fill-in editor, Brandon Morgan

Greetings Friends and Happy Winter!

St. Teresa writes in Interior Castle, “The important thing is not to think much, but to love much; do then, whatever most arouses you to love. Perhaps, we do not know what love is: it would not surprise me a great deal to learn this, for love consists, not in the extent of our happiness, but in the firmness of our determination to try and please God in everything, and to endeavor, in all possible ways, not to offend Him, and to pray to Him to ever advance the honor and the glory of His Son and the growth of the Church.”[1]

This issue compels us not necessarily to love according to a particular methodology, but “each one according to their own ability.”2 Just as the ways of God are manifold, so the ways we show love will be different according to our background, gifts, and experience of God in our lives. In this edition, we examine what a love for God and a love for one’s neighbor looks like. With the advancement of the Church, we can take a look at what Paul says when he mentioned many members yet one body. Each member of the body is going to give and receive love differently, and when we’re able to examine what each member of the Body is able to contribute with humility, our “hearts can be enlarged” to receive new perspectives and practices.

Amy’s article “How to Bridge Mental Health and Christianity Together to Make a Difference” represents what it means to demonstrate the love that comes with presence as our loved ones might be experiencing challenges. People’s lives aren’t necessarily always tidy and neat, and if we seek to love others as ourselves, sometimes it requires us to understand that two truths can exist simultaneously.

Jonathan Ho’s reflection upon his own life changes, in his article “Dad Ministry or Church Ministry” elucidates the illusion of the separation of the sacred and the secular. Vocation, regardless of being a priest or a parent, still requires the root motivation of doing all that we do to the glory of God.

Jonathan Faulkner challenges long-standing gender norms within the evangelical church through his article “Fathers, Brothers, Mothers, Sisters: A Better Way Part I”. He encourages all of us to see one another as family in a way that validates the identities of all who walk through the church doors.

My article, “On Prayer,” is a remark on how we receive love from God. Does it have to be at touchpoints throughout the day, or is there a door to continuous communion with the Uncreated? We take a look at some practical steps that allow for us to take a step towards friendship with God.

Finally, we have an article from George Kuo about grieving. It’s an article about how love remains even as his beloved joined the Lord, and the challenges that come with abiding in the Lord even in the midst of such profound loss.

These articles, written with care, place us in the midst of life. They point to a life that is not simply to grow us in righteousness, by the Father’s grace, but to also to walk in ways that are more incarnational, where we can see our lives hidden in Christ. Towards this, help us O God.

Brandon

References

[1] Teresa, of Avila, and E. Allison Peers. Interior Castle. Translated and edited by E. Allison Peers, from the critical ed. of P. Silverio de Santa Teresa. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1961.

[2] Matthew 25:15, New King James Version

Issue 73