"Liberating Love," by Sandhya Rani Jha

Good news!

Our dear colleague and collaborator, Rev. Sandhya Rani Jha (over at Without Fear Consulting), part of the writing team for SALT’s “Anatomy of a Christian: A Zine on Privilege and Solidarity” — has a new book out!

It’s called “Liberating Love: 365 Love Notes from God,” and it’s an engaging, personal-and-communal devotional for everyone interested in the reign of God “on earth as it is in heaven.”

After receiving another devotional from a friend, Sandhya says, she got to thinking: “I wish there were a devotional like this for the rest of us... a devotional that connects us not just individually to Jesus but to each other, reminding us that every one of us was made in the image of God. A devotional that takes the scripture seriously enough not to engage it literally, but also takes the scripture seriously enough to actually take it seriously.”

It’s a daily devotional, with bite-sized, thought-provoking scriptural passages and “love notes from God” for each day — just enough to lift your spirits and start your day off right.

Here’s a taste:

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Song of Solomon 1:5

I am black and beautiful,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.

I find so much joy in the diverse and glorious perfection of my creation, made in my image, all genders and shapes and shades and cultures. Some of my children, seeking power, perpetuate the lie that light skin is more beautiful than dark. I am so glad that my beloved child who wrote Song of Songs knew to celebrate the beauty of Blackness. I am so glad this truth has stood for millennia in the face of power-seeking people’s lies. I created you in my image. And my image is vast.

Today, offer up a prayer of gratitude for the diverse gifts and beauty in you and the rest of my children who together represent my vastness.

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2 Timothy 1:6-7

For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Whenever one of my beloved children transitions into another form of ministry in service to me, I love the way their faith family gathers around them and places hands on their head and shoulders and back, as a sign of their sending the power of my love and light to that person to strengthen them for the task ahead. Today I invite you to think about the calling I have called you to, and I invite you to pause and feel my hand resting on your head, my power and my love coursing through you to strengthen you for the task. If there is someone in your life who needs a blessing, lay a hand on their head today and pray my love and power flow over them also. You deserve that strength. And when you have it in you, let it pour forth to others. That is how the power of my love keeps moving in the world.

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Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

My children who lived in fear in the early church because of the evils of the Roman Empire got to this part of the book of Revelation and received this promise as a blessing. It said that one day they would know abundance and comfort because of their faith during scary times. Who are the people who are thirsty in your midst today? What water of life might you offer? What do you thirst for today? How might I offer the water of life in such a way that your thirst is quenched. Lift up that prayer to me today that I might bless you as you bless others.

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For more, check out “Liberating Love: 365 Love Notes from God” over at Chalice Press here. And check out this interview Sandhya gave about the devotional.

You’ll be glad you did!

Peace,
The SALT Team