The Gift of Life: 3 Blessings

Gift

Living with God

As we begin the New Year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what matters most and make a renewed effort in our lives. Knowing and living with God is more about relationship than it is about religion. It’s about living and breathing together with God more than it’s about rituals. It’s about learning how to connect and recharge in a natural way, every day.

The sacred texts of the world all have origin stories that share much in common when we look at the bigger picture. In Genesis the blueprint is not a mandate to join a religion or be governed by a complicated set of rules, but a simple blessing – a gift if you like: be fruitful (grow to maturity); multiply (love and life) and have dominion (stewardship). This gift is not just for some; it’s for everyone. In the next few months at Faith Fusion we will be exploring in detail this amazing universal design for human happiness.3 blessings

We are co-creators of our lives

God is completely generous and gave us the ability to be co-creators of our lives. We get to decide who we want to become and the kind of lifestyle we create. God offers us incredible freedom. Our job is to use it with care. We have the power, if we choose to develop a heart and character that resembles God and design a life filled with love and goodness. In doing so, we discover our true identity as sons and daughters of God.

We Are Multipliers of True Love

happy familyHaving developed a heart of pure and unselfish love, mature men and women have the possibility of creating true and lasting love. As sons and daughters of God, we can form families where God’s love can flourish and multiply through the generations. Such families of true love become the building blocks of a society, nation and world where all people can live in loving relationships: a world without boundaries. A world where each person’s unique talents and individuality can be recognized and celebrated for the amazing contribution they make. A world filled with love, generosity and creativity.

We Are Developers of Goodness and Prosperity

organicfarmThe world is the home God created for us. As sons and daughters of God and co-creators we have the responsibility to care for, preserve and develop the world for the benefit of all using our individual talents and abilities. Without greed or possessiveness we can live in harmony and enjoy the beauty of the natural world. We can unleash our collective genius to solve the world’s problems, caring for the environment and building the world God originally intended for us.

Unpacking Blessing Number One

The first Blessing detailed in the Bible, to be fruitful means to grow to spiritual maturity; to become connected to God. Originally this would have been a natural part of our growth process. All religious texts indicate that some type of separation took place, and so all religions have been striving to be a gateway back to God. Unfortunately sometimes religious doctrines, and conflicts between religions have been blocking the way.

The things that trip us up

I don’t know what your experience has been but we are often lost in the grip of guilt. “I am not good enough for God. I didn’t set the right condition or make the right offering.” We’ve all been there. We end up feeling shallow, confused, fragmented, insecure and ultimately separated from God. I can’t imagine for one minute that is what God desires or wants. If we think we have a love/hate relationship with religion, imagine what God feels!

To remedy our situation we often come up with a list of “to do’s” or “should do’s.” You know the checklist I am talking about. Don’t get me wrong, those spiritual checklists can be helpful if they don’t result in guilt and you’re not hung up on what you are “supposed” to do.

God is looking for a friendship with us

Jesus friendNevertheless, when we read the Bible and consider Jesus’ life we see a certain pattern emerging. He was often seen telling people to come and follow him – his message was “be with me.” He told us, “Come unto me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest….My burden is light….” Mathew 11:28-29. He didn’t go around saying, “What you’re doing is not enough, get down now and give me twenty.”

God is knocking on the door of our hearts. We don’t need to go around feeling like a failure. In love there is no failure – only understanding. God wants to simply be with us…….Jesus entreated his disciples to think of their relationship with him and their father in heaven differently.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ….You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn’t confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” – John 15:12-16

God is looking for friendship with us. Don’t worry about when you last felt like you connected one-on-one with God because in a real friendship it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen each other, you just connect. That is the relationship God is looking for with you.

TP fam“It is commonly true that you don’t see any faults in someone who is the closest to you. Therefore, let us become those who are the closest to God.” –  Sun Myung Moon

Our Heavenly Parent wants us to understand His heart, instead of feeling a barrier because of some concept or complaint we have about Him or Her. Just as Jesus was hoping his disciples could understand his heart, God hopes we can know Him/Her in a more real way. This is the greatest gift that Rev Moon brought us and why many consider him to be a spiritual father. He helped me come to know God’s heart in a deeper way. He shared about a suffering God. About a God who isn’t aloof but needs each and every one of us and can’t be happy without us. He enabled me to become much closer to God.

“Throughout history no one has suffered more than God. He has suffered because his own children fell away from him. Ever since the Fall, God has been working tirelessly for the restoration of mankind. People do not know this brokenhearted aspect of God” – Sun Myung Moon

Receiving God’s gift to be fruitful

Connecting to God isn’t as much about rituals as it is about relationship. It’s not about performance but learning to live in God’s presence. It’s not about “have to” but “want to.” It’s not so much about “receiving” it’s more about “relationship.”

Listening for God

“If we pause to listen, we will discover how often God speaks to us through human and earthly means. He stands at the windows of the easily overlooked and the unlikely, tapping at the pane. He beckons to us to places of encounter where we learn how well he understands the language of our hearts.” – Ken Gire

This week Jasmine Roth is going to share with us some of her experiences as she discovered God in unlikely places during her semester abroad in Vietnam.

Audio of Jasmine’s testimony:  (Video will be posted to YouTube at a later date)

You can also read Jasmine’s series on this blog: Sacred Spaces Abroad

Exploring Sacred Spaces
Cao Dai Heaven
Sacred Space With Vietnamese Friends
Sacred Space All Around Us

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this:
Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On Instagram