Devotions from Henri Nouwen’s book, The Inner Voice of Love

 Jesus became flesh for us so we could encounter Him in the flesh and receive His love in the flesh.

But sometimes our shame and our guilt prevent and block His presence in our lives. We may not feel fully at home in our bodies and wish we were good enough, looked more beautiful, or were more pure. Our lives may be filled with fears and we may feel we need permission to be ourselves. But Jesus was totally free before the authorities of His time. He told the people not to be guided by the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus came to free us from our doubts and fears and bonds. He wants to create in us a space where we can be with Him and live in the freedom of His children. We need not be discouraged that we cannot change ourselves but rather enter in to the presence of Jesus as we are and ask Him to give us a fearless heart where He can be with us.   We can’t make ourselves different. But He can give us a new heart, a new spirit, a new mind, and a new body. May we let Him transform us by His love and so enable us to receive His affection in our whole being.