Welcome to session 12
AIM: To see beyond our differences and be able to feel our similarities. To know and experience the Oneness of our Soul.
ACTION: Listen, observe the world around with out engaging with it. Only as an observer. Feel the Oneness by taking responsibility over all. Know that everything is alright just the way it is... Breath and Love.
Special Thanks to: Tom Gilbert for his invaluable gift.
Love & Tolerance
LoveAlways
xXx
Love: it’s a powerful force. Some would say the most powerful force in the universe.
The Bible says God is love. Some would say God is the most powerful force in the universe. The Almighty Being is indeed all powerful, all loving and completely all amazing.
I don’t say this simply because you or others believe it. I don’t say it to be fashionable—or unfashionable. I don’t say it just because scripture does. I will admit to all of the above being an influence.
I believe God and love are one and all powerful because my own experiences tell me so. My heart cries out for completion and that doesn’t come from people, places or things.
“I Want to be Alone!”
No one truly wants to be alone, especially those who tell you so. We all want connection. Completion. To be one just as Jesus and the Father are one.
How do we do that? In a word: love. In another word: tolerance. That other word gets kicked around a bit. True tolerance is not approval of immorality, evil or wrong. True tolerance respects one of God’s greatest gifts to us all: free will.
How are you doing in the tolerance department? Tolerance for those closest to you may be the hardest. Loving your spouse, your parents, your children and your friends requires giving them the space and permission to make their own choices. Yes, there will be some poor choices. No one seems to be immune. You don’t have to love the choices…or the behavior. But, you can love them with respect and no conditions.
Out of the Box
Free will is the ultimate “Pandora’s Box”. Once it’s given you can’t take it away. Not if you love. God knew that if we didn’t have free will to choose to love Him then our love would be meaningless.
Knowing that we must be quick to forgive and very slow to judge. If we are to judge, perhaps we should judge only ourselves. The lesson with the woman caught in adultery (John 8) was that you can uphold the law if you are perfect in doing that yourself. This doesn’t mean there should be no laws and consequences for violating them. Societal anarchy isn’t the answer. The key is to judge the condition of our heart. Is there love there even in upholding the law?
So, is free will the greatest gift?
I would say no. The greatest gift should be the greatest act of love.
The Greatest Act
What’s the greatest act of love ever?
The greatest act of love is the unconditional free gift of redemption and forgiveness. We are loved in spite of our choices resulting from free will.
Of course, a gift must be received to be complete. If the package is not accepted, opened and gratefully acknowledged then it has no meaning for the recipient. If we refuse this gift it might as well go to someone else. However, God is much more magnanimous. If we change our mind—truly repent—we still get the gift!
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Put that right next to “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25) and you have a powerful gift. It’s hard to fathom this. It’s paradoxical.
Pretzel Logic
Truth is often paradoxical. Somehow seemingly conflicting things exist together in truth. Freedom of choice and allowing evil. Suffer to grow. Surrender to win. Love and tolerance.
God often gets the bad rap for the evil that happens in our world. We fail to see that the evil results from our choosing not to love and obey God. God doesn’t make the bad things happen. We do!
Yet, the Father tolerates and loves us. It can be no other way. God cannot contradict His nature.
If we want to be one with God there is a way. Jesus shows us. Love Jesus and you love God. It’s easier to love God in human form, at least I think so. It’s more personal, more tangible, and more relatable. So where is Jesus? He told us he is in us and among us. “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20). He’s in the best of us…and the least.
Love and tolerance of others must be our code.
Everyday I get the choice. Everyday I get the test. You are all around me. I’m going to have the choice and the opportunity to give you a drink, feed you, welcome you into my home, clothe you…love you. That’s impossible for me to do on my own, with my self-centeredness, my fears and my limited human power. The only way I can do this is with the most powerful force in the universe dwelling in me and demonstrating its existence through love…and tolerance.
Remember to enjoy the process
COMMIT - SMILE - LISTEN
WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER, GUARANTEED!
FOLLOW US
See you next session ☝
SatNam
xXx
No comments:
Post a Comment