Day 61

Today's Lesson:

I am the light of the world.

Today's idea might sound a bit arrogant, if we are thinking with our ego. But this is simply the truth and refers to us as we were created by God. It is actually the opposite of a statement of pride, arrogance, or self-deception. Today's idea has nothing to do with the self-concept we have made or of the characteristics we have placed on our idols.

Many of us have been trained and taught that it is arrogant to think of ourselves as beautiful, powerful, intelligent, or any other positive adjectives, so we certainly could never consider ourselves "the light of the world." To our ego today's lesson is the epitome of self-glorification. But our ego does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement. It is not humility to insist we cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God assigned to us.

Today's idea goes far beyond the ego's petty view of what we are and what our purpose is. In the next few weeks we will be taking even more giant leaps in our thought process and mind training. We are the light of the world. God has built his plan for the salvation of His Son (the world) on us.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I went to visit my cousin and his family last night and, although I've only met his wife and daughters (4th grade and 7th grade) a few times, I've always felt close to them. We had a wonderful dinner last night and even had a conversation about this course and Christianity. It was amazing. Although we see the world a little bit differently, it was a fantastic conversation and gave me more opportunities to talk about what I'm learning here and to ask questions about other viewpoints. It always helps me see even more that my purpose here is not to change anyone else's mind about what they believe, but to invite dialogue in a non-threatening way. The more I engage in dialogue with people, the more grateful I am for this course and everything I'm learning. I hear so much fear in people's conversations and it reminds me how I do not want fear to rule my life. As I choose love at every opportunity, it allows me to love every situation, including those conversations which may have made me feel defensive or wrong in the past.

We talked last night about Christianity and how my cousin's wife believes that God is a jealous God and that we need to believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from the power of hell. I didn't even want to try to change her mind - I'm very much in support of this conversation. I understand that if I am the light of the world, I cannot try to instill fear in other people to get them to believe anything other than what makes them feel powerful and fulfilled and inspired and happy. However, I also realized that whether or not I believe that God is a jealous God or that there is such a concept as hell, it doesn't really matter as long as I believe that everything is part of a divine plan.

As I look outside this morning as the sun is coming up over the mountains, I am reminded of the beauty and grandeur of the earth. I am inspired to live into the statement "I am the light of the world" and not shirk those responsibilities and not try to demean the statement by believing that I know better what God has in mind for me during my lifetime. I will remember today's lesson and leave the details up to my Creator. That's surely a miracle!