Everyone wants to feel like however they are pursuing God they are all right. The underlying premise is that all paths will get them to the same destination and that truth is found in all religious systems.
I respect people who are pursuing spiritual journeys. I believe that God works with each of us regardless of our spiritual condition, perspective on who He is, behavior, or deeds. At the same time, I also believe that there are very smart people who are absolutely dead wrong in their spiritual views and perspective! I found myself last night walking the edge, working to convey my respect and interest in another’s journey while grabbling with the need to articulate the dividing line between us.
There is a fundamental dividing line between all world religions. The point may appear small and to some it is merely semantics; however, in my study and experience the point is critical. Do I seek a god within or do I seek a God without? Am I a god? Can I nurture and develop something within that will, over time or through many lives, develop into a god being? Or is the answer found in seeking a relationship to the God outside of me that will come and fill (take over) the essence of what I am within?
The reason these question are important is in our understanding of where one focuses their attention. Do I explore my inner power or look outside? My experience concurs with Paul’s. “Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing,” (Romans 8.7)
God offers you and I something unique – unconditional acceptance, love, and mercy. The gift restores us into the relationship we were created to experience and live in – if we accept God’s offer.
