(Unsplash/ench)
by John Dear
On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," I share the second part of my reflections on my new book, Universal Love: Surrendering to the God of Peace. I explore the connection between surrendering our will to the God of universal love and living nonviolence in our daily lives. Then, I try to unpack the shocking political implications of universal love, peace and nonviolence — if we surrender our lives and our wills to God.
I've long wondered what the teachings of the spiritual classics of abandonment to God mean in this time of permanent war, extreme poverty, white supremacy, fascism, and the real threat of nuclear war and catastrophic climate change. In light of the nonviolent Jesus, I think if we surrender ourselves to God and do God's will, we'll have to step out of ourselves into the world and take nonviolent direct action through selfless service, nonviolent resistance to injustice, and public work for the coming of God's reign of peace.
No matter how much we love God and want to follow Jesus, we're all still trying to control God to some extent in order to do our own will, and that's the problem. In my new book, I invite us to let go of control, let God run our lives, surrender to God's will of universal love, and enjoy the ride with all its glorious social, economic and political implications, come what may.
If we are truly surrendered to God, then God will use us to help disarm the world. That's the journey.
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