the law of love (discovering the path to a new beginning)

8/9/2019 The Law of Love (Discovering the Path to a New Beginning)

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Introduction

First, let me set one thing straight: In thisbook, I’ve spent a lot of time and energy inclarifying certain points. Namely, howimportant to us love is and why it is the only

right way to experience life. I believe, if Imay be so bold, that I have done a fine job of it.

Having said that, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of:

a) You will, no doubt, be challenged and,maybe, even encouraged in your effortsto be a better person.

b) The concepts you will find in thesepages are nothing new. In fact, not onlyhave many teachers, both religious andsecular, written extensively about the lawof love (many of them far more intelligentand eloquent than I), but the law of love isone that you’ve known your whole life.



c) You will find, as you try to implementsaid principles throughout your daily life,that you are and always have been a

miserable failure at doing so (but don’t letthis discourage you from reading further.It’s still a good book).

d) You will also learn that there has beenmade a way for you to make it happenanyway. Also, what that way is and how it

can be found.

I want to make something else veryclear: There does not go by a single day inwhich I have not, in some way, broken thelaw of love. However, I have found the wayto not be enslaved to such a lifestyle, andnot by any fancy footwork or brilliantthinking of my own, either. That being said,the goal of this book, ultimately, is to eithershow you that way (assuming you haven’tfound it already) or remind you of it(assuming you have). I am confident that

you will find its contents uplifting, either way.Enjoy.



Chapter Index

Chapter 1: An Experiment

Chapter 2: The Human Condition

Chapter 3: Forgiveness

Chapter 4: Finding the Bottom

Chapter 5: Who Are You?

Chapter 6: We Are Not Alone. . . .

Chapter 7: Adorning Truth

Chapter 8: A New Beginning

Chapter 9: It’s a Conspiracy

Chapter 10: One Love

Chapter 11: The Good News

Chapter 12: A Prayer



Chapter 1An Experiment

Imagine that you are a scientific genius

that has discovered the secret of creating life

from scratch. You can even decide how old,

physiologically, that life will be. You decide to

make him biologically advanced to the age of

30 years. This way, he’ll have a fully

developed, adult brain. We’ll call him Adam.

Being the quintessential scientific mind

that you obviously are, you decide to take

your experiment to a whole new level. To this

end, you have constructed a chamber inwhich one can experience total sensory

deprivation. Once in it, the subject will have

no stimuli whatsoever; nothing to see, nor

hear, nor smell, nor taste, nor feel. The only

thing the subject will be able to experience is

what his own mind can conjure.

Now, your creation needs but one final

ingredient; the spark of life. Finally, the

moment of truth has arrived. You push the



magic life button and, POOF! Adam comes to

life.

What do you suppose our subject’s veryfirst thought will be? It won’t be, “I’m hungry.”

You’ve already seen to that and, besides, how

could he possibly think of such words when

he’s yet to hear them. Perhaps you’re thinking

he might be feeling a bit lonely. How would he

know the difference? Would he know hot fromcold, black from white, or pain from pleasure?

What could he think? He has nothing to

inspire him.

You have discovered that, by depriving

Adam of needed stimulation, you haveinterrupted the very process of creating life.

In order to be truly alive, an outside influence

must be added to the ingredients. But, have

no fear (you are the greatest scientist that

ever graced the lab, after all) you’ve come up

with the solution. You will place somethingnew in his environment. Nothing much (you

don’t want to over-stimulate), just a small, red

dot just in his peripheral. BANG! The



consciousness comes alive, and his world is a

small, red dot.

The moment in which Adam’s worlddiscovers color and form he becomes truly

alive. Before, he was just potential bottled up

in a vacuum. Now he has curiosity, meaning,

longing and purpose.

Does he try to understand it? How would

he even begin? From what life experience

could he extract a hypothesis? Would he

bother to name it? He has no need for such

labels. Labels are only useful for distinctions

and for conversation. To what would he

compare it when it is all he knows? To whomwould he communicate it when there is no

one else (as far as he’s concerned) “out

there”? His world is a mind and a red dot.

That red dot is everything. It is life to him

and to take it away would be death to him. To

him, it is consciousness itself. And, as you

introduce more and more of what life has to

offer, you will impart to him knowledge,

wisdom, understanding and, most of all, a



passion for life and its endless potential for

more “red dots”.

For the first nine months of our lives theworld was much like that of the subject of our

experiment. We had the sound of our

mother’s heart beat, the warmth of the womb

and even the muffled sound of the world

outside. However, in comparison to the world

that greeted us on the day we were born, welived in God’s own virtual deprivation

chamber.

Then the day came when we were pulled

from the chamber and found that the

temperature wasn’t as cozy. We found thatthere were others out there that made

unfamiliar noises at one another. They had

funny, toothed faces that stared down at us.

Larger, harrier versions of ourselves held out

their fingers for us to grab as they made

cooing sounds at us. Our world suddenly gotmuch bigger.

And then, perhaps for the very first time in

our lives, the hunger hits. The discomfort is so



foreign and intense that we immediately

begin crying until we are finally given

mother’s milk. We soon learn that this is an

effective technique for getting what we want

or need. So, if we are hungry, too cold, too

hot, or just want to be held we cry.

However, this too turns out to be

insufficient. The people around us don’t seem

to know the difference between the cries of hunger, general discomfort or loneliness. Yet

they seem to understand each other without

too much trouble at all. In fact, they are quite

capable of taking care of such needs on their

own. How?

And so the learning process has begun. We

learn to speak our native tongue, we learn to

crawl, then walk and then run. We learn to

read body language; when one is happy, sad,

or angry based on facial expressions and

mannerisms. We learn all the social do’s anddon’ts.

All of these skills would be impossible

without direct interaction with the people and



world around us. With these things in mind,

one would have to be blind not to see how

much we depend on one another for our very

survival.

Imagine Adam has been given his freedom

from our deprivation chamber and we find

him sitting at home watching TV in his living

room. The news comes on and the

meteorologist warns of coming rain later thatafternoon. This triggers the realization that his

lawn needs mowing and that he’d better get it

done before the storm hits.

He gets his lawnmower out and attempts

to get it started only to discover that he’s outof gas. Grabbing his gas can, he jumps in his

car and heads off to the filling station.

On his way he spots an old, worn out shoe

in the road which reminds him that he could

use a new pair of sneakers. Forgetting the

mission at hand, he heads to the shoe store

where he meets Eve, the shoe sales lady. He

asks her out on a date. Soon after, they fall in

love, get married, have children and one of



those children grows up to be the next

President of the United States.

All because of a worn out shoe in the road,the need for gasoline in his lawnmower, the

rush to get the lawn mowed before it rained,

the weather report, the meteorologist and so

on. The corresponding events go on in many,

many directions. They involve both his past

and even as far reaching as the cause of therain; the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings

in a distant land. His life experiences, even his

thoughts, are but the cosmic ripples of an

ever changing, dynamic universe.

The seasons of our planet change as itspins on its axis and revolves around our sun.

Our sun is just one comparably small object

spinning about in a galaxy billions of times

larger than itself. In fact, our galaxy is but one

of many of the inhabitants within our

universe. All of which interact like greatcosmic dominoes of immeasurable energy; all

reaching out to one another. Each affects the

other in a fantastic cosmic dance. Some even



combine forces to create even larger galaxies.

So, the whole universe paints the pallet

that is Adam’s life. The Bible says, “In Him welive, move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

So, our journey, in other words, is in God.

God has ordered the universe as such; to

create an atmosphere in which my calling in

Him can be realized. And so, I am part of you

and you are part of me. He has created an

environment in which our actions reach out

and touch across the space between us

(however vast that may seem). All this so we

may connect, unite and become greater for it.



Chapter 2 The Human Condition

There is a television program I enjoy in

which one can learn how to paint beautiful

landscapes. Supposedly, one can learn how to

paint mountain ranges, streams, cottages

tucked away in remote wooded areas and thelike. I must confess that, while viewing this

show, I am not set up with an easel, paint,

brushes and wearing a beret. In fact, I’ve

found myself wondering how few watch such

shows with the intent to learn at all. I’m sure

there are many who do, but I doubt that thisis the norm.

So, if this is the case, why do most of us sit

for the whole hour engrossed in the process?

What is it that grabs our attention so?

There’s something about watching theartist as his creation takes form. At first, we

are seeing lines of color that seem

elementary at best. The picture is not yet



clear. It looks nothing like a babbling brook

with an old fashioned, covered bridge

crossing it in the foreground. It looks more

like a squiggly line of blue with what seems to

be what the Chinese character of the word

“house” must look like. So, the audience

waits, eagerly, trusting in the master painters

brush, anticipating a masterpiece.

We watch as the stones of the brook areadded and the contours of the rocky bank and

plush evergreens take shape in the

surrounding landscape. With each stroke of

the brush we watch in wonder as the painter

artfully works his colors upon the canvas and

the reality of his vision is finally realized.

It is a fine capsulated example of our lives,

isn’t it? At first, we are like Adam, wondering

what that odd figure in our peripheral is.

Then, as more and more is added to our

world, we gain understanding and wisdom.We realize beauty and meaning.

Now, let’s take this to a more practical

place, if you will: You get up in the morning to



find that you’ve forgotten to set your alarm

clock and, as a result, you are late for work.

Not having time for breakfast, you’re a bit

grumpy. You get to work 30 minutes late and

your boss yells at you and warns that, if it

happens again, you’re fired. The added stress

weighing on your mind, you find yourself

making stupid mistakes while doing your daily

duties.Lunch time finally arrives and, having still

not eaten, your low blood sugar has made you

yet more on edge. You get to the restaurant,

order your food, the waiter is a little late

getting your meal to you and, as a result, you

yell at the waiter, telling him how

“incompetent” he is.

It doesn’t stop there. You see, the waiter is

only human and, as such, get’s in a foul mood

of his own. He, as a result, takes it out on his

co-workers in the back and starts a fight withone of the cooks. The manager fires him. He

goes home and his wife asks why he’s home

so early. Still upset, he snaps at her. As they



argue, their children listen from the next

room.

You can see how it will potentially go fromhere. The process isn’t contingent on whether

or not you believe in it. It isn’t simply that God

has made rules, or that you have a choice as

to whether or not you obey those rules. It is a

process that God has placed in motion as an

organic response to our behavior.

All of these events are indicative of what

caused them; an unwillingness to surrender to

love. This is evident in that your response to

difficulty, being frustration, was to sow the

seed of anger, and not only into your ownfuture, but to that of the people around you,

as well.

This is not to say that, so-called, “unlucky”

events that we all face dictate the outcome of

our lives. Rather, it is our response to those

occurrences that often dictate outcome. We

may not be able to control random

occurrences, however, we can control the way

we respond to them. So, we are responsible,



however distantly related the events may

seem to us, for EVERYTHING that occurs as a

result of our response.

This is just one seemingly small example

of how our actions affect the world around us

on a daily bases. Can one be held

accountable, based on such an effect, for all

that may go wrong in the world? The point I

am driving at here is that we not only shouldbe, but, in fact, are held accountable.

Every word and deed is a ripple in the

pond of creation. Saying, therefore (such as

many these days do), “As long as what I do

doesn’t hurt anyone else. . .” is to ignore thisreally simple fact of life. The way I live my life

does affect the world around me. Knowing

this, how can I not assume responsibility for

my action, however private I may think them

to be?

The process is thus:

1) I live, and, as a living being, I am faced

with the challenge of continuing to live with



as little discomfort as possible.

2) I need. In order to accomplish the

aforementioned goal of a continuing, peacefulexistence, I will encounter needs.

3) I see. I see the object of my need; that

which will, in my own summation, help me

live on.

4) I desire. I desire to obtain it.5) I move. I work toward obtaining it. I gather

the pertinent information, I formulate a plan

of action to get that which I desire and I begin

carrying out that plan.

And then comes the inevitable; 6) I interact.In order to obtain that which will fulfill my

need, I must interact with my environment.

This will ALWAYS causes a ripple on a cosmic

level, returning to me according to my

actions.

In short, the way I live my life is vital as

one that contributes to the universe at large. I

cannot simply say, “C’est la vie.” My input

determines my own outcome in the end. If



what I have to offer to the world is hatred,

bitterness, depression, self-indulgence and an

all around shallowness in my approach to life,

what will be the return on my investment?

However, if what I have to offer is love, peace,

joy, altruism, and depth . . .?

You and I have a responsibility to love. The

question then is; how do I measure up to that

responsibility?

What’s the meaning of true love? In the

light of what you’ve read up till now, I believe

one could draw but one conclusion; you will

never find it as long as you believe that the

idea of independence is either attainable orreal, for that matter. Rather, we are

Inter dependent. God has ordained it so in

order to create for us an environment that

only works in our favor as long as we obey the

rule of love.

In physics there is what’s called a

conservation law. A conservation law is a law

that governs the quantity of an element or

occurrence allowed at any given time. One



example I’ve heard; let’s say there was a

conservation law governing the amount of

people that could be at a football game. If

someone new showed up, therefore, someone

would have to leave. If a group showed up, an

equal amount of fans would have to go as

well, keeping the amount constant. Nothing

can occur that could change that number.

Until Albert Einstein’s famous equationE=MC2 came along, it was widely viewed that

there was a conservation law that governed

the amount of energy that could exist in the

universe at any time. Also, there was a

conservation law that governed the amount of

mass. However, this equation forced physicist

to replace these two with a singular

conservation law of mass-energy, because

Einstein’s equation states that there is no

qualitative difference between mass and

energy. They are really the same thing.Energy can be converted into mass (or

matter) and mass can be converted into

energy.



Another way to put it; the universe and

everything in it is made up of one “thing”

called mass-energy. Furthermore, it is the

“stuff” that was used by God in the creation

of all things; the stars, planets, clouds, rain,

trees, birds, bees and, yes, you and me. Even

the air you and I are breathing right now. This

even applies to the very space between us.

This being the case, we and all that is aroundus are quite literally one.

This goes beyond the eastern philosophy

of “oneness”. It is more than a scientific fact.

It is the message God has been trying to get

through to us sense the beginning of our time:

Love is the meaning of life.

I was on my way home from work one

evening when I witnessed a really bad car

accident on the interstate. One of the vehicles

was thrown onto the shoulder facing

oncoming traffic and the driver was visiblybleeding due to a bad head injury.

I stopped to see if I could help. While doing

so, I noticed hundreds of people as they kept



driving on by. They just slowed down long

enough to get a better view of the extent of

the carnage. It was as if it were nothing more

than a highway spectacle.

I remember thinking, “How can so many

simply drive on, gawking with nothing more

than morbid curiosity, detached and

indifferent?” If it had been someone they

knew personally the reaction would havebeen quite different, wouldn’t it? They’d be

pulled over, dialing 911, perhaps even holding

the young ladies hand and comforting her.

Was I any better? Sure, I was doing “the

right thing”, but what if that was my wife inthat car? I guarantee that my own level of

concern would have been much higher. Once

I’d declared that there was nothing more I

could do, I was driving off in a hurry to get

home. I justified that the police and

ambulance were on their way and, “besides,it’s not like I have the training or tools to do

them any good.”

Had it been my wife, however, I would



have stayed with her, comforted her and tried

to make her comfortable until emergency

officials got there. Perhaps, I would have

followed them to the hospital and stayed with

her until the moment I knew all was well. I

would have held her hand and prayed with

her.

Throughout our lives we’ve learned to

draw imaginary circles around us. They arecircles that tell us who is important, who isn’t

and at what level of importance they are.

We’ve invented phrases like, “Blood is thicker

than water” in order to insulate our families

from the possibility of choosing our friends

over them. We create tribes, gangs, countries,

and states and provinces within those

countries; borders that serve as markers

where the rules change.

There is a connection we have with each

other. It is because of this connection thatevery little thing we do affects the lives of

every person on the planet. This knowledge

magnifies the importance of an all inclusive



circle. Knowing this is to begin to understand

the truest definition of love itself. More

importantly, how utterly short we fall of it.

These things in mind, we begin to find the

acts of love perpetuated by Jesus Christ a

little easier, perhaps, to understand. He didn’t

live within small circles, including only friends

and family, but within a circle that

encompasses the entire globe. He had agenuine love for all.

Jesus was once asked what the greatest

commandment of God was. He said, “Love the

Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and

strength, and the second is just like it; loveyour neighbor as yourself. There are no

commandments greater than these.”

(Mark 12:29-31). In other words; for one to

love their neighbor is to, by extension, love

God. In fact, the Law of Love is the greatest

Law He has commanded us to observe.

“I may be able to speak the languages of

men and even of angels, but if I have no love,

my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a



clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired

preaching; I may have all knowledge and

understand all secrets; I may have all the

faith needed to move mountains--but if I have

no love, I am nothing. I may give away

everything I have, and even give up my body

to be burned--but if I have no love, this does

me no good.

“Love is patient and kind; it is not jealousor conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered

or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a

record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil--

but is happy with the truth. Love never gives

up; and its faith, hope, and patience never

fail.

“Love is eternal. There are inspired

messages, but they are temporary; there are

gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they

will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass.

For our gifts of knowledge and of inspiredmessages are only partial; but when what is

perfect (Love) comes, then what is partial will

disappear.” (1st Corinthians, 13)



To sum it all up; we have fallen short of

our calling, indeed, our reason for “being”. We

have failed to love and, therefore, failed our

Creator and His creation.

When we are faced with the decision to do

what is right for others, or what best suits our

temporal wants and/or needs we’ve

consistently chosen the later. By doing so,

however, we’ve found ourselves asking, “Whyam I here? Why do I feel disconnected? What

is my purpose? Who am I?”

We have lost our way and, therefore, we

have lost ourselves. We are lost in a sea of

meaningless worries in our desperate searchfor meaning. Meanwhile, the answer is as

plain (plainer, in fact) than the nose on our

faces; obedience to the Law of Love is to

adhere to the whole will of our Creator, God,

and this is why we are most miserable that try

to attain to it by our own efforts. So, now whatawaits us, assuming we get what we deserve?

How can we “dodge the bullet”, as it were? As

I promised in the introduction, we’ll get to



that.



Chapter 3Forgiveness

Several years ago, I had a friend (we’ll callhim Mike). We got close and he often confidedin me about his problems. One in particularhad him so troubled that he just wouldn’t let itgo.

Mike had married his pastor’s youngestdaughter and moved into a house his father-n-law had built for them. At first, all was well.However, about a year into the marriage,problems arose with her family. He found hisin-laws to be intrusive and overbearing.Without going into too much detail, let it

suffice us to say that the situation didn’t endwell. As a result, after about 10 years of this,he moved his wife and now 3 children awayfrom them.

Mike became very bitter over the way hewas treated and it didn’t take long before thisbecame quite evident to me. No matter whatthe topic of conversation, he’d make everyeffort to steer it toward how he was wrongedand how he was justified in being angry with



them. He felt that they had unjustly treatedhim and that, in the end, they’d defeated himin some way. What wounded him the deepest

was the feeling that justice was not served.

It was, in a way, like an experience mywife and I had with our plumbing. One day wenoticed the annoying sound of water drainingfrom our empty bathtub. However, when wewent to check it, there was no water in it. Still,you could hear the distinct sound of adraining tub. It was as if the tub was everemptying itself of invisible water. Needless tosay, this left us quite perplexed.

We asked a friend, a plumber by trade,

and learned that the bathtub in our house wasthe lowest drain point. As such, all the waterin the home would eventually drain to thatpoint, being where the main drainage pipewould have been connected.

So, we looked for possible leaks.Unfortunately, having thoroughly searched forsigns of water leakage in the walls, yard, eventhe attic and everywhere else we could thinkof, we found nothing. For several days, we



suffered with that incessant draining soundwith no clue as to its cause.

Finally, we thought back to what occurredthe day it all began. The only thing out of thenorm that we could possibly think of was aproblem with the water heater. The pilot hadblown out and I had to relight it. But howcould that possibly cause the problem?Nevertheless, having exhausted every otheridea, we decided to give it a look.

It was there, kneeling down before thewater heater with flashlight in hand, that Idiscovered the problem. First, I noticed thatwhen I’d turned the gas back up to heat the

water I had turned it to its hottest level. ThenI’d noticed that just at the bottom right of thetank there was a valve labeled “Caution: HighPressure Valve”. Below the tank, there was anoverflow pan with a 1 inch drain pipe comingfrom it.

The heat, being too high, caused the waterto boil. This caused the pressure within thetank to rise. It did what pressure does; itsought out the path of least resistance. In this



case, it was the high pressure valve. Servingits purpose, the valve then opened, lettingwater drain into the pan below. The pan drain

would then carry the water to the lowest drainpoint, our bathtub. Thus, we discovered thecause of the constant sound of water draining.

The bitterness in Mike was much like thepressure being built up in our hot water tank.We are not designed to withstand long termbitterness. It must find a means, therefore, tovent itself. Mike vented through conversationin which he repeated, in an almost scriptedfashion, the wrongs done to him. This was nota means to seek counseling (that would atleast have been a step in the right direction).

Rather, it was a means to seek affirmationand, therefore, justification for his hatred.

It was so vexing to hear the constantrecount of how he was offended that friendswere no longer available to be his “high-pressure vents”. Alternately, he found hispath of least resistance to be his own wife andkids. So, when he could find no other meansof relief, they suffered more than any. Theywere his ultimate drain point.



We’ve all had those times when we

became so angry we could feel that

overwhelming pressure. We clinched ourteeth and fists and we could almost feel ourblood boiling in our veins. We punch thepillow, kick the dog, yell at innocentbystanders, or simply vent our frustration to asympathetic ear. In the mean time, the worldaround us is forced to put up with thatincessant sound of draining.

Jesus once told a story of a man that owedhis master a great deal of money. So, in anattempt to raise enough money to repay hisdept, he went to a fellow servant that owed

him. The man told him, “I don’t have what Iowe you right now. Please, give me somemore time.” But the servant became angryand threw the other man into prison.

Realizing he could not pay his masterback, he went to him and threw himself at hisfeet saying, “Master, I do not have the moneyI owe you. Please, forgive me!” However, themaster had heard what his servant had done.So, he replied, “How can you, after refusing to



forgive the much smaller dept owed you,come to me expecting forgiveness?! You arean evil and wicked man!” The master then

had him thrown into the debtor’s prison.

One cannot hate for hate’s sake. We needa reason to hate. In other words, we need to

justify that hatred in order to cling to it. If myhatred for you is unfounded, how can I justifyit? In order to justify that hatred I must firstprove that I am an innocent victim. If I aminnocent, this makes wishing you harm

justified. But how can I then ask forgivenessfrom others? Does this system of justificationand punishment not apply to me?

We have this tendency to look past ourown faults, don’t we? It’s not that we don’tsee them; we know we are not perfect. Afterall, some shortcomings are to be expected.Why, then, can we not extend the samecourtesy to others?

What we often miss is that judgment is atwo edged sword. “Judge not, that you be not

judge. For with what judgment you judge, youshall be judged.” (Matthew 7:1&2)



Think of the adulterous woman that was

brought before Jesus by the religious

leadership of His time. In an attempt toexpose Him as a heretic, they dragged her toHim, saying, “This woman was caught in thevery act of adultery. The law says that sheshould be stoned. But what do you say?”

Jesus knelt down, scribbled something in thedirt with his finger and then stood, saying,“You that are without sin, cast the first stone.”

One by one her accusers left, starting fromthe eldest to the youngest among them. Jesusthen looked at the woman and asked, “Whereare your accusers?” She said, “They are all

gone, my Lord.” He replied, “Then neither do Iaccuse you. Go about your business, but sinno more.” (John 8:3-11)

It is in this that we see a glimpse of thevery heart of God. It is a heart thatpassionately seeks to forgive us. But, as longas we continue to justify our hatred, how canwe righteously receive that forgiveness? Thisis why the Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us ourtrespasses, as we forgive they that trespass



against us.”

A heart that is filled with hatred can no

more give love than receive it. At some point,we must get past this hurtle of our self-worthto find it in us to accept others. If only wecould see the heart of God toward us. Wewould see that He, knowing us in every way,still loves us and has made every effort togive us a new beginning. We would see that,by receiving His forgiveness, our old lives areno more. We can start with a clean slate withthe help of a longsuffering God that is willingand able to sustain us. He longs to teach us tolive in a spirit of true love and not some falseversion of it.

“Watch what God does, and you do it, like

children that learn proper behavior from theirparents. Mostly what God does is love you.Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His lovewas not cautious but extravagant. He didn’tlove in order to get something from us but togive everything of Himself to us. Love likethat.” (Ephesians 5:1 and 2 The MessageBible)



The whole world suffers for nothing lessthan a lack of love. Children go hungry and

lives are brutally taken as wars grip ournations in despair and destruction. Wholeeconomies crash as a result of the selfishlygreedy. All of these are symptomatic of astate of ignorance; ignorance of the call of God and even outright rebellion against it.

The Kingdom of God is not of this world.However, it is also not some distant placewhere one (hopefully) will go when they die. Itis a Kingdom that is here and now. Itssubjects are those that embrace love, seektruth and, finding it, behave as though

they’ve found immense treasure. It is, in fact,far more valuable.

We live in a generation in which the thingsthat are bad are called good, and the thingsthat are good are called bad. If a man goesout and has sex with multiple partners, he’sconsidered cool. If a man lives to serve God,he is boring and treated as though he’smissing out on life.



However, the philanderer is defilinghimself. He is giving himself away, as thoughhis body was some cheep thing. He has no

consideration for the pain he’s caused in thewomen he’s used. So, what’s the better way?



Chapter 4Finding bottom

I remember when I was about nine years

old. I was lying in bed one night when, out of curiosity, I decided to embark on a futileexperiment. I wanted to understand,somehow, the process by which a thoughtbecame an action (I know, I was a weird kid).

So, stretching out my hand, I willed myfingers to move. To my amazement, there

seemed to be no time elapsed between the

moment the thought occurred and that of the

action. It was as if they were one and the

same; inseparable.

That’s when a question, one which was,

perhaps, way too big for me, arose: Who had

the thought? Who was it that willed the whole

thing into existence? My hand responded to

signals from my brain, sure, but where did my

brain get its instructions? What am I? Whereis Patrick in the process?

The question seemed too big for anyone,

much less, me. Was there someone in the



world that could see who I am when I couldn’t

even see myself? The likelihood of that

seemed, to me, impossible. After all, if I

couldn’t find out who or what I was, how could

someone on the outside looking in see me?

No. I had to find the answers to these

questions on my own, I decided.

So, I spent the next nine years seeking

those answers on my own. I sought them inbooks on mysticism, the occult, religions of all

sorts and even mind-altering drugs (the later,

being my favorite course of action). I went

down what can only be described as an

“introspective nightmare”, as the late Hunter

S. Thomson once put it. All I found was a

battered and bruised body and soul. As it

turned out, I only thought I knew what

confusion was like.

Then, when I was still in my teens, my

mom mentioned something about me goingto see my sister, Lelah, and her family in

Memphis for the summer. In a stoned haze at

the time, I vaguely recall saying something to



the effect of “No way!” and that was the end

of that. I’d heard stories from my brother,

David, about them.

They were “religious freaks”, as I

understood them, and I was not going to be

trapped for a whole summer with that

“nonsense”.

It was like a dream for me. You know, like

the dreams in which you’re in one place one

moment and then, BAM! you’re in another;

not sure how you got there, but, in retrospect,

the transition kind of makes since. One

moment I was being led about by my brother

through crowds of people and long lines, thenext I’m on an airplane. I looked at him at this

point and asked, “Where are we going?”

Surprised and a bit concerned over my

apparent lack of geographic coherency, he

informed me that we were going to

Tennessee. I was not happy. How did this

happen? Didn’t I say that I was not going to

Memphis?



I was convinced that, once in the ultra-

religious clutches of my sister and her

husband, Greg, I was to be preached at every

waking hour among them. With this in mind, I

was prepared to resist them the whole way. I

prepared what I thought to be my best

atheistic arguments to the existence of God. I

rehearsed them and even thought of a few

wild ideas of my own to throw at them. I wasready for battle.

When I arrived, however, the battle simply

didn’t happen. They didn’t try to convert me,

at all. They just simply welcomed me with

love and showed me where I would be

sleeping. Now I was really worried.

I waited all the first week for the shoe to

drop. All I saw were the daily lives of a family

as they loved one another and shared a deep

and abiding faith and love for God. What’s

more, they acted as though God was rightthere with them, as if He were real. Still, there

was no preaching. I thought I was going to

lose my anxious mind. I just knew that they



were merely waiting for me to drop my guard

and, WHAM!, “You’re going to hell if you don’t

repent, sinner!”

Well, I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I

started the conversation on my own. I cannot

tell you exactly how that went except to say

that I was not any way near prepared for it. I

discovered that God was real, not by anything

said in particular, but by feeling His verypresence all around me. It wasn’t judgmental

or damning. In fact, I got the very real since

that He was drawing me to Him, like a loving

father calling to his son to sit on His lap and

rest. Of course, I refused. Then the presence

was gone.

The overwhelming feeling that I’d “missed

the boat” consumed me. I found myself, over

the next several days, trying desperately to

find it again. I wanted another chance. This

time, I was not going to refuse. I wanted to befree. I wanted the confusion to stop, the fear

that stalked me day and night. I wanted to

know what it was like to have Him with me all



the time.

One day, I was informed by Lelah that they

were going to a church camp meeting for aweek and that she wanted me to go. A week

at a camp for Christians seemed to be a

logical place to find the presence of God

again. I couldn’t wait to get there.

At first, there was nothing. Then it

happened. During chapel one evening I

watched as a man, overcome with grief, knelt

down at the altar and wept before God for

help. But this was not what did it for me. What

I saw next revealed to me what was truly

lacking in my life.It seemed as though the whole

congregation felt his pain. They began to join

him at the altar, some wrapping their arms

around him, weeping and praying with him.

The presence of God was palpable. It was

then I knew what it was I was missing; a heart

that could love.

Still sitting in the pew, I simply prayed,



“God somewhere down the line I’ve lost my

heart. Can you give me my heart back?”

Immediately, all my pain came flooding to the

surface. I sobbed uncontrollably as God

washed it all away and filled me with His

presence, once and for all.

I wanted everyone to know Him. I wanted

as many as I could possibly reach to

experience the freedom He’d given to me. Iwanted all to know that He held in His hand

the ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven. All they

had to do was believe.

To that end, one winter day, I set out in

the snow, Bible in hand, and went knockingon doors. One by one, doors were slammed in

my face. Some even cursed me. One man

even went as far as to threaten bodily harm.

The day was a bust.

I started my journey back home, head

sagging and confused. I asked God, “Where

were You? I thought if I did this for You you’d

be there, empowering my words with Your

presence and changing lives.” I wondered if I



had done something wrong. Perhaps I didn’t

pray long enough, hard enough, or loud

enough before I left.

Quite discourage, I was heading home

when I noticed a man getting out of his car.

As I watched him open the back door of his

small house and disappear within, I felt urged

to go and tell him about Jesus. However, with

the day I’d just had, being cussed at againwas the furthest thing from my mind.

I kept walking and, with each step away

from that small house, the feeling became

stronger. My feet seemed heavier, as if there

were one pound weights being added witheach step I took. 20 or 30 pounds later, I

turned around.

It took a few moments for the man toanswer the door. As I waited, all I could thinkabout were all of those unfruitful encounters.

In a way, I hoped that no one would answer. The man answered and, by the look of him, heappeared to have been crying.

I introduced myself and explained that God



had put upon my heart the desire to stop andask if he knew Jesus. As he stood in thedoorway, he began to weep.

He invited me in and I soon found out thathe wasn’t the man I saw earlier, but his twinbrother whom he lived with. While his brotherwas out, he had been alone, sitting in the darkand depressed.

Apparently, he was a Christian. However,for a couple of years he’d turned away fromGod. Aside from a deep sense of guilt, he stillstruggled with bitterness. Some people fromhis former church had, apparently, mistreatedhim.

He’d gone back to drugs and alcohol and it

was destroying him. He was under theimpression that his sins were too great andGod simply didn’t care. He began to believethat God had given up on him and haddecided to end his own life. Before doing so,he prayed one last time.

He told the Lord, “If you still love me, you’llstop me.” That’s when he heard someone at



the door. It was a cold, tired and frustratedkid who, moments ago, was heading home indefeat. And so here I was, wondering why God

hadn’t answered my prayer. Looking back, Isee how I was God’s answer to someoneelse’s.

So, what was the difference? When Iknocked on all those other doors I was doingsomething “for” God. In this case, I was doingsomething “of” God. After all, if anyone knowswho is ready for their lives to be changed,God knows. So, why do we insist on bangingon doors before hearing from the one thatsees on the other side of them and opensthem, as well?

In our zeal, having been rescued and our

lives being changed, we often take matters inour own hands. However, consider what Jesussaid; “No one comes to the Son unless theFather draws them.” We cannot possibly knowwhen a heart is ready for truth and change. Ittakes God. Still we wonder why so many seeChristians as pushy and judgmental. Could itbe that, in the absence of waiting on God touse us, we have become just that?



Alcoholics Anonymous says that the first

road to recovery is to realize that you have a

problem. Often, this requires us to first

become destitute and broken. We have to

become so sick that we no longer can ignore

the symptoms of our sickness. Only the sick

seek a physician.

This is why Jesus said, “I did not come forthe well, but for the sick.” It wasn’t that the

well weren’t sick, but because they saw

themselves as healthy; all the while, suffering.

You cannot hope to help someone find the

answers they seek as long as they insist that

they already have them.

When you consider your life in the light of

the Law of Love, you must also face up to the

fact that you are a failure in the keeping of it.

Being mindful of your knowledge of what that

failure causes, ask yourself this: How muchdamage have I already done?

I used to fancy myself to be a descent

guitarist. After all, people had told me that I



was pretty good at it. My mom said I was the

greatest (surely she wouldn’t lie to me). That

all changed, of course, when I met a real

musician. Suddenly, in the light of that real

talent and experience, my flawed guitar

abilities were revealed. It was then that I

realized that I was not quite ready to call

myself a “guitarist”.

The “real thing” has a way of exposing theimposters. “I would never have known that

lust was evil until the law said not to covet.

When the law came, sin was revealed and I

died.” (Romans 7:7 paraphrased).

Any act apart from a motivation of love iscounterintuitive to the purpose of God for our

lives. Continuing in a selfish lifestyle,

therefore, requires we do so with the

knowledge that we are wrong. It’s like a

patient continuing to drink alcohol after his

doctor told him it was causing his liver to fail.Doing so requires willfully self-destructive

behavior.

I am then faced with a choice; continue in



sin, or seek help. Either way, I will be changed

for good or for worse.

There will come a day that we shall standbefore God and when we are judged it will not

be by words of rebuke, but by our own

conscience. We shall be standing in the

presence of pure love. It is that love,

compared to the lack thereof in our own lives,

which will judge us.



Chapter 5Who Are You?

Adam, since we last saw him, has done

quite well for himself. He has a job as anarchitect for a major firm, a nice home, and anew car. He even has a big screen television.On which, he enjoys watching football with hisbuddies on the weekends.

However, let us not lose sight of the

experiment. After all, he’s been created forthe expressed purpose of understandingconsciousness from a purely scientific,impartial and objective point of view. We’vetaught him how to speak and given him allthe advantages of a “normal” life. Having

done so, we have discovered how oneexperiences life as new and broaderinformation is given to him. Now, let usembark on a new experiment. We will seewhat happens when we take all he possessesaway from him.

Now we learn something about Adam thatwe had not expected. He became sopassionate about the things life had to offerthat he had become driven to discover more.



His whole existence had become theaccumulation of things. He began to strive forsuch things as financial success and freedom.

So much so that he began to define himself as“an architect”, “a home owner” and “an avidfootball fan”. Now he hasn’t a job, a home, ora way to watch the game, having lost histelevision. He doesn’t even have his reclinerin which he often sat to see his favorite teamplay.

One day Adam was able to clearly definehimself. His life had meaning. He had anidentity. The next day he has nothing and,therefore, if only in his own summation, isnothing. To him, his life has ended.

Now, don’t worry, I know we’ve become

quite attached to our little creation. We’llrestore him to his former state on time to seethe next game. But, in the mean time, whathave we learned from Adam?

Like most, he had built his whole life onthings that are temporal. After all, a job, anew car, a beautiful home and a big screen TVare nice. However, in the end, they all go



away. Have we really taken from himanything that won’t inevitably disappear onits own? And, when he does get it all back, will

he appreciate this fact and become lessattached, or will he live in fear of losing it all?Will he lock it up so no one can get to it? Willhe make us sign a carefully drawn upcontract, excluding us of the right to pluck itaway at a scientific whim?

What have you built your life upon? If youlost all you think you possess, would you thenno longer be who you are? Are you a guitaristor a painter? What if you were in an accidentthat took your hands or eyes? What if you hadsome other disfigurement that rendered you

unable to play or paint? What would be youridentity then? I ask again, what have you builtyour life upon? Can it be taken from you? Whoare you, really?

If I were to ask you what it is you wantright now you might say something like, “Iwant a better job.” Why? You might answer,“Because I need to make more money.”

Why?



“I want to be able to get out of dept, get abigger home, pay for my kids’ college, etc.”

Why?

“So I won’t have to worry about moneyanymore. My family will be provided for.”

Why? Worry is the reason you are unhappy.

It’s ironic how the very process of doingaway with worry in our lives is the very thingthat causes it. Instead of finding freedom andhappiness via the accumulation of money andthings, we find yet more misery. We worry

about thieves, the stock market, termites, cartrouble, debt, or losing our jobs. So, we buysafes, get better insurance, make moremoney and start our own business. However,with all our getting, our upgraded lifestyle hasonly brought upgraded worry.

We are building our lives on theassumption that these temporal, fragile thingswill make us happy. But they cannot as longas they can die and be taken away from us. In



fact, they aren’t really ours anyway, as longas the inevitability of their loss is present.

They are ours as long as we or they are.

I remember reading once of Christians thatwere caught up in the Hitler holocaust andthrown into a concentration camp. They wereforbidden to read or possess a Bible. Nor werethey allowed to congregate. If they werecaught praying they were severely beaten, sothey had to pray in secret, in their heads.

One of the prisoners was later asked howthey survived it. To which she responded, “Nomatter what they did to my body, no matterwhat things or freedoms they forbad me, they

were powerless to take the one thing that wasfar more precious to me than anything in theworld; my faith in God and my love for myfellow man. I’d learned to love even theguards that abused me.”

Nothing of this world has the power todestroy you as long as the definition of yourexistence is not derived from what the worldhas to offer. The world, along with all of itsriches, are as the sparks that go up from a



fire; they dazzle but for a moment and thenvanish into the darkness, hardly remembered.

This is why the saddest state of man is tobelieve that there is no God. The Atheist faithis one that, in the end, says that there is noafterlife and, therefore, there is nothingeternal. It is sad because to believe such athing is to believe that this life we live hasnothing of true, lasting value. We are, as thesong says, “Dust in the Wind” and all we haveto look forward to is to fear the inevitable.

However, this is precisely why I believethat the single most crucial and vital messagethat has ever come from God to man is this;

LOVE! No matter what happens in this life, itis love that will sustain us. It is also love thatwill free us, show us our eternal purpose and,in the end, judge us.



Chapter 6We Are Not Alone

My sister, Lelah, was diagnosed with

cervical cancer. After a brief remission we

received news that it had hit her again.

Over the next two years we watched as

her condition deteriorated. She was finally

bed ridden. Due to the tumor’s applying

pressure on her femoral artery in her inner

thigh, she was experiencing levels of pain anddiscomfort that I cannot even begin to

imagine, much less explain. They had her on

morphine to deal with the pain, but,

inevitably, she needed heavier doses until it

was just too dangerous to give her more. Her

body had become immune to the drug,

leaving her to suffer the pain.

Toward the end, she was moved to a



hospice where they were just trying to keep

her as comfortable as possible as they waited

for her to die. My wife and I, along with my

mother, my sister’s husband, Greg, her three

children, and many others spent what were to

be her last days on this earth at her side. We

just loved her, cared for her, prayed for her

and did our best to keep from crying while in

her presence (often failing on the later).Most of us believed that God was going to

do a miracle on her behalf. That He was going

to answer our prayers and she was going to

regain her ability to eat, drink, and speak and

then get up on her own accord, completely

healed. Friends and family were coming from

all over the world to be at her side to pray

towards that end. Still, she laid there in that

hospital bed. The only sign of life, other than

her labored breathing and an occasional

squeeze of the hand, was when she cried outas her body was wracked with spasmodic

pain. We were desperate for answers.

I watched as our mother hovered over her



baby girl and washed her pale face. She used

a wet sponge to keep Lelah’s parched mouth

from getting too dry and softly stroked her

arm, face and hands saying things like,

“Mommy’s here, baby. It’s okay.”

As I witnessed this tender and affectionate

display of my mother’s love, hoping beyond

hope that her daughter was going to live, a

question entered my heart. At first it servedas an affirmation of my faith and then as a

question smothered in anger and doubt.

I prayed, “God, supposedly, you love her. I

know we all love her and, if it was in our

power, we’d make her well. We’d take awaythis cancer, the pain, the loss of weight and

strength. We’d have our sweet, lovable and

beautiful Lelah back and she would live. You

do have that power. Yet, you do nothing. Do

we love her more than you do?”

Then I remembered the last conversation I

had with her. While praying for her, these

words from the Bible invaded my thoughts.

They were so intense that I couldn’t



concentrate. Persistently, they said, “In all

things, give thanks.”

I won’t even attempt to describe how Iknew (if there are words suitable for such a

feat I haven’t found them, yet.), I just knew

that this was a message God wanted me to

deliver to Lelah. And, it was urgent enough

that we had to leave our home in Mississippi

as soon as possible and go to Atlanta to seeher. My wife, Tina, insisted that we do just

that and, before I knew it, I was sitting at my

sister’s bedside.

Leaning in close, I said, “Lelah, I have

received a message from God for you. I hopeyou don’t mind hearing it from a jack-ass.” I

was referring to a story in the Bible I knew

she’d be familiar with (Numbers 22:22-35).

She looked at me and, with a chuckle, said,

“You’re not a jackass, Patrick.”

“Well,” I said, “I’m just telling you this first

because I want you to look past the

messenger and know that this is a message

from God. I’m just doing what I’m told.” (I was



nervous, knowing what pain she’d been

enduring. Having not experienced her

particular suffering first hand, I didn’t want to

presume upon her circumstances.) I then told

her that the Lord wanted her to be thankful in

ALL things, including times like these.

To my surprise, she began to sob. She told

me that the Lord had been speaking the same

thing to her own heart, but she wasn’t able toaccept it. It was hard for her to see past her

suffering and see the good in her life. And

who could blame her.

One night I became somewhat

overwhelmed by grief. It was one of thosemoments when I failed to keep my tears to

myself while in her presence. As I sat there

holding her hand, head down and pathetically

sobbing, I heard her say, “Trust the Lord,

Patrick.”

She had lost so much weight that she was

a mere shadow of her former self. These

words were spoken in the midst of

unimaginable pain. Yet, they were words that



seemed to clarify the message that,

apparently, she’d comprehended, though the

“jackass” had no clue; “Be thankful in ALL

things.”

Still, as I write these words, I find myself

fighting back the tears. I miss “my sissy” very

much. However, I know that God, through her,

has once again confirmed something eternal

and far reaching; the knowledge that he doeslove us. He loves us ALL. He loves us so much,

in fact, that He wants us each, more than

anything else, to know what true love really

is. At times, this requires that we make

sacrifices we won’t necessarily understand.

After all, we work in concert with The All

Knowing, and do so from our finite view.

When Jesus was about to go to the cross,

seeing the path of suffering for the sake of us

all, He knelt and prayed. The Bible says that

He was so distraught that He told Hisdisciples, “The sorrow in my heart is so great

that it crushes me.” Then, after instructing

them to stay and pray, he went a little ways



from them, “and threw himself upon the

ground and prayed . . . Father, My Father! All

things are possible for you. Take this cup of

suffering from me. Yet not what I want, but

what you want.”

His time had come and, faced with the

inevitability of his suffering and death, he

turned to His Father in Heaven and accepted

God’s will. I see now that He had some insiderinformation. He knew that, although it may

have not been the only way to save us from a

life without knowing Him, it was the best way.

He, through this ultimate sacrifice, is our

ultimate example of true love. He is a savior

who is truly “touched with the feelings of our

infirmities.”

It is no more possible for us to answer why

God doesn’t always heal those we love than it

is to know why He sometimes does. However,

one thing that we can be sure of is this; at thecore of His will, no matter what we may or

may not see or understand, is an all

encompassing, far reaching, long-suffering



and pure love. What He asks of us is that we

strive to know Him on a personal level and, as

we experience Him, both as witnesses of his

love toward us and toward others, we will

learn to love as we are loved. God is not a

response to faith. Faith is a response to God.

Where does one begin to understand

love? I mean really understand. Our heads

can be so full of knowledge, butunderstanding is what makes us real. At times

I find myself faced with personal dilemmas

and wonder what happened to all of my great,

helpful knowledge. Why can I not seem to

apply it to my own circumstances? It’s as

though all that knowledge seems hollow when

I need it most. It’s just knowledge. Sure it’s

great for giving advice and impressing your

friends, but where is it in your daily life? Why

is that? Because knowledge is information

comprehended. Understanding is knowledgeimbedded upon the heart and soul through

experience and practice.

I remember the first time I got a good look



at a car engine after having learned some

useful things about them. Before, it seemed

almost like I was looking at something out of

some sci-fi movie. It had all those hoses,

wires, steal and grease. It intimidated me. So

much so that I resigned myself to ignorance,

“Don’t worry about how it works. Just hope

that when you turn that key, put it in gear and

push on the gas it does what you want it todo; take you from point A to point B.”

However, out of knowledge grew boldness.

This is no strange concept to us. Something

as simple as sitting in a chair is evidence of

this fact. If I KNOW that it will hold me, I am

BOLD enough to sit in it without worry.

Out of that boldness grew curiosity. When I

was no longer intimidated by it, I went past

the threshold of fear and looked closer. I went

on to learn more. I pulled the carburetor,

broke it down and saw, first hand, what I had,heretofore, only seen in books.

Then experience. As I experienced the

process of dissecting and reassembling motor



parts, I began to see its fundamental

simplicity. I remember something my brother,

Sam, told me once. He said that, as long as

you are afraid of getting your hands greasy,

you’ll never learn that there is nothing to be

afraid of. It’s just a machine.

With experience came familiarity and, from

that, understanding. Understanding makes all

the difference in the world between knowingsomething and BEING something. There are

mechanics, and there are people that know a

little about cars.

But let’s be honest; love is far more

complex to BE than a mechanic. We need ateacher. And not just any teacher, but one

that we know is a true master at the art of

love. We need someone that has been tried in

the furnace of life and came out the other

side pure. We need Jesus, the Son of God and

the ultimate example of true love, to show us.

I am reminded often of a friend that used

to be a counselor at a Bible-based

rehabilitation center in Missouri. His name



was Ron. He was raised by his mother and

sisters with very little, if any, male influence.

As a result, perhaps, this made him seem a

bit effeminate. He spoke with a lisp, he was

neat and his clothes and shoes were always

color coordinated. As one can imagine, this

made life very hard for him at times. People

were often quick to assume that he was a

homosexual (for what it’s worth; he was not).While at the center working one day, he

learned that one of the male students in the

program thought that Ron had made

advances at him and had issued a complaint

to the director. Having no other choice but to

investigate it further, they arranged a

meeting at the director’s office between Ron

and the Administrative Board.

Knowing that there were those on the

board that questioned his sexual orientation

already (for reasons I’ve already described),this made him a little nervous, to say the

least. More than that, he was saddened by the

whole mess. He saw a need to convey to



them the hurtful nature of the accusation.

However, he also felt that he needed to do so

without being disrespectful.

The problem was that he didn’t know how?

Having lived with this sort of misconception

for most of his life, as one can imagine, he

was still struggling with some bitterness.

What if he lost his cool?

Wanting to do the right thing, he prayed

for guidance. The night before his meeting he

had a dream. He was just standing before his

accusers, his fist held out to them as if he

were offering them something. Then he

opened his hand to reveal a stone. One of them snatched the stone from his hand and

violently threw it to the ground. Then he held

out his other hand and produced a small,

delicate butterfly. With this, they were more

careful.

So, the following day he walked into the

office with the answer to his dilemma. As he

feared, he was faced with indignant accusers.

It was as if they’d already decided that he



was guilty. They were just going through the

unpleasant formality of investigating the

matter.

When they asked him, in so many words,

“What do you have to say for yourself?” he

quietly, humbly and openly began to tell

them. He told them about the hurt he’d

suffered for so long over this obtuse

assumption that he was gay. He didn’t rail atthem with “How dare you . . .” or “One would

think you would at least give me the benefit

of the doubt!” He simply showed them the

frailty of the man that stood before them and,

ashamed, they listened to his defense with an

open heart. They realized that they weren’t

handling a stone that cannot be harmed, but

a fragile creature of God.

Obviously, this isn’t a solution for every

situation in which one is being falsely

accused. Every situation is unique to itscircumstances. In Ron’s case, it was the

perfect solution. He wasn’t going on his own

ability and wisdom. He’d exhausted himself



trying to figure out the right way to handle it.

He knew that his bitterness and his own sense

of indignation over the affair clouded his

vision. He needed God to show him how to

speak in the spirit of love, and it was love that

exonerated him.

Jesus once said “I tell you the truth; the

Son can do nothing on His own; He does only

what He sees His Father doing. What thefather does, the Son also does. For the Father

loves the Son and shows Him all that He

Himself is doing.” (The Gospel of John 5:19-

20).

Consider what Jesus did for His disciples:He stripped down to His undergarments and

did something that was reserved as a duty of

slaves; He filled a basin with water and began

washing their feet. When He got to Peter,

Peter said, “Never at any time will you wash

my feet!”

Jesus responded, “If you do not let me

wash your feet you will no longer be my

disciple.”



Peter quickly changed his mind, saying

“Lord, do not only wash my feet then! Wash

my hands and head, too!”

Jesus then told them that just as He washed

their feet, they should do the same for one

another. He taught them to mimic His actions

of love and service to their fellow man. His

message was for us to do nothing of

ourselves, but to see what He does and, by it,learn how to live.

As God loves, Jesus loves and as He loves,

we love. And, perhaps, the greatest news for

us is that, as we do so, we show the world

how it’s done. Remember the guitar example;I thought I was a guitarist, that is, until I saw

what a real musician looks like.

And so, it begins with the knowledge of

love. As we walk with God, we grow in its

practice. It is through that relationship, in

which we trust Him and desire to be more like

Him, that we gain the understanding of what

true love is. The hope that we have in Christ is

that we no longer have to consciously decide



to love others, but do it naturally.



Chapter 7Adorning Truth

Dr. Wayne Dyer coined a now famous

phrase in self-help circles; “When you change

the way you look at things the things you look

at change.” To explain in more detail, let’s

imagine that you and I are sales-persons

going door to door. You knock on the door anda man answers. Upon seeing us dressed in

our suits, his eyes grow wild with apparent

fear and he bolts back through the house and

out the back door. In fact, he keeps running.

He jumps over neighborhood fences, into a

drainage ditch and only stops to hide in alarge drain pipe.

To you and me, this is very strange

behavior. To him, it makes complete since.

You see, we’ve happened upon the home of a

man that had recently robbed a bank andthought we were FBI agents. Regardless of

our true intent, the man’s prospective

changed his circumstances. He was operating



from fear and it was fear that ruled his

experience.

Jesus said, “It is not what goes into a manthat defiles him, but what comes out of him.”

In other words, the condition of the heart is

what determines what the condition of our

external experience will be. If I have turned

my experiences into bitterness, my life will

bear the fruit of that bitterness. It will eat atme like a cancer until it destroys me. It may

even cause physical problems like high blood

pressure, heart disease and ulcers, just to

name a few. Not to mention the hardships it

causes in my relationships with others.

But it’s not enough to simply say

“Bitterness is bad for you.” We must know

why such things are damaging. If I were to tell

you that it was good for your car to add sugar

to your gasoline, and you believed this to be

true, you’d soon find that your car doesn’t runso well. If you had a great amount of

confidence in my knowledge about cars you

will likely never consider the sugar as having



been the problem. In fact, you may even

come to me for further advice on how to fix it,

making the problem even worse. You, having

subscribed to a lie, have resigned to car

failure.

Obviously, the cure is to find the truth.

Once adorned with it, it acts like a shield

against lies and subsequent damaging

behavior.

For instance; our bitterness is much like

the sugar in our gas. It is a result of operating

on the assumption that a lie is actually the

truth. The lie is that we have the right to hate

others out of a sense of duty to protectourselves. Also, that the way this is done is by

punishing those that offend us. So, if I am hit,

I hit back, if I am insulted, I insult and so on.

We take on the “An eye for an eye, a tooth for

a tooth” mentality. All of this is just as

damaging to us as sugar in our gasoline isdamaging to our cars.

The truth is that God has designed the

universe to operate best on the principles of



love and not hate. Jesus often used the

example of a seed being planted. If I sow the

seeds of apples I get apple trees. If I sow the

seeds of oranges I get oranges. What we sow

into life will also bear fruit.

Our homeowner, thinking we were the FBI,

ran because he had sown the seeds of fear.

Having broken the law, he knew he would

bring upon himself officers of lawenforcement.

Psalms 119:9-12 (The Message Bible)

reads,

“How can a young man live a clean life? By

carefully reading the map of Your Word.

I am single minded in my pursuit of You, don’t

let me miss the road signs You’ve posted.

I have banked Your promises in the vault of

my heart, so I will not sin myself bankrupt.”

If you want to know what the truth is,

concerning the proper things to add to your

gas tank, I’d advise you not to go to a dentist.

If you wish to know the truth about your life



and how best to live--- I’d advise you to look

to the One that knows all and sees all.

So how does one “live a clean life”? First,look at it from the perspective of truth. What

does God say? If you do not believe the Bible,

look around. Your own life and that of others

are living examples of it. Do the evil have

peace? Do they enjoy the fruits of being one

that has a good report among his/her peers?Do they even have the joy of true friendship,

the love of others, the respect of others, or

the inner peace of knowing that they are a

force of good in the world? Or do they live in

fear of retribution from those they have

wronged, or of losing all they have gained to

thieves, having built their whole existence on

temporal possessions and pleasures? What

will happen to them on the day when all of

that is taken from them, either in this life or in

the transition to the next?If all I have are things that can be taken

from me then, when they are, my life

becomes worthless to me. All meaning in my



life, being the accumulation of things, will

cease to be; leaving me destitute and

destroyed.

Seek God for truth and, having done so,

view your life in comparison to it. I can tell

you from personal experience that, as the

Bible says, “He is a rewarder of those that

diligently seek Him.”

The truth is like armor designed to protect

you from the lies; “If I had more money, I’d be

happy.” and “I can hold a grudge against

those that have offended me and still expect

forgiveness when I’ve wronged others.” It is

there to thwart thoughts like, “If I looked likethat super model, that body builder, or that

hunk actor or beautiful actress I’d find peace,

love and happiness.”

The armor of truth is the attitude that says

“Give bread to the hungry. Bring the poor to

your house.” It says “Forgive those that sin

against you. Bless those that curse you. If

someone strikes you in the face, turn to them

your other cheek as well. By doing so, you will



cause them to see their wrong.” The truth is

that we are not defined by external

measurements, but on that which is internal.

Whatever is not born from a motive of love is

sin.



Chapter 8A New Beginning

There is a popular teaching among main

stream rehabilitation circles. It says that an

alcoholic, drug or sex addict, or even an

overeater has an incurable disease. Those of

us that have succumbed to such addictions,

therefore, will forever be “in recovery”. If Iwas to go to an AA meeting and profess that I

am an “ex-alcoholic”, for instance, I might

expect a quick correction to come my way.

“You are not an ex-alcoholic” they’d say “you

are a ‘recovering’ alcoholic. You will never be

totally free of your addiction.” This teaching iswidely accepted and taught all over the world

as essential to recovery from any vice.

However, it is this very teaching that is largely

responsible for dismal results in the long term

sobriety of their patients.

It’s like a man that complains that his

house stinks. Someone tells him, “Your house,

I’m afraid, will always smell bad. It is just the



nature of your home. You’ll have to spend the

rest of your life fumigating, therefore. If you

ever forget the stench that lies beneath the

deodorant, the smell will return.” All the

while, all you really need to do is take the

trash out.

Through a desire to cure human frailties,

through the development of pharmaceuticals

and expensive psycho-therapies, we havecreated a culture in which we actually define

ourselves as “alcoholics”, “drug addicts”,

“bipolar”, “ADHD”, and many other so-called

“chemical imbalances”. It’s as if, by defining

myself by these labels, I am freed from the

responsibility for the actions they give rise to.

“It’s not something I can control. I was born

with a disorder.”

What we are really doing is dooming

ourselves to mediocrity by a self-fulfilling

prophesy. I have defined myself as “aforgetful person”, so I forget. I have defined

myself as “an addict”. So doing, I live my life

in fear of my addiction and, therefore, am on



the verge of failure until the day I die. As long

as you let that old man or old woman live,

don’t be surprised when they fight to regain

control of your life.

In my own struggle against unhealthy

addiction, I have experienced no small

amount of frustration at times. One particular

such time, I turned to God and said “Lord,

how can I change my desire? If I want it morethan I want to live without it, how is it possible

to change?” Someone said to me once, “You

have to change your ‘want-to’.” I remember

thinking, “What? How is that possible?” I

found it hard to grasp the idea that one could

change the way they see the world and just

BE different than what was in their heart. The

reason being; one cannot.

As long as the heart is filled with one thing

it cannot contain another. A glass, filled to the

rim with mud, cannot contain one drop of pure water. An apple tree cannot bring forth

oranges. If you want oranges, first the apple

tree must die, be removed and then replaced



with seed that produces an orange tree.

What’s key here is that the old has to die and

the vision for the new must be attended to.

We create for ourselves the world in which

we exist. First, our hearts are prepared by our

experience. As all those “red dots” come into

our lives we begin to develop future

responses to life’s challenges. We even

develop our goals based on them.

Momentous occasions, be they painful or

joyful, have a way of tilling the heart. It’s not

unlike a farmer who tills a field to make it

prime for planting new seeds. The seeds one

plants in the heart are that of perception.For instance; an individual that we love

and trust betrays us. Our heart is broken. We

feel vulnerable and wounded. What lessons

do we take from such experiences?

One might see it as a lesson that no onecan be trusted or that love is too risky a

proposition. However, what kind of behavior

grows from such a seed? While the soil that is



my heart is ripest for planting (when life

brings me adversity and pain), I decided to

plant the notion that “no one” can be trusted.

I shouldn’t be surprised when the tree that is

my life sprouts bitterness, distrust in others

and an inability to be trustworthy, as well.

Notwithstanding, one that plants such a seed

will certainly not grow close, meaningful and

open relationships. Instead, our lives will bearthe fruits of loneliness. “Whatsoever a man

sows that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).

I am reminded of a friend that spent most

of her adult life bouncing from one one-night-

stand to another. Later in life, when she

began to reach out for a more meaningful,

long term relationship, she found that she was

incapable of connecting with men. (It is an

affliction that I am not entirely unfamiliar

with, myself. It took several years, in fact,

before I was able to even imagine therelationship I now have with my wife.)

Upon further investigation into her past, it

was discovered that, at a very young age, she



classify our experiences. This allows us to

recognize them in the future and come up

with a plan of action for when we do. We, by

this process, program our responses for daily

life.

If my only experience with fire was when I

got burned, and I surmised that fire is bad, I

know to fear it in the future. However, if I had

also experienced its warmth on a cold night, Iknow that it is a blessing that requires

respectful care and caution when handling.



Chapter 9It’s a Conspiracy

“I pray that they may all be one, Father! May

they be in us, just as You are in Me, and I am in

You. May they be one, so that the world will

believe that you sent Me. I gave them the same

glory you gave Me, so that they may be one just as

You and I are one. I in them and You in Me, so that

they may be completely one, so that the world will

know that You sent Me and that you love them as

You love Me.” (The Gospel According to John,

17:20-23, Jesus’ prayer for his disciples).

Let’s return to our subject from chapter 1,Adam, for a moment. It’s back before he had

a house, yard, car, wife, kids and a new pair

of cosmic shoes. He is still the Adam that lives

in a deprivation chamber with only a red dot

to keep him company. However, we’ve

decided to add our voice to his experience.

So, we say, “Hello, Adam.”

The sound, at first, is frightening. He

suddenly discovers that he has ears and what



their purpose is. We continue to speak to him

for many hours a day over the next week.

Our voice is fast becoming just as much of a facet of his world as the Red Dot. In fact, he

begins to believe, perhaps, that it is the Red

Dot that is making the noise. He attempts to

mimic the sounds. Soon, we find Adam

repeating our words back to us. He cannot

understand their meaning, though. Thisrequires a point of reference.

What if I were to give you a novel and say

that this novel was written in the 16th

century? However, upon reading it, you came

across the following sentence; “I grabbed mycell phone and lap top, hopped into the car

and quickly drove to the airport.” By this, you

would instantly know that I was either being

deceitful, or seriously mistaken concerning

the time in which it was written. There were

no cell phones, lap tops, cars, or airplanesduring that time period. Therefore, it was

impossible to have thoughts about them,

much less to write about them in a novel.



Armed with this understanding, we can

safely assume that Adam, though he seems to

show some potential as an impressionist, will

not be able to understand the meaning of our

words within his current, limited environment.

We may be able to teach him the word “car”,

but, as to what a car is requires a point of

reference when he hears the word.

This in mind, we create the image of a carfor him, but only when we say the word “car”.

Almost immediately, Adam has learned his

first word along with its meaning. Now, all we

have to do is show the image and Adam says,

“Car!” When we speak to him in the future we

say “Adam, have you seen my ‘car’?” he

instantly recalls the image.

More than that, Adam has discovered that

the sounds he’s been hearing have meaning.

They are more than mere sounds, but

something powerful! They are an end to hisloneliness and a beginning of knowledge and

companionship. Armed with this

understanding, he can learn what the Red Dot



is and, as we add more images to go with our

words, how to understand and even speak our

language.

If you wish to be a great guitarist,

therefore, get familiar with the people that

play guitar, go to places where the guitar is

being played, surround yourself with guitar

paraphernalia and play the guitar.

What if you want to be a force of love in

the world? What if what you aspire to is to

work in concert with the highest functioning

purpose of the universe, Love?

At the beginning of this chapter you read a

quote taken from the last prayer Jesus prayedfor His disciples before being taken to be

crucified. Throughout His life on this earth He

was recorded as saying that He and God were

“One”. He said things like, “I do nothing of

Myself, but first I hear the Father. I do what

He does. I say what He says.” He taught His

disciples, as in the example of washing their

feet at the Passover supper, to immolate Him.

He taught them to love one another as He had



loved them.

At the core of Jesus’ prayer He is saying

this; by living according to His example of love, His disciples are one with Him as well as

God. The lines that separated them as pieces

to a multifaceted universe, in other words,

would be blurred until those lines no longer

exist. The works of His followers were His

works and, by extension, the works of God.

If I am part of a baseball team my win is

their win and my loss is theirs, as well. So,

you won’t hear the pitcher say to the catcher,

“You won the game!”, or vice versa. He may

say something like, “You won the game forus!”, but that isn’t entirely accurate, is it? It

took the whole team to come up with the

victory. They ceased to be individuals, they

are a team. They are “One”.

The Apostle John wrote, “He that says He

loves God and hates his brother is a liar and

the truth is not in Him.” (1st John 4: 20). If you

and I wish to be “One” with God we must live

a life that is led by His example of love. By



seeing the work of God in the universe we

discover the face of pure love. Our seeing it

gives us a reference point by which to

compare our hearts and lives to it. It is no

different than when we introduced the image

and title of a car to Adam’s world. It created

for him a means by which to know the

difference between one object (the car) and

another (the red dot). Having seen it, our oldway dies and gives space for a new

beginning.

This is all God really wants from us. He

wants us to know first what love is and,

equipped with that knowledge, to live in

accordance to it. In this we are doing always

the will of the Father, God. In this, therefore,

we are one with Him.

“Beloved, let us love one another. For love

is of God, and everyone that loves is born of

God, and knows God. He that loves not—knows not God, for God IS love.” (1st John 4:

7&8).



Chapter 10One Truth

It’s so easy to subscribe to any number of

formulae regarding things like right living and

success. If you’re looking for some teaching

that gives you steps or religious practices to

follow, you will discover that there are manysuch voices in the world. However, any

teaching worth finding will have at its core

one basic principle; if love is your motive,

focus and end result you are doing something

right.

I often stumble across a televangelist while

channel surfing that teaches that what God

wants for us is to be wealthy. He teaches a

principle of giving to get. He says that the

reason we give, for instance, is so God will

bless us with great worldly wealth andprosperity. It’s so sad to think how much this

man has missed the true blessings of giving.

But faith is a response to God and not the



other way around.

I have some bad news for those of you that

think God wants you rich; it is very likely thatHe doesn’t (at least not in the monetary and

temporal since of the word.) In fact, He is

quite clear on the matter, saying “How hard is

it for a rich man to get into heaven? I say unto

you, it is easier for a camel to get through the

eye of a needle.” (Luke 18:24&25).

If what you want is born of selfish desire

and envy, you are not living as a child of God

any more than a duck is the child of a cat. A

child of God first desires what their Father

desires, asks and then receives. These“wealth and health” preachers teach a false

gospel. Paul wrote that such should be

cursed, because, by their false teachings,

they lead the unwary astray from the truth.

The Christian life is one of unity and

agreement with God. It is one of waiting for

His direction, observing His example and

living out His desire for our lives and not that

of our own. If you want to live under the



delusion of independence (because that’s

what it really is, a delusion) you don’t want to

be a child of God.

Jesus made this quite clear to those that

sought Him out for the miracles He

performed. He said once, for example, “You

come to me for bread. But if you knew who I

was you would come to me for spiritual bread,

the manna of truth, and you would neverhunger again.” (John 6:26-40).

Whatever you may think or others may

teach, Jesus never came with the intention of

making His followers wealthy, well dressed

and without pain or sorrow. If you doubt this,look to His teachings.

The message of Christ was and always will

be one thing, “Love.” There is no greater “red

dot”. Love is that great connection to our

potential, our hope for greater understanding,

the step in the direction of the greatest of

adventures and, most importantly, our

connection with God.



The Bible teaches us to let love rule. Let it

master you and it will never fail to lead you on

the path to a new beginning. It is a path that

begins when you let go of all the lies that

have served as sugar in the gas in our already

sputtering lives. Die and be born again. In

other words, surrendering to the rule of love

means to abandon the rule of selfish ambition

and pride.When faced with a decision to forgive or

pass judgment, submit to love. When faced

with the decision to steal or give, submit to

love. When faced with clinging to addictions

that both harm you and others, submit to

love. In all that life throws at you, let love

rule.

“He that loves not, knows not God. For God is

Love.”



Chapter 11 The Good News

There is, it seems, an ever present danger

to succumb to a point of view prevalent in

society. It is a view that teaches a moralistic,theological self-deism. It is moralistic in that

we are told that if we are “basically” good

people that’s enough. It is theological in that



it gives lip service to God (albeit, as a big,

fuzzy hearted sugar daddy that just wants us

all to get along). And it is self-deism as it

teaches that all things exist for our

enjoyment. It’s the belief that redemption is

not a matter of being bought back from sin,

but, rather, we have taken the necessary

steps to atone for our sins by forgiving

ourselves and making a commitment tochange.

However, when you consider the damage

that is caused by disobeying the law of love,

you must also consider the absolute futility in

ever doing enough good to make up for it. It is

done and there is no taking it back. If I were

to stop there, there can be only one

conclusion; we deserve all that God’s

judgment has in store for us, both in this life

and in the final, eternal judgment that awaits

us. In this temporal life, therefore, God hasordered the universe to return to us our evil

through things like famine, pestilence,

poverty, abuse and war. On our day of



judgment we will pay with the loss of our soul

to the fire of God’s wrath.

The Good News is Jesus. “For God so lovedthe world that He gave His only begotten Son,

so that anyone that believes in Him should

not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John

3:16) So, Jesus, having kept the law of love,

has accepted all that God had in store for us

as His own to bear. Instead of being the judgeof us, He has become the judged. As such, He

has become our defense against all judgment.

God says to those that believe that it is

enough that Jesus was crucified and, so, we

are forgiven.

What’s more, through the faith of and in

Christ, who we were while we lived in

disobedience to the law of love died with Him.

And, as He was raised from the dead, we too

are raised in newness of life. We are given

God’s grace while He fashions us to be likeHim; love.

What is grace? Grace is the patient,

longsuffering of God while He teaches us to



walk through life in obedience to the His Law

of Love. “If we confess our sins (our failing to

obey the law of love) He is faithful and just to

forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us of all

unrighteousness.”

The last thing I want to happen as a result

of this book is to merely leave you with a

desire to be a better person. If that is all you

have now, it is not enough. You will only findthat, in the end, you are a still a miserable

failure.

What you need to know is that sin is much

more than breaking some arbitrary rule

passed down by men that have been deadand buried for centuries. Also, righteousness

is much, much more than abstaining from

some food, drink or manner of dress. It is

much more than the practicing of rituals like

going to church regularly or any other such

outward appearance of holiness. It is, in fact,much harder than that. It is not true

obedience unless it is who you really are in

the heart, because that is the “you” that God



sees.

Therefore, He is the only righteous judge.

What we need is more than a “change of heart”, but a heart transplant. We need to be

transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The only way this can take place is by the

grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

If I have failed to reason with you on this

point, I have truly and utterly fail to

accomplish the purpose of this book. I claim

to know nothing at all if not the Gospel of the

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My desire is that you will believe. And,

having done so, that you taste and see thatthe Lord is Good. This desire is born from a

heart that He has changed and is changing

into the image of His own; a heart of Love.



Chapter 12A Prayer

Lord, you said that no one comes to you unless

they are drawn by you. My prayer, therefore, is

that you will use the words of this book to draw

your children to you. I pray that you will reveal

yourself as you truly are; love. I pray that thereaders of this book will grow in their hunger for

you and that, through that hunger, they will

discover your infinite mercy and that you are a

rewarder of those that diligently seek you.

Open our hearts and minds to the potential within

us that is as vast and everlasting as the universewe are part of. Show us that all that we do or say

affects all that you have created, just as it affects

us in our daily lives. Show us that the love we get

out of life is measured by the love we’ve put into it

and, most of all, by the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus,

you have put all of your love in it for our sakes that believe.

Thank you, Lord, for your infinite patience,

kindness, mercy, longsuffering and for the truth

that you have so freely given to all that seek it. I



pray that your name be glorified in the earth as it

is in Heaven. Amen!

Edited by Cecil E. Hogan

Cover Illustration by Pauline Jones

To see more of Pauline Jones’ work, visit

www.pauline-jones.com

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