Leap of faith... or leap TO faith?
This blog is about living true.
What does that mean? It means to be truly true, -- not just true to ourselves humanly, although this will naturally make us happy. It means to be true to ourselves as God has made us to be, -- to be true to our God-given divine nature.
Merely being true to ourselves humanly simply means that we wish to make ourselves happy. It's a bit selfish, isn't it? But, to be true to ourselves as God has made us means that we show forth His nature. We naturally become more kind, patient, and loving. We stand up for what is right and good. We recognize evil for being evil and use God's authority and power to destroy it. In this way we are necessarily living a true life, -- a life that reflects the power of God.
To reflect God's power is to be true to what we've been divinely designed to do, what we've been created to express, what we've been given to do. It means to think and act in such a way that we are true to our innermost sense of how God created us: good, pure, holy.
Certainly, we all have days that we struggle to be truly true,
but with this goal in front of us each day, each moment, with each decision, thought and act, we can go higher and higher in proving this true nature... this divine nature, which is ours and God-given.
I have a relative who was a beautiful artist. But, his dad felt that being an artist wouldn't make any money and was not a worthy career. He loved his son and he wanted the best for him, but art school was out of the question. This didn't stop my relative from drawing and painting, -- and winning awards, but it did stop him from making a career of it.
This has given me much food for thought...
What if we are able to overcome the fears that hold us back? What if we are able to walk confidently and expectantly down the path we feel we were created to follow? And, what if we find ourselves wildly successful because we did follow this divine gift?
Would we and the world be a better place? And would we and the world be blessed?
Sometimes, it's difficult to figure out what we're supposed to be doing with our lives. We may have talents, almost everyone does, but we also may feel that those talents are not good enough or are not what we "should" be doing. In other words, we may feel societal pressures to follow a path that does not mesh with our heart or we may struggle with a lack of self-confidence that makes us feel we could never really fulfill our heart's desire.
Often, I think of the biblical prophets, who also struggled with a sense of lack of self-confidence. Think of Moses when he was called to lead the Hebrew people. He lacked confidence in his speaking ability, "I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue (Ex. 4:10)." Moses was struggling with being true to himself and to his God, but God won out and Moses was successful in his God-given mission. It certainly wasn't without struggles, highs and lows, but it was advancing "a nation to the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter, and illustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed by immortal Mind (SH 200:4)," writes Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Think of the disciples when they failed to heal the lunatic. They questioned Jesus, "Why could not we cast him out?" And Jesus replied, "Because of your unbelief (Matt 17:19-20)." They, too, struggled with their sense of whether or not they understood the Messianic healing method, yet all but one went out into the world healing and preaching.
Recently, while reading a book by a Christian minister he pointed out that the phrase, "Leap of faith" has been misquoted. The true quote is "Leap to faith."
What a difference! Rather than taking a 'leap of faith' into some new endeavor, hoping for the best, and praying we don't fail, and that we'll somehow be true to ourselves expressing our innately divine nature, we can begin from where we are and take a 'leap to faith'!
Faith points to fair weather in the midst of the storm. When things seem bad and the clouds are dark our horizon dim, faith in the power of God and in ourselves as His creation leads us onward and upward.
In short, it leads us forward. And a leap to faith gives us the landing pad we are seeking -- a safe haven where we know we will be sustained by the all-powerful, almighty God, good!
Who wouldn't want to 'leap to faith', knowing that it opens up new horizons, broadens our path, brings us closer to God, and nestles us in His care?
This type of leap leaves behind fear of failure, lack of self-confidence, doubt and concern. It enables us to jump away from the entanglements of fearful thought that argue with us about failure and pushes us forward to reach and grasp faith in God and His plan for us.
How do we do this? Just like the prophets did it. By listening for God's voice to point the way.
Again, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Faith is higher and more spiritual than belief. It is a chrysalis state of human thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever-present, is becoming understood. Human thoughts have their degrees of comparison. Some thoughts are better than others. A belief in Truth is better than a belief in error, but no mortal testimony is founded on the divine rock. Mortal testimony can be shaken. Until belief becomes faith, and faith becomes spiritual understanding, human thought has little relation to the actual or divine (SH 297:20)."
That's the key isn't it? To go from a leap to faith to spiritual understanding. While belief in God is good, and faith that He is caring for us is better, truly spiritually understanding Him brings forth the spiritual evidence in our everyday lives that proves His presence and care. Spiritual understanding is the destination because when we truly spiritually understand our relationship with God we find heaven on earth.
This requires that we improve our talents, our God-given abilities to be more Christlike, to embody our divinely-given wholeness and health, to express God as His image.
I love this sentence from Science and Health, "The talents He gives we must improve (SH 6:6–7)."
"...We must improve"! That's our God-given mission, -- to improve the talents God has given us! Why? Because the only way we can truly follow God's leading is by being true to God, and this is the only way to be true to ourselves, as God's loved child.
Being true to God means to listen for His guidance, be still enough to hear His directing, and to follow the message we are receiving. Why have a "still small voice" if we don't intend on following it anyway? This is how we improve our talents, which God demands of us.
And what are our talents? Are they limited to being a good pianist, a popular artist, a baker, a chef, a wood carver? Never.
Our talents are spiritual. They are qualities of thought that are expressed. They are qualities like exactness, beauty, color, form, kindness, love, intelligence, reasoning, patience, and any other quality that is good and God-derived.
The still small voice of God that is constantly speaking to us and pressing upon us our divinely-given mission in life can't be ignored, buried, or pushed aside because God always makes Himself known and obeyed. He always expresses Himself in His creation.
Always.
And in so doing He always fulfills His plan for His child.
Always.
So, the next time we feel we're being pushed to make a 'leap of faith' let's see it as a 'leap to faith' -- a leap to spiritual understanding, -- and jump high and far and let our divine nature be expressed and let all fear dissolve in the presence of God!
