Faith in Action
By Summer Bacon
Televangelist Joyce Meyer has often said, "Going to church doesn't make you spiritual, anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car."
In other words, "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (James 2:17)
But, sometimes, especially these days, it seems increasingly difficult to put our faith into action, when we've been trusting and trusting and trusting in God and Spirit for weeks, and months, and years, waiting for the change to come. It's easy to lose hope when you keep having to "try" to put a smile on your face every morning, and walk each day by faith and not by sight.
I have even watched people who are financially sound, have their health, and have weathered the financial, political and physical storms fairly unscathed, lose hope and faith in God, as they watch dozens of friends, family members, and even entire communities fall apart.
After the incredibly difficult financial and emotional pummeling we have taken in the past few years (what with the economy falling to pieces, oil spills, volcanos, wars, and more), it's no wonder that people are tired and raising their hands to the heavens saying, "Help! Please make it better!" It's no wonder that so many people want to give up, and are turning to quick "fixes" like financial scams, greed, and adhering to false hope given by spiritual charlatans. It's a field day for con artists and the media. I even believe it's a field day for the medical industry, as our stresses put an increasing burden on our physical bodies. The fact of the matter is (and I am seeing this with family, friends, and clients from all walks of life), the answers to our dilemmas aren't coming easily these days.
So, what does this all mean?
Well, to me it means that we need to adhere to our faith even more than ever. It means that, more than ever, we need to turn our attention to the light, to the positive and wonderful things that are happening to us. Only in this can we reclaim our financial, emotional and spiritual power.
I've heard it said that a man once complained about not having shoes, until he saw a man who had no feet.
In 1965, after enduring an inordinately intense, emotional time in his life, my father, as part of his healing, created a magnificent and heart wrenching statue of Jesus buckling under the weight of His cross, His grimacing face turned towards the heavens. Engraved on the cross were the words of the great philosopher, Nietzsche, "Was mich nicht umbringt macht mir starker," meaning "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger."
Certainly, we each have our own cross to bear, and it is up to us as to whether we see it as a burden, or as an opportunity. Through our choices and perceptions, we do, indeed, create our own reality.
In the sixteen years that I have been doing this work with Dr. Peebles, I have heard thousands of pained cries from people (including myself at times) who expect God to do the work for them, to heal them, to save them, to make them whole, to fill their bank accounts, to fix relationships, to end others, to wave a magic wand and make them "all better."
But, the reality is, though God can and will make things better, it is not because He decides to move your life around like a piece on a chess board. It is not through your begging, pleading, threats, or promises that you are made whole. It is through your faith, and your unrelenting willingness to keep that faith alive, to sail your best even in the toughest of storms. It is through your faith that suddenly, one day, you realize that you already are whole. It is through your faith that you soon realize that you do not have to surround yourself with the white light of protection, but rather, you are that white light. You just forgot the truth about who you really are. It is through your faith that you remember that you are God, that you are Love Eternal.
When Jesus said, "I am in you, you are in me, and we are as One in God," he really meant it. If you're not a big fan of Jesus, think about someone who you really trust and love. It could be anyone. Now, try to imagine that they are in you, and you are in them, i.e. your spirit and theirs are blended together like a well-mixed, delicious drink. You taste better together than you do separately. And, what holds you together? Love, i.e. God. In Love, in God, you are One. In Love, in God, there is no separation. Love is the superglue that holds life together. Life without Love is like the earth without gravity. Without gravity the earth would be as barren as the moon. Without Love, our lives are barren and empty too.
What puts that Love into motion? Faith in action. Think of faith as being a spoon. A spoon doesn't do a thing until you pick it up and do something with it. It is your faith that mixes this drink of life. Faith says, "I know it's hard to believe, but this is going to taste really good--beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations--when all is said and done."
Countless people cry out for their enlightenment, wondering when that moment of salvation will come to them. Enlightenment is not bestowed upon us, it comes from within us, when we at long last surrender to who we really are, and live in abide in the truth of knowing we are God, and anything that is less than that Love is an illusion of separation from that truth.
A dear man I know, who ironically happens to be an atheist, recently said to me, "If someone has to talk about their enlightenment all of the time, it's likely that they are not even close to being there." Stop talking about enlightenment, and start living the enlightened life. As Dr. Peebles has said many times, once we start living the enlightened life, once we start living as Love, we at last become that which we seek. In other words, Dorothy, the ruby slippers have been on our own feet all along. (And, by the way, Dr. Peebles also says, with a knowing grin, "Once you're enlightened, where ya gonna get to next?")
I believe that it is time for us to pull out all the stops now more than ever, and be thankful for that which we do have, instead of dwelling on our losses, and whining because things aren't going our way. It's time to be grateful for our eyes, our ears, the movement of our bodies, our children, our families, our friends, two arms that can still hug a stranger. The world does not need less faith and love, it needs faith and love more than ever, and we are the stewards of these things.
Yes, you are the steward of God's love. Let's work hard, as the lightworkers we are, and let's keep that love alive and flowing, not just barely breathing. Let's put our life-force back into life, and ignite the hearts around us with our own light from within. If my candle can light your candle, and you light just one other, before you know it there will no longer be any darkness. That which is hidden shall be revealed, the truth will out, and we will be standing in a room ablaze with Love.
At the last Open Session, Dr. Peebles had this to say in closing:
"The days, the nights, the weeks, the months, the years, all of this ahead of you, all of that behind you, and all of this right here and now, my dear friends, a beautiful moment of celebration of you here in this room today. Your mommy had you from her own loins, but the creator of you, my dear friends, was the breath of God. God created the heavens and the earth and all things upon the earth. God created you in His image. God created me in His image. God made a lot of decisions. God had choices. God could have chosen not to create the heavens and the earth. God could have chosen to remain dormant. But, God chose, my dear friends, not to keep His love bottled up inside. He chose to give it expression, and that breath of life came through, and the earth was born, and the creatures upon it, and the chicken and the egg, and you and your neighbors, your family, your friends and oh, my dear friends, what a beautiful Planet Earth! Your sky, your trees, all created from a single breath, a breath of love, all united in that truth.
Judge not, my dear friends, lest ye be judged. Judge not your neighbor. Judge not your family members. Judge not, my dear friends, because anything that you see in another person, you are that as well. That potential is within you. But the truth within all is love. You have a choice everyday to awaken your own heart and a choice to help others in awakening theirs.
When you have a tough situation, when you do not know what to do, when you cannot find that answer in the still small voice within, look at the equation, my dear friends, as just simply a point of darkness, of black and then, my dear friends, with your breath of love blow into that darkness, see what you can create. That darkness is not empty, not vacant, it is not a void, that darkness is dark and fertile soil in which you plant your being and grow. When you do not have an answer, when you are at an impasse, trust that perhaps within the darkness there is truth as well, that perhaps God is just telling you to remain silent, to stand prepared, to take the time for yourself, to rest, to read, to relax, to surrender. When nothing is happening in your journey it is best, my dear friends, not to push the river. It is best, my dear friends, when there is no motion, to relax and to realize at times you're just simply in the eye of the storm to come.
Get ready, it's a common'! Planet Earth is going to change. There are going to be some tremendous outbreaks of war, and there will be, my dear friends, a coming together, a joining together of family, friends and others as never before upon your earth. There is going to be, my dear friends, a moment of enlightenment wherein peace will reign upon the earth through the surrendering of every human heart. It will be, my dear friends, in your lifetime. It will be, and you will see it, and you will know, and it is there, my dear friends, that you will remember who you truly are and where you really came from, and the barriers and the borders and the boundaries will drop away, and your life will become an embrace and, my dear friends, when you have a penny or two you'll learn to share it with another. And you will drop your grievances and your law suits and, my dear friends, you'll invite the javelina to eat your rose bushes because you love the javelina, and you respect and honor all of God's creatures including yourself.
It is a journey, my dear friends, through your choices and perceptions wherein you do create your own reality. Your reality is inside, not external. Your reality comes from standing in truth and realizing that you are the expression of God's love upon the Planet Earth, no matter the storms of rage around you. You create your own reality. We're not talking mansions and big cars, lots of money in the bank. That is an externalization of that which you are creating inside of yourself, yes, at times. But the reality is within you. The reality in any moment, my dear friends, comes from within you. When you have a dearly departed loved one, when you suddenly step into a puddle of mud, how do you respond? Do you laugh and splash it some more? Do you realize that that loved one has journeyed to a beautiful place, is in a sanctuary, is living in the heart of God, and there is no need to grieve that ever?
How do you create your reality, my dear friends? Through your choices and perceptions! How deep is your faith? How wide is your ocean of love? You, my dear friends, are a beautiful spirit. Your are the light, you are the way, you are the truth. Remember that and your journey will become like none other, beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations."