My most central faith conviction is that God is love. Super simple, yes, but also profound in its meaning and implications. This idea is seen all over Scripture, included in the most widely-quoted verses and even, sometimes, abused to implicate superiority. But thinking about what God, a spiritual Creator, can do because She is love, is radical. Our powerful God loved us, so God joined us as a human in our unique experience. God loved us, and created us uniquely and beautifully in the image of the Divine. God loved us, and commanded that we do just that for each other. How then can we do anything but love in our faith lives?
During Lent, we often call ourselves to name the parts of our own human experience that limit us from being the fullest, most self-loved human we possibly can be. Sometimes these limits need removal from our life (caffeine, chocolate, etc.) or they need to be added (daily time for prayer, meditation, etc…). This Lenten season, I strive to add more of that which reconciles love in the world. And LGBTQ+ advocacy and allyship allows me to advocate for and openly support love in the world. This is love between humans and self-love of whom God so beautifully created people to be.
So what better way for me to spread the word of God as a future pastor than to center it in love?
Carolyn Staats
Luther Seminary, M.Div. Candidate ’19
As ReconcilingWorks continues to live our journey of love, welcome, inclusion, and celebration, we would love to know how you are living your Lenten journey. Send us an email to info@reconcilingworks.org and share your journey with us.
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Partner with us as we work for the welcome, inclusion, and celebration of LGBTQ people in the Lutheran church. Make a donation or become a member today!
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