H,
The thing to do with the
self is to give it to God. This has been said and said over again but the truth
has to be singular and consistent. Things repeated often have the tendency to
be annoyingly true.
In this case, it is the
details that add shape to the whole machine. How do we give ourselves to God? I
think they are three levels to it.
The first is on the outside,
where we accept monotheism and the promise of a benevolent being. We can be
great admirers of this idea and believe that it has some emotional punch. We can
wonder at the miracle of nature or the nature of all miracles. Yet we are still
on the outside and our day to day living is much the same as before we came to
this epiphany about a certain creator.
The second level is on the
inside lane, where we have a great need to solve a spiritual and/or material
problem (a spiritual problem often has a material manifestation). We are no
longer observers but characters in the play about a miracle. We receive this
great help and it forms the shape of our future life. We become miracles and
miracle junkies, always looking for the next “wave” of the spirit and the next
thing God will do. This does not mean prosperity only. This could even have
themes like Holiness, Celibacy, Social Activism or ideas about the Purpose and
Plan of God for the Church and the individuals within it. The main focus is
however on the “product” of drawing nearer to source that the bounties of
dwelling in the source itself. There is a difference. The former is always
about doing and the latter is always about being.
The third level begins in
discipleship. When Christ called the twelve He called them out the normal
routine of living so that they might live in the glory. This is not an
exclusive club. It is the start of the conspiracy of grace to touch every human
heart and mind and body throughout all time. The new holy of holies is in the
human soul because we are now the temples of God. Every man and woman is called
to choose the deeper life of living on a prayer and that prayer is: to be ever
in His presence. Pray without ceasing means stay connected all day. Give up
your wealth and follow me means nothing material should rule over the pursuit
of a spiritual life. We are waking up to who we will forever be.
Like God.
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