Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Called to Serve - Part 1

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My daughter is blogging at present. It's a pure joy to see the wisdom she has, although she is only in her twenties .. and me at her age .. well, she's a lot more grown up than I was. I was still a child then, with children, she being the youngest, and her older brother. A child raising children .. but isn't that the way?

Thinking of the actions of children led me to remember my favourite chapter in 1 Corinthians, number 13. It tells us what love is, and what it's not, and then says


"When I was a child,

I spoke like a child,

I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child;

when I became an adult,

I put an end to childish ways.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly,

but then we will see face to face."

Face to face - so many people are seeking what they 'are supposed to do' in this lifetime. So few of them think they find their true calling, or even recognise it when it is staring them in the face. They are so busy looking for 'grand adventures', but sometimes God simply wants them to do small things often, in kind and gentle ways.

When I was seeking I already knew my 'calling', but I was frightened to confront the reality of it, in a society that looked down upon people who were 'different', and I am very different ... though I can laugh about it now. I wanted to be like other people, not see things that others didn't, or know things they didn't, or have experiences that would frighten the hell out of most of them, but to me became part of the 'norm'. Or part of the normal. Because I wanted to be normal.

What I had lost in all that 'wanting' was that I had never been what I wanted. Being normal was not something I could go 'back' to, since it had never been there. What I was confronting was accepting that some of us are 'called to serve' in different ways, and that we have to ignore society's norms to help people who are caught up in things 'they cannot understand'. So whatever you are called to do, if it sits well in your heart, and makes you happy, then do it.

"Sits well in your heart" does not mean 'feeds your ego'. We should not glory in harming others, but in being of service to each person we meet, because this service is what is lacking in society now, so focused as we now are on 'serving' ourselves.

The ego is a child demanding attention. A frightened, lonely child who is only 'happy' when the being it governs obeys its commands, stays 'safe' and doesn't venture out of the appropriate behavours that make the ego feel protected. This is the child who spoke, thought and reasoned .. but when did we stop growing up?

Now that I am an adult I put an end to childish ways - or did I? I admit there are moments when I am hurt that I can act in childish ways. Hurt my feelings and I will 'turn the other cheek', but eventually even I run out of cheeks, and then I will say 'no more' in various ways. Sometimes simply by no longer talking to the person that has hurt me. In that way I do the least amount of harm, and I am here to do exactly that. Let me do no harm.

Every person on this planet was created to serve God (call it Spirit or Allah, or any other name that you think appropriate). Ignoring this knowledge is not going to benefit anyone. Oh, I know there are plenty of people who think God doesn't exist, and that's fine, as long as they are doing good, taking care of themselves and other people, I don't see a God in a fiery chariot coming down to smite them, just to prove s/he exists. Nor, for that matter, does 'God' smite those who do wrong .. regardless of what people are actually expecting. Sometimes I think we would all learn to be better adults if s/he did smite a few of us once in a while. But that is just an observation, and I, like the rest of humanity, know I deserve a smite or two.

Did you realise that being kind to other people was serving God? Think of it this way, there is a part of God (Holy Spirit .. or just plain Spirit) inside every person. An act of kindness to another is a way of showing love to that person, and to God. Pretty simple. God's ways are simple, clear and precise .. if what you are learning isn't, you'll know a human got to the information and complicated it. We are good at that!

My daughter asked me to write about being 'called to serve'. This is what came of the request. Expect more in part 2, but not today. LOL

Love & Peace
Ama

1 comment:

  1. Speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; probably all things that are good to give up. However if people could remember how to LEARN like a child...

    Hey Ama, this is Jamie here. I'm a friend of your daughters. For a while now I've been considering starting up a philosophical/theological blog and somewhat inspired by your daughter I've finally got around to getting it going. I've been told I should throw the link your way.

    I do feel oblidged to tell you (as I've been telling everyone) this blog really isn't for everyone and readers risk the possibility of being hurt or offended. I certainly know I'd prefer my mother never to know of it.

    That said I assume your daughter knows you well enough to know whether this stuff is likely to be upsetting, so I extend the invitation to come over, read and comment as you like.

    http://inquisitivebliss.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete