Who We Are
The sun shone warmly as breezes carried the scent of earth and sea. I looked at the trees stirred by gusts of air. White clouds drifted by as lake water lapped the nearby shore. I heard the chirping of birds and the whisper of leaves. I felt welcome and content.
I walked towards the gathering where Jesus talked with the people. Excited and enthralled I took my place among them; and there before me was Jesus. He was life and to be in his presence was a fulfilment that deepens with memory. I was a child and at home.
Though I knew it not at the beginning, I had begun a journey. Each step prepared me for the next and the place to which I was going. Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven. It was a name for a place He said was within.
I looked and listened as one of the people, Peter, spoke.
“Lord, how may we find the Kingdom of Heaven and know the Father who loves us?”
Jesus answered,
To find this learn who you are. Let go the self of this world and cast off the mask you wear.
A man of some wisdom said,
“How can one do this? Are we not God's children? Should we not embrace ourselves as we are?”
A father once gave his son a costume to wear in play. The time came for play to end and the costume put away. But the child clung to the robe saying he was not the son but the character he played.
The father saw that his child was bound to this foolishness and left him outside, until the cold and darkness of night would bring his son to wisdom.
“Is it so with us, Lord?”
Where does the Father find you; within the warmth of His home or in the cold of this world?
What is gained in setting pride before the One who loves you and then declaring substance where you have established none?
We quieted for a time. A lake breeze announced the turn of evening. Matthew asked,
“How may we come to our Father's home?”
What must the child at play do?
“Give up his play, discard the costume and enter through the door.”
This is so. Yet will you leave the character of this game? Have you not poured heart and mind into things of vanity so much that now they rule you; even to being apart from the Father and His love?
Unlike the child of the tale you have played this character everyday throughout your life – you think your good requires it. You play as children in this place that God has made for you.
If you would enter your home seek not standing or comfort from the character you play. Call to the Father and ask that He rouse you from your dream. Call humbly to your Father Ask without guise or merit.
The words of our Lord went to the hearts of many. Some felt the cold of this world and were moved to tears. Silence fell among our number as we turned to the Father. Then one asked,
“What difficulty does ‘merit’ have that we should put it aside?”
The Father loves you always. Offer not merit to win your Father's loving embrace. Let your love be the substance that you present your Father.
What warms you: reports of pride or offerings from the heart?