“For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?”
Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:26
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century writer and speaker who inspired Transcendentalism
There’s a tall, rough-barked, green-crowned juniper tree in the park near my house. I visit her regularly as I go through the park on my morning walk. She is an inspiration to me, and a comfort. Looking up at the spread of her sheltering branches I see the beauty and wisdom of a life well lived. Hugging her rough bark, I feel the flowing energy of that life. Looking down I imagine the deep broad-spanning reach of her roots bringing nutrients and water. She reminds me that life is quite simple when we do what we are here on Earth to do—and when we realize we are fully equipped to do it. She reminds me that the one necessary thing is to be ourselves.
We are each here because we are needed. Our particular way of expressing Spirit is a part of the web of life. We come into this world filled with divine meaning and well able to bring that meaning to fruition. That may seem like a difficult truth to comprehend. We look around saying, “Who me?” Maybe we got the message to “make something of yourself.” A more accurate and useful message is, “develop yourself.” Make conscious contact with the Christ within you, your spiritual nature, and grow your ability to live from it. Strengthen your capacity to act from the awareness that you live, move, and have your being in Spirit. That means that you are aware that you are safe, you are loved, and you are companioned by God’s Presence at all times. You will be amazed at the creativity, the joy, and the fulfillment that come.
The paradox we must navigate is this – divine fruit appears in our lives when we take our focus off of trying to make it appear. When we stop trying to “be somebody,” and realize we ARE somebody, we enter into the consciousness of spiritual living. Like the juniper tree, when we center on the inner processes of life, we find we are guided and energized to bring forward the good that is so abundant within us. Your Divine Purpose lives within you. You already express it beautifully. Trust God, trust yourself, and see it fulfilled in even larger ways.
In the Love and Light of the Christ,
Rev. Anna
