Renovaré Weekly · January 12, 2024

An invitation, not a threat

Invitations

Love

LETTER BY BRIAN MORYKON

“…you have abandoned your first love.”

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

Jesus said these words to churches in the first century. Jesus says them to churches everywhere today. And he says them to each of us.

His correction is an act of love, never to shame or belittle. Jesus is for us, not against.

His knock is an invitation, not a threat nor a guilt trip. Jesus is not codependent.

He calls us to put first things first so that second things may be fruitful.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, for this is the first and greatest commandment.

I want to shout from the rooftops that God doesn’t need us. God wants us, and wants good for us. And this is all the difference in the world. It means we can trust his intentions.

The command to love God first isn’t for God’s ego but for our good. It comes from a heart that desires friendship, not fear-driven groveling.

When we move toward God as our first love, it isn’t to placate an impossible-to-please dictator. It is a movement into the arms of Life and Peace, into the hands of someone who wants better for us than we want for ourselves. Those hands may need to perform surgery on us, and that’ll hurt. But eventually that pain passes. The freedom remains.

So how do we love God with all our soul, mind, and strength? How do we open the heart’s door again and again to be with Jesus? Not by force, but by making room.

We hope the resources this week, including the first new podcast episode of 2024, help you do just that.

This year, may you intentionally find quiet spaces to make room to love God and be loved by God. Whether it’s a three day silent retreat or three minutes in silence on your living room floor — I’m confident Jesus will come in and commune with you wherever you are (Rev. 3:20). Then may you carry that quiet space of communion — what Catherine Doherty calls a poustinia–with you wherever you go.

Brian Morykon
Director of Communications

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LET’S DIVE IN...

CURATED BY GRACE POUCH

1.

We’re looking at the people who’ve shaped our faith in upcoming episodes of Renovaré’s Life with God podcast. Joining the conversation this week is Mimi Dixon talking about Catherine Doherty’s influence on her concept of “first things” and the importance of spaces that nurture intimacy with God.
2.

In Renovaré’s Luminous Lives course, Mimi Dixon shares about spiritual role models — ancient and recent — who have impacted her own life and how they can illuminate our understanding of following Christ today.
3.

Catherine Doherty writes about prayer and sacraments as ways to welcome and know the presence of God in “First Meet God.”
4.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” This image of Christ’s desire to be with us and our role in receiving him comes from Revelation 3. As part one of a three-part series, here are daily reflections on chapters 1 – 7 of Revelation, written by Johannine scholar Paul Anderson.
5.

Richard Foster asks, “What keeps us from enjoying prayer as a love relationship with God?” and gives counsel for developing that relationship in “Five Misconceptions that Hinder Prayer.”
6.
Three upcoming Renovaré experiences offer ways to welcome the presence of God:
- An online group will journey together for six weeks through Renovaré’s course, From the Inside Out, beginning in February.
- We’re doing a second Restorative Writing event with hands-on opportunities to meet God in the practice of writing.
- Registration is open for the Winter/Spring session of the Renovaré Book Club. Join us for books three and four as we practice reading with God in the new year.

Grace Pouch
Content Manager