Father knows best
BY JONATHAN POK
One of the earliest teachings shared to me by Bro Jo is that:
“Man is always on the search for happiness, comfort, pleasure from any earthly value, namely, education, economics, politics, or from any other value that are on the surface of the earth.”
“Hence unless man will resolve to go back to God within him, man will never find rest.”
– Meditation Guide, Lesson 6, Set 1
From this revelation the thought that came to mind was that the First Commandment is all about this lesson and that in spite of how much we try to pursue happiness chasing after earthly things we can never find fulfilment. We are eternal beings made from God and our essence and being cannot be limited with the constraints of time and space.
“Love God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind and with ALL your Strength” Mark 12:30-31
When I think about society today it is obsessed with all things new, the latest and greatest, gossip and trivial subjects. Social media is just an extension of the emptiness that we have without our Heavenly Father.
People will post things and share what they feel should represent a full life. Holiday pictures, photos of newly bought items from the most desired brands. People share their achievements, accolades and accomplishments to showcase their success in life and as a record that they are achieving the most out of life.
However it is all an emptiness that the world tries to fill. The world sells escape, fantasy, desires, ambitions that consumes people to want more and more from this world.
Social media is also a great tool as well to be able share the beautiful lessons, experiences and graces which God so lovingly bestows upon us. It can connect us to our brothers and sisters around the world so we can share this message of hope.
May we be able to instead reflect on ideas like contentment, appreciation, sharing experiences and learnings, contemplation, quietness, inward, knowing that peace all comes from one place which is the in dwelling.
God is our all and all we need, no matter if you are searching for peace or wisdom, spirituality, achievements or pursuits.
“Divine Indwelling is the key that opens up ALL the TREASURES OF GOD’S WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.” – Meditation Guide, Lesson 6, Set 3
This is a simple yet profound message from God.
Typically when we are faced with challenges and hardships in our lives we always try to look for solutions externally. If it is related to health we will go see a doctor for advice, for legal council we will seek a lawyer and for money matters we may visit a financial planner. This is just conventional human wisdom to seek out those with expertise in the subject matter to give us guidance and advice.
It seems that the more we seek to find answers externally the more lost we become, it can be overwhelming when you hear different opinions from different people, each pushing you in one direction or another. You feel like you are in the open sea just being tossed around by the waves of opinions and it may feel like a helpless situation. We simple beings are incapable of absorbing all the “wisdom of the world” and make sense of it all and in the end we may be worse off because we are more burdened with doubt and uncertainty than when we first began.
How beautiful and simple is the solution to all of life’s pains and problems, we just need to look to our Heavenly Father.
Furthermore we don’t need to go far or to a special place as he just dwells within us, so all we need to do is look in toward Christ within us. This expression of looking within us feels so calm, easy and soothing. We just need to lay our fears, worries, burdens at our Father’s feet and look up to him with open arms like a little child. Will not our Heavenly Father lovingly take us into his arms and rescue us from our troubles. Can a parent resist attending to their beloved child when they cry out?
Just recently some close friends had a baby boy and we went to visit the newborn. When we arrived he looked so peaceful, happy lying in his crib, contented and serene. He then stirred as he was hungry and wanted to be fed so he just cried out. His mother came to his need, took him up and satisfied his physical need and soon enough he was a happy and contented baby falling back into peaceful sleep.
Jesus always talks about being like little children and having child like faith, this is such a beautiful simplicity that stumps the most wise of men. We in our human nature are so proud and self willed that we can find the answer and solution and are unwilling to go back to our child like faith as we have such a sense of maturity and control of our lives.
I am more joyful in the knowledge that I can always turn to my Heavenly Father who dwells within me when I am faced with any challenges, fears or pains in this life. I long to rest my head on his chest as a child in the loving knowledge that he knows what is best for me and will give me peace for he is the Almighty God my Father.