God, who is love itself, creates a universe that is good from the start (because God is good). Over time, people develop in the image and likeness of God and take their place in this ongoing project of God. Equipped with intelligence and free will, we humans are invited to be friends of God and to consciously work with God in the development of our world. If we accept this invitation, we will join God in creating circles of good; we will be the source of actions that flow from love and affect other people and the rest of creation. God wants the well-made world to develop as good, and we contribute to what God wants when we act in God’s images. We help God create cycles of good.
The development that God intends is a world in which people live in friendship and harmony with God, with other people and with all of creation. I have come to the conclusion that Jesus meant this harmonious universe by the “Kingdom of God”.
—Excerpt from God’s Great Story and You by William A. Barry, SJ
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