divinity degree at Emory University. It has taken me 28 years to put these reflections into a devotional book. It took a lot of prayer, a lot of in-depth studying, and a lot of courage to walk away from a church and from people that never wanted me to see this truth.
I am a Christian. I will not deny that others who use that name have caused great harm. For that I am truly sorry. But I am also an ally. I am a Mama Bear. I am part of your community. I give Free Mom Hugs. I love you. I am not trying to change your beliefs or convert you to a specific religion or denomination with this book. I am not judging you for any of your beliefs. I just want you to know that God wrote you a love letter that some people are trying to steal away from you.
God loves you. God walks with us at Pride parades and at Black Lives Matter marches and women’s rights marches. God weeps over the hurt people cause others. The heart of God’s word is clear. God is love. God is hope. God is healing. Jesus showed us how to live by walking with all of the people that the society of Jesus’s time tried to silence and judge. Jesus said we were loved. We also have the beauty of the Holy Spirit to help us build up each other and grow into the people we were created to be.
This devotional is for anyone who needs to discover or rediscover the heart of the word of God…the beauty of the message…the love flowing through the words…the hope and healing offered for all. In this book, I combine a theological reflection on the verses selected along with fictional stories or poetry to deepen our interaction with the Bible. I also end the book with a historical and theological view of the people (including Jesus) who were voices for change. I hope this devotional opens doors to new conversations about our faith and how we live out the words we read when we study the heart of God’s word.
I have struggled not with my actual faith but with how my faith connects me to others and how I am seen by God. As I began this devotional, I had to ask myself what I believed about faith communities…what I believed about church…what I believed about myself. Church for me has been both a source of joy and a source of sorrow throughout my life.
At points in my life, I tried to “measure up” to the expectations of those sitting in the pews with me. Then everything changed for me when I realized I was reading Scripture only through their eyes—through the lens of people whose church narratives were limited by their own personal faith narratives. They were telling the story of God as interpreted solely by what they had experienced and what fit their mores. My life story didn’t match up with what they understood and were comfortable with. Often, I was hearing the voices of people who wanted uniformity rather than diversity…people who wanted to feel comfortable in church and have their own thoughts and wishes validated rather than be challenged by Scripture to love others (all others) or to bring true healing to a hurting world.
That’s when I began to seek out the heart of God’s Word. My faith has always been important to me…I believe that God exists and that God loves us. If I believe God speaks to us through written word, what is God saying? I had to search for what the Bible revealed as the heart of the message—the overall themes, messages, and reminders that run through the entire book.
The Bible has many different roles and is written in many different styles. The Bible gives us glimpses of who God is and tells us a bit about the history of God’s people. It is written by poets and historians and storytellers and theologians and letter writers and doctors and tentmakers and rulers and fishermen.
The Bible is meant to be a beginning…a place to start…words to study. The Bible teaches us about community and how to join together to keep the story going. It teaches us how to grow and how to love. The Bible is an introduction to the wonders of creation and the amazing people that God loves. The words remind us that we all get some things wrong in life. We mess up, but who we are is not wrong. We are God’s beloved…we are loved. That is clear throughout the Bible. God loves me. God loves you.
God created a colorful and diverse world. God created people with different gifts and talents. God draws us together in community so we can bring love, healing, and hope to this world. That’s the heart of the word.
Yes, there are six “clobber” verses that people will pull out to try to deny the beauty of the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, in the past (and unfortunately still today in some areas), white Christians pulled out verses to justify both slavery and segregation. Yes, some people justify their desire to control other people or silence their wives or keep women out of the church by quoting only select verses while ignoring others. (I do not deny those verses they use are in the Bible. I just read those verses as part of the whole book that has a heart to the message that they overlook.) When they pick and choose what to declare as “literal” and what verses to use to justify their actions, they are taking verses out of the whole…away from the heart of the word. We don’t do that with any other books we read. People fight in Romeo and Juliet, but we call it a love story instead of a guide to sword fighting. The characters travel in Frankenstein, but we don’t call the book a travel guide. If you take sections away from the whole, you miss the overall message…the heart of the word.
You can read other books that talk about the “clobber” verses and how they are misinterpreted. Several authors do a great job analyzing that topic. I’m sticking to the messages that are clear throughout every book of the Bible…the concepts we are introduced to that turn the world upside down…the “radical” beliefs that bring love and hope and healing to all of us seeking. I am sharing verses in this book that I think reflect the heart of the Bible—the truth of Jesus—the intent of God. I started this reflection while earning my Master of Divinity degree at Emory University. It has taken me 28 years to put these reflections into a devotional book. It took a lot of prayer, a lot of in-depth studying, and a lot of courage to walk away from a church and from people that never wanted me to see this truth.
I am a Christian. I will not deny that others who use that name have caused great harm. For that I am truly sorry. But I am also an ally. I am a Mama Bear. I am part of your community. I give Free Mom Hugs. I love you. I am not trying to change your beliefs or convert you to a specific religion or denomination with this book. I am not judging you for any of your beliefs. I just want you to know that God wrote you a love letter that some people are trying to steal away from you.
God loves you. God walks with us at Pride parades and at Black Lives Matter marches and women’s rights marches. God weeps over the hurt people cause others. The heart of God’s word is clear. God is love. God is hope. God is healing. Jesus showed us how to live by walking with all of the people that the society of Jesus’s time tried to silence and judge. Jesus said we were loved. We also have the beauty of the Holy Spirit to help us build up each other and grow into the people we were created to be.
This devotional is for anyone who needs to discover or rediscover the heart of the word of God…the beauty of the message…the love flowing through the words…the hope and healing offered for all. In this book, I combine a theological reflection on the verses selected along with fictional stories or poetry to deepen our interaction with the Bible. I also end the book with a historical and theological view of the people (including Jesus) who were voices for change. I hope this devotional opens doors to new conversations about our faith and how we live out the words we read when we study the heart of God’s word.
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