WILLINGNESS IS THE KEY

My morning's blinding flash of the obvious: Receiving unconditional love requires giving over all my hidey holes...not by will, by willingness.

So receiving unconditional love is harder than giving unconditional love...and giving is impossible. I do believe one cannot get unconditional love without giving unconditional love...it's like a hug. See, that's what happens when my reasoning mind takes over...complicates a fairly simple idea.

Back to giving over all my hidey holes...in my reading this morning (about the atonement of the cross, which I've never really thought over much about): "which brings us to a place where we must either become entirely receptive or flee to preserve our craving to be in control ourselves." At "entirely receptive" is where I flashed "to your discovery of all my hidey holes." I knew that meant to all my hidey holes being exposed to God, to myself and to other human beings,

The best I've done with the atonement of the cross is to think of it as unconditional love which I've always maintained only God can do...I may be right.

What if atonement brings me to acceptance of all my hidey holes being exposed...not just to acceptance of all my hidey holes, even those I am unaware of, but of them being exposed? And that's probably a distinction without a difference...that is the nature of acceptance, exposure of my unacceptable to the light of day, of consciousness, of God. Like the old "Love is never having to say you're sorry," acceptance is never having to hide again.

My reading this morning went on to say, "God alone can do what must be done...overcome the separation, demolish the barrier, fill in the lack, annihilate the debt." I know that to be true, and I also know that willingness is the key.

Thank You.