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Friends,

“Make yourself at home in my love,” is a strange sentiment from Eugene Peterson's interpretation of the bible. It's strange because I don't know how I would react if someone told me to make myself at home in their love when I came to visit. It could make sense if you said, make yourself at home, in relation to getting comfortable in your home- but in your love? That feels personal- and well, maybe that's the point.

What if love was meant to be that, to be personal, and in that personal love it was to be expressed as if the person we are giving it too is the most important person in our world- because they are? I often hear on visits of not wanting to take up my time any further with whatever we are talking about “because you are such a busy person with so much to do.” To which I often say “don’t worry, you’re the most important thing I have to do today.” which is always, has ways, and will always be true. It will be true because it's about relationship. Through you I get to see the power of God’s love working, and I pray that you can see the same through me. There is nothing greater in my day or life than to spend time watching this truth unfold in relationship with you.

Love is about relationship. Relationship which was shown to us in Jesus Christ through his relationship with God, his Father. A relationship which enabled him to love us, to love us so deeply he went to the cross for us- so that this love will never ever leave us again. A love which continues to ask us to share it with everyone we meet, in everything we do, because of everything God in Jesus is for us.

A love which is expressed as abundance, grace, truth, and community. Community which holds us together when we fall, so that when others fall we can hold them together too. Community that seeks to resemble the tapestry of Gods beauty expressed through the colors of humanity, in our language, sexuality, abilities, and more. Community which dares to live its baptism as an invitation to the whole world.

Come Sunday to see how this story ends! Bring a friend, bring two.

Blessings,

Alex+