COME AND SEE

From the depths of my soul, I desire for people to love and to be loved, to experience a sense of purpose from serving others, and to believe that their life matters.  I want people to feel connected, immersed in community, surrounded and sustained through all the setbacks and celebrations of living.  I genuinely desire for them to discover the inner life, and to learn to ease the suffering of greed and the pain of empty strivings.  I want them to discover that love is the better way, that patterns of violence and manipulation can be interrupted, that loneliness can be overcome and suffering relieved, and that there is a depth to life that is sacred and holy and worthy of exploration.

The spiritual life changes us and moves us from agitated to stillness, from anger to peace, from distressed about our own situations to compassionate about the circumstances of others.  I want people to discover life with God.

I want people to flourish, and for people to feel that life is worth living and people are worth loving and God is worth trusting.  I don't try to force anyone into a mold.  I don't want others to make all the choices I've made.  But I want them not to be alone, and to know that God loves them and that the things that matter most -- love, hope, peace, purpose -- are attainable when we open our hearts to God and follow the way we see in Jesus.  In Christ, a well-known road takes us to unknown places of enchantment, mystery, and meaning.

In my own way, always and everywhere for a long as I live, I want to say, "Come and see.  Come and explore grace, kindness, peace, humility, and hope.  See what it's like to make a difference and to let Christ interweave our lives into the fabric of community.  Come and see."

-- Robert Schnase in Five Practices of Fruitful Living


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