{"id":3870,"date":"2017-05-20T14:38:26","date_gmt":"2017-05-20T19:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=3870"},"modified":"2017-05-20T14:38:26","modified_gmt":"2017-05-20T19:38:26","slug":"how-big-is-your-circle-of-compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/how-big-is-your-circle-of-compassion\/","title":{"rendered":"How Big Is Your Circle Of Compassion?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

If life is like a jigsaw puzzle, I know for sure I don\u2019t have all the pieces. That\u2019s why other people and their stories are so important. They are what is known in the Hebrew language as malach<\/em>, which means \u201cmessenger\u201d or \u201cone who is sent.\u201d We translate this as angels. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner says that these people rarely know that they are sent or that they even have a message for us.\u00a0 Unsuspecting and unaware, they go about their life doing their work, consumed with their plans and itineraries, unknowing of the fact that they are carrying a divine piece of your puzzle.<\/strong> How many times does it happen that we meet someone, maybe even unexpectedly, and we leave that place and think, Wow, I needed that!
\nPeople have given me a unique and perfectly shaped jigsaw piece that fits the puzzle of my life somehow and helps me get that little bit closer to being complete and whole. They have helped me hear and feel and figure out what it could look like for the Beatitudes to be a compass for my life.
\n

\"\"<\/a>
Watch The Beatitudes Project trailer now!<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAs I sit here with you all on the hill pondering, I\u2019m aware that we don\u2019t have the man himself, Jesus, here in the flesh. We can\u2019t hear for ourselves with our own ears the words coming out of his mouth. We can\u2019t stop him and say, \u201cWhat do you mean the meek inherit the earth? That\u2019s ridiculous!\u201d
\nWhat we have is the sacred text, this inaugural \u201cstate of the universe\u201d address from Jesus. We also have our lives, our conversations, our questions, our experiences, the people and jigsaw pieces from the messengers around us. But it\u2019s all so full of surplus meaning and open for interpretation\u2014I mean, what does it actually mean for us? What does it mean for me?
\nWhat we want is answers. What we want is certainty.
\nJesus doesn\u2019t give us that.
\nWhat he offers us instead and constantly throughout the Beatitudes is presence, and\u2014if we hear the invitation\u2014an opportunity to be present.
\n\u201cBut Jesus, I\u2019m too broken!\u201d You\u2019re blessed. God is with you.
\n\u201cBut I keep really messing up!\u201d You\u2019re blessed. God is on your side.
\n\u201cBut I have no clue what to do!\u201d You\u2019re blessed. God is with you.
\n\u201cBut no one is listening!\u201d You\u2019re blessed. God is on your side.
\nWe are not invited to a life of certainty. We are invited to a life of curiousness with God beside us.
\nThis is our adventure, to explore and find out what this could mean for us, what life could be like as we are compassionate toward ourselves, and as we extend our circle of compassion and mercy to those around us.
\nMaybe for you the initial work is internal. Maybe the Beatitudes are a doorway to shift your focus from what is on the outside to what is on the inside.<\/strong> From what is influencing you externally to what is influencing you internally. Maybe the Beatitudes help us see the difference between trying to change ourselves from the outside in and being changed by God from the inside out.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nThe Beatitudes give us a good framework for that kind of spiritual pursuit, where we empty ourselves of the desire for possessions, the need for pleasure, the obsession with power\u2014and where we allow God to fill us and satisfy us with the things that really matter.
\nA number of theologians have said that the Beatitudes are the pinnacle and summary of all of Jesus\u2019 teaching and what it means to follow him as a disciple. They provide a way or a path to follow that anyone can live at any time, in any circumstance, and in any culture.
\nFor the early followers of Jesus, this was their anthem, their path, and their hope.<\/p>\n
\n

Stu G is the author of Words from the Hill<\/em> and the lead guitarist of Delirious?. Continue reading here<\/a> or watch The Beatitudes Project trailer<\/a> that gives you a sneak peak of the book, film, and album. Get the book here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If life is like a jigsaw puzzle, I know for sure I don\u2019t have all the pieces. That\u2019s why other people and their stories are so important. They are what is known in the Hebrew language as malach, which means … <\/p>\n

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