|
"Greatness
lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength."
... Henry Ward Beecher
Emerson wrote that God Is Love and Love is
God ... and this rings true within each of us for it is the Truth.
And in Religious Science we go a step further and declare that the
In-dwelling Presence of God within us is Love as well. Love is
what I Am ... and all that I Am is God. In this higher
understanding of Truth we become more aware of what it means to be made
in the "image and likeness of God" ... and we can understand
more fully the statement from the Master Mind Jesus, "when you see
me, you see the Father" ... for when we see anyone we see Love.
Perhaps not the perfect expression of Love right away but as we shift
our thought about anyone ... Love is what we will see.
I love the month of February because I equate it with
Love. I realize that Valentine's Day is just one day in the month
... but we can expand on this one day very easily if we make the choice
to do so. And so I have and the entire month becomes an almost
daily contemplation of Love for me. And in doing so it makes a
difference to me for the rest of the year.
I have never been someone who uses the word Love to
any great degree, for I have found that when we have Love in our heart,
it is not necessary to speak the word. As Emerson stated,
"what you are speaks so loudly I can't hear a word you are
saying." In other words, whatever our consciousness is filled
with ... is who we are and who we are speaks for Itself. And I
have found in my life that those who use the word Love profusely often
are the ones who are the most desperately in need of it. But, Love
doesn't come to us ... Love is within us. The only Love we will
ever experience is the Love within us reflecting back to us. This
reflecting back may come in a variety of forms. However, unless we
have the correspondent to Love in our hearts, minds and souls ... it
cannot reflect back to us genuinely.
In my work, I encounter lots
of people who are going through the experience of seemingly failed
marriages and relationships. But no marriage or relationship is
ever a failure ... for there is no failure in God and therefore there is
no failure in you or me. Everything that "appears" to be
a failure is just another movement in our consciousness to strengthen
the Love that is within us. For if the Love within us is not
strong ... there is no great energy to reflect it back to us genuinely.
Our current culture has developed a concept of love
that is very different than the Love that is revealed in the Bible and
other great mystical literature. So much of what we see as Love is
truly just emotion ... and not always healthy emotions at that.
There is a great strength in genuine Love for it emanates from Spirit,
which is God. There are two great examples of Love in the
Bible that will illustrate my point. In the Book of 1st Kings we
learn that Solomon was so obsessed with women that he turned from God
and lost all his power and strength. In the Book of Ruth, we find
that Ruth had such a powerful Love within her that when she slept at the
feet of Boaz, he fell in love with her and knew that she loved him
without even a single word being said. Both of these are examples
of consciousness at different degrees of Love. Ruth's
consciousness of Love embodied strength; confidence and self-assurance.
Solomon's consciousness of Love was filled with emotion and sensuality
and there was no real strength to it. How do we know this?
It is because Love must be aligned with God to be "of God."
Ruth remained faithful to God while Solomon turned from God and gave his
love to the physical world instead.
Love characterized by Ruth,
always remains in integrity to Principle ... always recognizing that the
power of Love is strengthened by our Oneness with God.
Love that does not recognize God as its Source is
emotional and lacks integrity. This type of love is easily
manipulated and is in truth, most often self-centered and ego manifested
... always looking for validation outside of itself. When we are
centered in Love, we find it in our experiences without looking for it
... and we can always love like we mean it.
And
So It Is!
Letting
Love Use Me In Its Own Good Way,
Rev.
Bates
|
