Children

"They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Luke 20:36

As I have been packing, I have come across some remarkable images of my family, including pictures of my children that I hadn't seen in years. These capture one brief moment in their lives, and hold, in that small image, the possibility and potential of who they have become. All three are grown now and still display the characteristics and personality traits that we saw in them from day one. And the possibilities and capacities that we only once glimpsed, are now reality. They each care for others in the most loving and stupendous ways. All three can create such laughter and joy, and compassion shines through each of them, in their own unique way. They have become the fierce warrior women I knew early on - they are warriors for love and creative expression.

Testing Jesus, the religious leaders try to trap him in a marriage question and who belongs to whom. But Jesus knows who they belong to - they belong to God and are children of the resurrection. Their fate is sealed, wrapped in the loving arms of God, protected for all time from the damages of insult, hurt and abuse. The religious leaders want to get it right and Jesus offers them the way to know God - though loving others.

I want to make loving others a priority today. As the boxes mount up and the day looms near, it is too easy to worry about getting things right. Instead I want to get to know God more today by loving the people around me. Some don't make it easy. And tasks, when completed, present at least a sense of accomplishment. So today, I want the right tasks to be secondary and the right relationships to be primary. May we all see God today as we look at one another. And may we be known to God as we love beyond ourselves.