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tionship with Jesus. It's
hard work, painful, and in
a certain crude way
"inefficient". And do we
reach an inner peace and
reconciliation as a result.
Along with Augustine, my
experience is an emphatic
"no"! We never "arrive",
we never have it all to-
gether. That is beyond us. In fact, only by God's grace can we
journey on, and keep on. That, too, is very much my experience.
And that's why the second element of "confession" is vital: we
confess to our faith in God's grace, God's goodness, both in our-
selves (which is often very hard to believe) and God's purposes. I
cannot keep from praising and thanking God that this is so.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, by your grace I can call you my Lord.
By your grace, I can pray.
By your grace, I can thank you.
By your grace I can become whole, even though I don't see it, and
feel it now.
Amen.
_______
David Lyman
Parishioner