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Deuteronomy 28:1-14

If I’m being honest, today’s reading feels like a promotional pitch.  If you heed these commands, your life will be perfect.  Obey the Lord and you will be blessed beyond measure.  The difference between modern day ads for the latest “life changing” products, is that God can and will follow through on his promises.  He doesn’t need a money-back guarantee.

I guess you could say Deuteronomy is one of the earliest marketing campaigns.  God was using Moses to “sell” the people on a life of faith in Him verses wasting their time and energy on false gods.  He wanted them to know the benefits of following him rather than buying into the lies.

So why then does it feel like we’re not always getting what we paid for?  Well, first of all, we didn’t pay for it, He did.  It’s a gift we choose to accept or not.  While God can provide infinite blessings, it doesn’t mean our lives will be nothing but bliss.  Life on earth is hard and struggles are common, but it’s believing in the truth of God’s ability to grant us abundant prosperity, that will sustain us.  Enemies will be defeated.

Life can be cruel and we sometimes become desperate to believe anything that will make the pain go away.  We want a quick fix.  We can either buy into deceptive claims or we can put our faith in the one true God who can transform our pain into prosperity.

My favorite part of today’s reading comes from verse 13, “If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Lord, I want to rise to the top and not be stuck at the bottom.  I know you are the one to fulfill this promise.  To this, I buy in completely.  Take me out of the pit when the time is right and set me on solid ground.  Amen

How Authentic Love Rebuilds Broken Lives

By Thomas Denegre

Unloved, abandoned, and rejected is a cruel way for any human being to start their life.

A mother and her young son moved to Los Angeles for a new beginning.  Losing one job after another, the mother and child moved to smaller apartments until they found themselves living on the streets. Early one morning the little boy woke up from their makeshift tent in the alley and watched the children across the street get onto their school bus. He told his mother, that he too wanted to attend school with the kids.  His mother told him, that if he left, she would not be here upon his return.  Nonetheless, the little boy got onto the school bus and found out that he could not attend the school.  When he returned to the alley his mother was gone.  For weeks he looked for his mother and never found her. He was seven years old. 

Worse stories occur in the streets of Los Angeles, and counter intuitively, teenagers who are traumatized, physically brutalized, and heartbroken find a bitter refuge with the gangs. It is through Fr. Greg Boyle and his ministry called HomeBoy Industries that tells the stories of how thousands of former gang members find hope and restoration through God’s authentic and practical love. 

In this week’s readings of Deuteronomy Chapter 28, Moses explained the blessings when we obey God’s commands and the curses when we disobey them; ignorance is no excuse as God’s commands work in the same way as the law of gravity. Much of the world’s evil is a result of people not acknowledging nor obeying his Word. (Hosea 4:6). Yet, it is not God’s desire for us to live in desolation. God’s mercy is unbelievable. Who else would say, “I love you more than my life,” and die on the cross for us while we were still ungodly wicked sinners?  Since the foundations of the world, it has been God’s desire to reunite us and he does it brilliantly.

Mario is example of God’s transformative love at HomeBoy Industries.  Covered head to toe in tattoos, he has a menacing appearance.  On his eyelids are two tattoos that say, “The End,” to indicate that there is no doubt to his finality when he’s lying in his coffin. Yet, if you went to the HomeBoy café and ask for the kindest and gentlest soul they point to Mario. 

One day Mario was telling his experience of HomeBoy to an audience and described how the actual love of Jesus worked.  As St. Francis once said, “go out and preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.”  The command is simple, people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. Broken people from the streets don’t want to hear religious things, until they know true love and care has found them. 

A person in the audience once asked Mario what wisdom he would impart on his children.  Mario thoughtfully reflected, “I don’t want them to be like me.”  The person in the audience responded, “How could you say that?  You are a kind, caring, and a gentle soul.  You are an excellent model for your children.”  It took a while for Mario to understand his true identity in Christ and how he was transformed by the Holy Spirit. He went from being cursed to being blessed. 

Jesus has instructed us the way to act in his true love and it was not religious; it was authentic from the heart, not the intellect.  In the Book of John, Jesus stated, “If you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire, and it will be done. When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify my Father!” (John 15:7-8 TPT) Jesus makes it clear that he is our source of life, love, and riches.  By opening our hearts to his love and his word, then God’s love will naturally pour through us onto others.  This is the way of preaching the Gospel without words. It’s the way Mario became transformed.

Since broken people feel invisible, they want to be seen. Authentic love can start anywhere anytime with a waitress, store clerk, nurse, patient, student, gang member, or anyone else the Holy Spirit directs you too. It first starts by knowing their name.  There’s nothing more precious than hearing one’s name; especially the one your mom affectionately called you.   “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) 

Because you are in life-union with Jesus and his words live in your heart, then the Holy Spirit will direct your steps to bring the healing waters of Jesus to the brokenhearted. 

Through heart-to-heart love, the brokenhearted will know Jesus sees them just as they are.  Stripped of their destructive worldly labels and false identifications, the broken people become whole beings knowing they are loved unconditionally from our Lord and from the people they work with. Despite all their shortcomings and mistakes, they know Jesus will love them 100%; all the time. By knowing they can trust Jesus, they have the security to step outside of their walls to bless others.  As they open their hearts to the Lord, he will pour His love into them.  They will come to know their worth and value.  (Psalm 139:16-18) By being blessed with love, peace, wholeness, and sweetness from God, they become fully integrated people. As they live in the perfect love of God, no fear or anxiety threatens their lives. In this way, they are able to bless others with the same love, so they become blessed themselves.  By this love, you can understand why Mario is the gentlest kindest soul. You also come to understand that it was always God’s intention to bring the Kingdom of God to everyone so they may live a blessed life.