A Spiritual Life...

What is the nature of a life focused on spiritual reality? What does it look like in real life?

Some people think that a spiritual life means lots of praying, time spent in chapel-like space or in nature drawn away from the business of life or behaving in some strange ways and mannerisms.

As I am reading the stories of those whose lives are marked by connection to spiritual realities, I am not seeing the description above. What I am seeing is people whose lives marked by love, non-judgmentalism, unconditional love and non-violence. These people are known for their lack of any concern for their reputation, fame, safety, or finances.

The lives of spiritually-alive people are marked by the characteristics noted by St. Paul:

“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatian 5:22-23

These characteristics or qualities are not created by efforts of “trying to be good.” While spiritual people like Mother Teresa were good people, the goodness comes from an inner transformation brought by letting go of their ego and choosing to live out of love, gentleness and goodness.

It is important note that these qualities are not born out of an effort to keep some form of moral code or legalistic attachment to a law. Interestingly, St. Paul says that these qualities are not guided any law. Why? Because these qualities are not defined by any legal definition. There is no legal definition of love. If there was then you could tell your neighbor that you did demonstrate love to them by doing what the law required. Love is greater than any law.

How is this inner transformation developed? It is developed out of an intimacy with the Divine lover who loves each one of us in spite of ourselves. Knowing we are loved unconditionally, freely and openly means that we live unconditionally, freely and openly. While there is a role for spiritual disciplines such as prayer, solitude, and worship; they are not the definition of a transformed person.

Embracing our acceptance opens us to live gently, kindly, and lovingly.

Ronald Friesen © 2016

God's Word for 2016

At the start of a new year, it is a common practice for many people in the Christian faith tradition to choose some portion of Scripture as a motto or mantra.

This year I choosing the following verses:

“Love the Lord, all his faithful people!

    The Lord preserves those who are true to him,

    but the proud he pays back in full.

Be strong and take heart,

    all you who hope in the Lord.” – Psalm 31:23-24

I see two truths about God, two commands and a warning.

The truths are:

God is worthy of our love and our hope.

In the coming year, there will be a myriad of attractions that will vie for our adoration and love. There is only one being that is worthy to be the love of our life: God. This year I want to fall more and more in love with God, the maker of Heaven and Earth.

As there will be many attractions seeking our love in the new year, there will also be many voices calling out to us to ask us to put our confidence in them. During this election year, I want to remind myself that my hope is not in the stock market, in the medical system, in the economy, in the strength of the US military; my only hope is in the Lord God who bowed to earth in Jesus the Christ.

The commands are:

Love God and be strong.

As I noted above the world is an enticing place and will offer me many opportunities to give my soul to them. I am reminded that my love must be directed to God and God alone. All else in my life flows from this central focus. It is my desire to fulfill the first command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

It is interesting to me that God works in weakness, yet, here, we are commanded to be strong. I don’t think this is one of those “Grit your teeth and be strong” statements. We realize that any strength we have is a gift from God. The issue is not the amount of strength we have but in who we are relying on for our strength. Be strong in the Lord! is the message.

Finally, a warning:

Be humble.

We are warned that God is not a fan of the proud. If we truly love God, we know that God is the source of our life not ourselves. We live by God’s permission and goodness.

Ask God to give you a Scripture you can live by in 2016.

Ronald Friesen © 2016

Open the Door!

New Year’s Day Reflection – 2016   

I have been thinking a lot about doors lately. Actually, I like to take pictures of doors. If doors talked, they would tell fascinating stories about who they provided entry to as well as egress.

Doors are a metaphor.

Yesterday we closed the door on a year. If you wanted to do something in 2015, it is too late. Some doors close never to be opened again. The past is past. We do have memories, positive and negative, about the past year. Many of these memories will go with us into this new year.

How do we deal with these memories? Some we need to let go of because they eat at our souls. Resentments and regrets can be very destructive. Learning to forgive ourselves and forgive others is one way to close the door on the past. Some of the memories, such as the birth of a child or a grandchild, are positive and we will want to celebrate them every year.

Today is door to a new year.

Doors are an invitation.  A door says, “Come in and see.” Open your eyes to see in a new way what the new year has to offer.

Doors are ways to separate. Each new day marks the opportunity for new entry. You cannot relive yesterday; you can only live for the present. One of the sayings of the Twelve step program is “You can start your day over any time you want to.”

Doors communicate their own message. Some days the door is a very official looking front door. You may be looking at a new job or a new relationship or a significant relocation. These changes will come though a front door.

Then there are back doors. These doors are often not seen by the public. They are the doors we use to greet old friends and take out the garbage. They have an intimacy all of their own; only very good friends and family are invited in through the back door. Some of us will use our back door today to throw out some overdue garbage from the past. We are deciding that some resentments, some relationships, some habits need to be discarded.

And there are side doors. These are doors of exploration. They can be formal doors such as the door we use to seek information about new jobs and more education. Or they can be informal doors such as exploring new friendships, new hobbies, and new interests.  

There is also interesting language we use about doors. Here are some of the terms we use about doors:

Open up doors

Foot in the door

Knock on doors

Unlock the door

Slam the door ….

Kick the door open

Shut the door in …… face

Show someone the door

When you think about the above terms often associated with doors which ones might apply about how you are going approach 2016?

Ronald Friesen © 2016