To Love and Build

Dear Spiritual Family,

In these trying times in our own lives, in our Nation, and in our world, it’s reasonable for a person on the spiritual path to ask, “how can I help? How can I make a positive difference?”

The New Thought chant referenced in the video goes, “Why have I come to Earth; do I remember? Why have I taken birth? Why have I come?”

Jose Marti, a profound Nineteenth-Century Cuban Philosopher wrote, “There are those who are born to love and build and those who are born to hate and destroy.”  

In absolute Truth, we know that the Divine Essence of everyone is Love but living in the relative world, we must come to grips with the fact that on the vast spectrum of humanity, there are those who come to love and build and those to hate and destroy with many variations in between.

I (Rev. Steve) asked myself recently, relative to dealing with challenging people and situations, “What do I want? What outcomes do I want to see?” Concepts came quickly: Harmony, compassion, kindness, fairness, hope, peace, abundance freedom, and love. And the inspiration from Spirit was, “focus on these things.”

Here is where our powers of imagination and love can come together to give us hope and purpose. 

Through the power of our open hearts, we can “see” those close to us, those in positions of leadership, even our “enemies,” experiencing compassion, harmony, and peace. We can “build” an image in our minds of people working together in a spirit of love and respect. That can be the foundation of our holy wishes.     

I am willing to see differently. I am willing to forgive. My wish for the world is for harmony, compassion, and love.

When we open our eyes, will there still be evidence that such a picture will never come true? Of course. Will we often falter in so noble a task or forget? Certainly. But we have taken birth to love and build not to hate and destroy.   

In the video, I refer to Lesson 38 in A Course in Miracles, “There is nothing my holiness cannot do.” I encourage you to look that lesson up and see if it is helpful to you in your efforts to love more broadly and build a higher consciousness.  

I want to close with the quote from Emmet Fox that is included in the video message for October 30 – “There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer, no disease that enough love will not heal, no door that enough love will not open. It makes no difference how deep set the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough, you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world.”

We love you,

Rev. Steve and Mary

Going Deeper

1. In the video, Rev. Steve tells a brief story of Queen Elizabeth II as she wrestled with her difficulty in forgiving her uncle who had betrayed Great Britain. Can you share a breakthrough you have had in the area of forgiving the seeming “unforgivable?”
2. What are some of the basic “feelings” that you want to see in the world – close by or far away? What steps are you willing to take to “stay on course” with these feelings?

We would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

God bless you. We love you,

Rev. Steve and Mary

Going Deeper on Zoom – Wednesday, November 2

This group meets on Wednesdays from 6 to 7:15 pm CT following a new video message. To learn more, Email Mary McIntosh.