My help comes from the Lord ... The Lord is your keeper ... The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. -Psalm 121
“You must be born from above... For God so loved the world...” -John 3:1-17
Oftentimes we believe that we must “deserve” the love we receive. We work, work, work to get approval and to feel like our life is justified - pulling our own weight, thinking that whatever life we create and love we get is only what we ourselves can conjure up. But the scriptures today offer the image of God as our “keeper” - always helping, always present. Nicodemus has followed all the rules and done everything HE can do, and yet he is still looking for love - for a tangible connection with God. Jesus says that he must be born “of the Spirit.” It’s not all up to simply “doing the right thing!” It is about allowing the Spirit to help birth love in our lives.