I love you
This is a comment I left on JP Manzi’s blog, recycled here for your convenience…
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So true, JP… you don’t need salvation. But, someday you will. You will need salvation from the hell that creeps into our lives through the events that surround us. You will find yourself seemingly all alone, even in the midst of a crowd. You will find yourself thirsty, as you stand in a mighty stream.
There is a God. Maybe not the God that religion pushes on the masses, but a life-source of amazing energy and organization that holds this electro-illusion we call the “universe” together.
If the Jews’ Messianic message is true, then God has revealed himself as love, despite the eons of misconception his creation had held about him. In one mighty act, he proclaimed “I love you”… or more so, “I am in love with you”! That is the message supreme. It’s not what you believe, so give up trying. Just realize that life is all about what God believes… and He believes in you!
He is the source of life, and the center of Life. We are all connected to Him, and through Him, all connected to each other. We are all kin, children of the same Father. He is the origin of Life and He is our seed.
You will never be alone, except in your mind. It is impossible. But our minds are weighed down by lifetimes of cumbersome baggage that pull us here and there, and clouds our thinking about “who we are”. We can so easily be lead to believe that “our baggage” is who we are.
Only by centering our minds on God… the safe God… the loving God… the perfect God… can we begin to shed the baggage that tries to claim us for itself, and re-establish our identity as “one with the Universe (God)”!
The baggage world is full of evil and pain, but God’s world is perfect. Sadly, so many people are more comfortable with their baggage because the “church” (term used loosely) has convinced us that God is distant, unapproachable… even angry at us! They make it easier to choose baggage over God.
Salvation is of the mind, and it cannot come until we understand the nature of God. If God is angry and exclusive, we will always prefer to hide from Him. We build walls of baggage so we don’t have to confront that unpredictable, scarey God. Our minds stay afraid and doubtful, and we remain in our baggage hell. Sad…
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For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that I preach is not man’s gospel.
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Paul)
Bruce,
That was outstanding. I loved what you said in the very first paragraph.
“You will need salvation from the hell that creeps into our lives through the events that surround us. You will find yourself seemingly all alone, even in the midst of a crowd. You will find yourself thirsty, as you stand in a mighty stream.”
I truly believe hell is a place we create for ourselves in our minds and unless we see ourselves the way God does which is perfect then we will be consumed by the world.
Jesus took all of our sins away at the cross. Don’t be confused and consumed by religion. We are capable of being ourselves and simply following our hearts.
We just need saved from the illusion that we are sinners and it is easier then you think. Being slapped on the forehead, baptized in a tub of water, sprinkled with holy water or some olive oil spread across your forehead as if you are a piece of bread seems more difficult and quite frankly that spiritual feeling lasts for all of maybe a day then before you know it your made to feel like a sinner again and you are back to confessing and making promises that you just can’t seem to keep! Whoo, I am holding my breath just thinking about it.
Simply looking at everyone including yourself as a work of art that is handcrafted by God and realizing that he sees you as his perfection will be a high that will never go away. Will you have difficult days? Sure, you will have those days, but God likes how we fit into his perfect creation. He wouldn’t have us any other way and so those days of difficulty only make you stronger. Love never Fails so be true to who YOU are and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be true.
Bruce,
You told my story so perfectly of how the baggage and religion overwelmed me with guilt and shame of an identity was not real. Thanks to the Grace Gathering and people like you I am on my way to healing and finding out who I really am. I hope JP Manzi really gets what you are saying so that he can avoid all the pain that I have experienced.
I now live by what Mindy’s last sentence in her comment:
“Love never Fails so be true to who YOU are and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be true.”
Love,
Nancy H
P.S. Can’t wait to see you and Judy.
Thanks for your kind words, friends. But, I suspect that comment fell on dear ears. It wasn’t written for JP so much, as it was for the benefit of the folks who stop by there to comment. Sometimes it amazes me that we can be so bound up by religious thinking that we can’t see the forest blooming fully before our eyes. We are fixated on the individual trees, and miss the big picture altogether. Sometimes, it’s not even the trees we see, but we focused in on the color of the minute branches of a tiny piece of moss growing on one of the trees. We view God through a microscope, when He deserves a wide-angle lens!
Great peace!