Pets and plants come in indoor and outdoor versions. In a sense, people do too. Outdoor versions are more robust and able to thrive under a wider range of conditions and adversity. Do you think the same concept applies to your faith? Is this something that also comes in indoor and outdoor versions? If your faith only works indoors, and in particular inside your church, then it is less robust than a faith that works outdoors, and by implication, everywhere.
Can you see your shadow? That would require a point light source and looking in the right direction. It is easier for other people to see your shadow. Can you extend this concept beyond visible light and optics? You could think of your shadow as your unlived life and unresolved issues. You can see these things in other people, how it affects their behavior and how they project their biases and rigid thinking onto others. It is harder to see in yourself. You could conclude from inference that if everyone else has a shadow then you do too.
I warned that many would come in my name, but if they didn’t follow me I didn’t send them. This may have seemed odd to my disciples who didn’t realize how far the faith I founded would extend, but now it is widespread. I also declared that my Kingdom is not of this world, so this provides you with a means of assessment. If someone tries to enlist your support for their cause in my name you have no obligation to respond, especially if their cause, and their agenda to implement it, appears to be very much aligned with this world.
Do you like it when people confide in you? Do you understand the importance of holding vulnerable admissions of personal weakness in confidence and not offering judgment? Do those who would otherwise approach you hesitate if they know you are a believer and suspect that your commitment to the rules will make you less accepting of them if they have broken them? Should they go to their non-believing friends who will accept them even if they have less to offer them? Do you understand the concept of mercy and justice coming together; of righteousness and peace kissing?
Are you familiar with the tradeoff between quality and quantity? Quality costs more per unit, but represents greater value. Do you understand that this concept is not limited to economic issues? What about friendship? You can’t be intimate confidents with everyone because you have a limited budget for investment. So do you go with many or with few who are very close? There are times when you need a friend who is closer than a brother, and it is unrealistic to think that you can have this with everyone.
Are you discouraged by the trend you see in human conduct? Are you alarmed at the deterioration of civility into a culture of contempt? It took many years for the development of human thought to embrace the ideas of toleration and freedom of conscience. You should recognize the common humanity you share even with those who disagree with you, and so should everyone else. Do you think the world would be a better place with greater regard for civility and respect for the dignity of every person knowing that they are my handiwork? Why stop there? Why not love your enemies?
What do you owe your fellow man? You are familiar with the wrong answers of not being your brother’s keeper and the right answer that you are to bear one another’s burdens. Please understand that this is not a legal question, but one of moral philosophy. You won’t go to jail for being indifferent to those around you in need, but do you admire and affirm those who are kind and generous and realize that those who are not are diminishing their own humanity as well as that of others? Everyone you meet is made in my image. The Good Samaritan understood this. Do you?
Have you ever been the victim of the wrongdoing of someone else? What is your reaction in this case? Crying out for justice or vengeance? Are there other alternatives? Are you familiar with the story of Joseph? If anyone had a basis to feel like a victim and cry out for justice it would be someone sold into slavery by his own brothers. Yet how did Joseph respond? He was faithful to me and prospered even in captivity. A long time passed before he saw his brothers again, and when he did he was in a position of advantage. And what did he say? What you meant for evil God meant for good.
Do you ever think about your funeral? There is no reason to live with a morbid fixation, but have you been to enough funerals to learn what matters in life? Have you discovered that on the day you die no one cares about how much money you made, or how much fun you had? Yet these things are very highly rated in life. If they don’t matter when you die, then what does? The human connections you make will be broken, but they represent the value of your life, and are the substance for which you will be missed.
Do you think that everyone is spiritual? People of good conscience differ on this question. My answer is only those who are created in my image. Do you know anyone who doesn’t like music? There are many types of music and everyone has their own tastes, but have you ever met anyone who didn’t like any type of music? Do you see these as being related questions? What is the content of music beyond the lyrics? Do you see music and other forms of art as doorways to the transcendent? This works universally, even on people whose profession is to reject any belief or creed. It is unavoidable.
