We are the Church of Interfaith Christians. A new denomination. We are to be a light to people of all faiths. We are to be enlightened ourselves. We live in a world of oil spills, greed, war, strife and suffering. Why in this enlightened age are these things still going on?
One of the underlying reasons for all the suffering going on in the world today is because a large portion of our population is in what I would call “identity crisis.” They have forgotten who they really are. They cannot see their connection with God. They have lost touch with the non-physical, spiritual part of themselves that connects them to God.
A common teaching of Christ which is found in most faiths is that God is within us and because of that we have the unlimited potential to be fully conscious of the Spirit of God and be able to experience His unlimited love, wisdom and power. We are all children of God with a unique spiritual aspect of awareness. We are ‘spiritual’ beings temporarily sharing in a ‘physical’ experience together.
I plan to give a series of messages on Christ’s true teachings concerning the ‘meaning and purpose of life.’ You will find these teachings shared by all the traditional world religions. What is important is that you accept what rings true in ‘your’ heart. Think on the subjects I present and apply what you feel and know in your heart is right. This will affect different folks in different ways. Yet in the hearing and in the contemplating, we will all grow in the divine love, wisdom and power of God. If any of what I say doesn’t ring true to you or you don’t understand it, don’t fight it; don’t fear it; don’t strive to prove it wrong. Simply ‘lay it down’: leave it where it is peacefully.
It never ceases to amaze me but I sense that ‘religion’ sometimes tries to make things too difficult, too complicated and most definitely as Dr. Steadman used to say, ‘convoluted.’ Actually it is only ‘natural’ that God would give us simple but universal principles for living life, which if followed, would lead to peace, happiness, good health and the fulfillment of our dreams. It is also evident that these simple principles for living would commonly be found within the sacred texts of the world’s major religions.
What holds these principles or ‘truths’ of life together? Thinking of that big tapestry of life and think of one strong element that goes throughout it. One strong ‘warp’ thread keeping it all together. That thread is ‘love’: God’s love for us and our love for each other. Love weaves all life’s tapestry together. We should embrace these truths and enjoy the eternal, spiritual benefits from them.
I studied comparative religion my second time around in college (or of you count a trade school for IBM, my third time around.) For someone who was raised a strong Baptist and then spent a great deal of her life, some 35 years, in an extremely fundamental Christian church, comparative religion was a very eye opening time in my life. The lessons I was learning only covered seven or eight traditional religions of the world but I am sure if we look closer we will find the same truths in many faiths today. You may want to take these subjects and search them out on your own and see what your own background faiths have to say. I use the term ‘background’ faiths because we are all coming from different physical backgrounds and different faiths that have been taught to us that have shaped who and what we are. Now we are uncovering truths and uniting in a new ‘faith’. One that connects us back to our source, back to our creator God.
After coming from the strong fundamental church background I told you about and then majoring in Comparative Religion which speaks of all the religions of the world, I found myself becoming more and more a Gnostic seeking God’s wisdom not only in the Bible but also in all the sacred works I could get my hands on. I have a pretty decent library to draw from as I work on this series of messages.
The first subject in the series I want to talk about is the ‘meaning and purpose of life.’ Let’s think for a moment what basic principles can we think of that would apply to the meaning of life? I can think of three immediately.
1. I for one cannot imagine life without my spiritual connection with God that can only be possible through the non-physical or spiritual side of myself. How about you? How do you think and feel about God, about the ‘source’ within you? God is the umbrella or blanket that covers everything in my life, protects it and enables it to blend together in harmony.
2. I cannot contemplate a life without ‘love’. It is love that helps us endure; helps us to have faith; and it is love that creates joy in our lives. As I have said God loves us with a strong and unconditional love. If there is ever any problem between ourselves and God, it will always be a wall we build on our side. Let us get rid of the walls and then the love of God will reach us and our love can reach back. Then will we know true love and joy.
3. Something else I have come to know, “I am the one responsible for my life.” No one else is. No one else can be. I can no longer waste my life making excuses. So I now take responsibility for everything that happens in my life. I know how to reach source, to reach God. There is no excuse for me not too. This is how I get on with the journey I am taking in my physical life here.
I call these three the fundamental principles for a ‘good life’ with God. Life cannot exist without God. Life is ultimately about love. It’s about God’s unconditional love for us and vice-versa and our unconditional love for each other (all God’s children). To be a part of such love and of the goodness of God, we have to take on the responsibility of creating our lives ourselves.
Life is good, joyful, meaningful and positive with God. With all the suffering going on in this World today, many have forgotten this important truth. Even for the members of the Church of Interfaith Christians, when we are being strengthened through trials, challenges and difficulties, we can sometimes forget that life, despite its trials, is good. All the ‘dark times’ in our lives are followed by the dawning of light, or as I like to say ‘enlightenment’. Every ‘enlightenment ‘ brings us closer to God consciousness and to ‘new’ goodness.
Christianity affirms that life with God is good:
Romans 14:19: “For the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Galatians 5:22-23: “…The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Islam affirms that life with God is good:
Qur’an 4:40: “Surely Allah (God) wrongs not the weight of an atom; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.
Qur’an 53:31: “And Allah’s is whatever is I the heavens and whatever is in the earth, that He may reward ….those who do good with goodness.”
Qur’an 6:160: “Whoever brings a good deed will have tenfold like it……”
Judaism affirms that life with God is good:
(Tanakh) Genesis 1:27-28, 31: “And God crated man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase; fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all living things that creep on earth.” “And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good.”
(Tanakh) Ecclesiastes 3:12-13: “Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them (man) is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God.”
Hinduism affirms that life with God is good:
The Mahabharata, book 6, section 29: “He whose mind is not attached to external objects of sense, obtaineth that happiness which is in self; and by concentrating his mind on the contemplation of Brahma (God) he enjoyeth a happiness that is imperishable.”
The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14: “For I am the Home of the Spirit, the continual Source of immortalit, of eternal Righteousness and infinite Joy.”
Buddhism affirms that life with God is good:
The Dhammapada, chapter 15:
“Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us! Among men who hate us let us dwell free from hatred!”
“Let us live happily then, free from ailments among the ailing! Among men who are ailing let us dwell free from ailments!”
“Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy! Among men who are greedy let us dwell free from greed!”
Let us live happily then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness!
The Majjhima-Nikaya: “A disciplined man is free; being free, he is joyous, he is calm and happy.”
Taoism affirms that life with God is good:
Tao Teh Ching, chapter 79: The Way of Heaven has no private affections, but always accords with the good.
Tao Teh Ching, chapter 27:The Sage is always good at saving men,
and therefore nobody is abandoned;
Always good at saving things,
And therefore nothing is wasted.
This is called “following the guidance of the Inner Light.”
em>Hence, good men are teachers of bad men,
While bad men are the charge of good men.
Confucianism affirms that life with God is good:
he Doctrine of the Mean: “Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish.”
The Doctrine of the Mean: “All things are nourished together without their injuring one another. The courses of the seasons, and of the sun and moon, are pursued without any collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes heavn and earth so great.”
As we can see, in many languages and many faiths are witnessed the true teachings of Christ. We can see that our divine, loving, heavenly Father (or the One /Beingness /Absolute/ Ultimate Reality) wants us to be happy and enjoy life, and to include Him in our experience. Despite all the suffering on earth and its causes, each of us can live on this earth, helping establish Heaven on earth, by knowingly applying the truth we know.
Blessings, Pastor Sharra