Rose, Lamp, Tree
So I have been leading a small group since May and I have been loving it with all of my heart! Each person who comes has a special place in my heart. We are learning about how to not be “Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes” and instead finding our identity as Abba’s sons and daughters. The book we are reading has been challenging, but then I read this chapter on what it looks like being a true follower of Abba’s oldest Son Jesus.
One of his points had to do with indiscriminate compassion being what Jesus was all about:
“Take a good look at a rose. It is possible for the rose to say, ‘I’ll offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people?’ Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could do that only by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature – even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is first quality of compassion – its indiscriminate character” – Anthony DeMello, The Way of Love, p. 77 as cited in Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes, Brennan Manning, p. 87.
I wanna be a rose, lamp, tree.