“There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.” – Thomas Merton

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As part of the following reflection, listen to my song “The Way You Are” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

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Matthew 9:5-7

Jesus said, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He rose and went home.

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For Jesus, the most important thing that he could do for the paralyzed man was to convince him that he was unconditionally loved by God.

We all tend to carry a lot of shame and guilt around with us over past mistakes.

Those mistakes, no matter how egregious they were, do not change the eternal truth that each of us is infinitely loved by God.

This is hard for us to get into our heads because many if not most of us do treat love as a quid pro quo deal.

We are conditioned to believe we must earn God’s love.

For Jesus, this unacceptable.

Just look at the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), or the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), and you’ll understand that Jesus wanted us to see the face of a loving and forgiving God.

That doesn’t mean our so-called “sins” don’t have consequences as they surely do.

Just look at the consequences that the prodigal son and the woman caught in adultery inflicted upon themselves through their actions.

Hurting others through choosing your own egocentric and selfish desires will disorient you in the delusion that you are separate from God, the Sacred Unity of all things.

In this delusion, your true self will be in anguish.

That is because you would be estranged from your soul’s purpose: to live in the creative uniqueness that only you can do.

Each of us has a part in the unfolding, evolutionary creative plan.

So, the most important thing for the paralyzed man was that he realized his belovedness in God.

Once he was fully conscious of his unimpeded connection with the Loving Source of all, his physical healing manifested through Jesus’ healing presence.

Do you realize your belovedness in God?

Live in conscious union with the Love that created you!

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Listen to the song of the day “The Way You Are” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book, “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!