Shelter in the shade

Tuesday June 20th, Ezekiel 17: Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. Part of the being fruitful thing is to open yourself up to those around you. Throughout the scriptures we have stories as in Luke 15 where there is rejoicing when the lost is found, or the good Samaritan story to describe who your neighbor is, or the kingdom of God is like stories which tell of every expanding, ever including images. We tend to want to make Christianity smaller and exclusive, open to only the righteous. Jesus had the same trouble with the church in his day. The human tendency is to become self-righteous and exclusive, like the Pharisees or Sadducees in Jesus’ day. Jesus responded by going to the cross for all.