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The Way of the Way
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When man embraced evil, he was expelled from Paradise and bestowed a curse. Accursed, that time would see him wither and die.
Yet even in that curse, was an act of great mercy.
The true curse would have been an imperishable body, filled with eternal
youth.
A body forever young, as spirit and soul rot in vice.
Tine would see bitterness and suffering grow without end.
Worse than a curse to die away from the Way, is a curse to live apart from the
Way.
But Mercy did not do that.
Mercy gave another gift, a gift greater still.
In the Way, though men waste away outwardly, inwardly they are renewed day by day.
The moment of death is transformed into a birth into life.
After death comes the resurrection; spirit, soul, and body filled with a life even greater than that of Eden. Men will become the sons of God, sharing in the divine nature.
HE WHO IS took death beyond death, and transformed it into life beyond life.
Swallowing a pill is a difficult thing to learn.
It is difficult because a child will strive to do it, and it is something which
can only be not-done.
Even discipline follows the path of not-doing.
Discipline does not force a square peg into a round hole; it slides a round peg
into a round hole.
Six days of work were not evil, but it was one day of rest that was holy.
Rest surpasses work because it was before.
Before the worlds began, before even the creation of time, the Father is in glory with the Son.
In that glory is absolute rest.
In that glory will be the rest of all who follow the Way.
From being issues doing; from being and not-doing issue doing.
This is the order of the Way.
Not-doing leaves room open for God to fill.
Faith is a rest-in-God; it is a state of being and not-doing.
It is from faith that actions proceed.
Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
To those who not-do, abide, receive, believe, life is given.
The Son rests in the Father's bosom, and the Spirit flows between them.
In this nature, rest, glory, and love, will they share.
Be and become.
Not-do and rest in God.
Let love flow into action.
To walk in the Way is to become honest.
Honesty certainly does not lie on an income tax form, but there is something more. To become honest is to become unmasked.
A mask is an armored shell.
It protects from feeling pain.
It protects from being healed.
It protects from growing and becoming real.
To remove it is to become naked and vulnerable.
It is to allow people to look into your eyes.
The pain of removing it is the pain of being healed.
It is like swallowing pride.
To swallow pride tastes foul, not because of the nature of humility, but
because it is the taste of the foul and bitter nature of the pride that is
swallowed.
After the mask is removed, there is a warmth and freedom like the freshness that comes after tears.
There is substance and reality in the image of God.
There is substance and reality in the Way.
There is too much substance and reality to fit inside of a mask.
The Kingdom of Heaven does not know interactions based on power: "I will compel you to do this."
Neither does it know interactions of economic character: "I will do this for you if you do this for me."
Instead, its interactions are based on love, freely and lavishly bestowed.
This lavishness is embedded in the words, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
He who uses power to compel things from other people, or economic exchanges to bargain things from them, does so for a reason. He does so in order to gain what is good, desirable, and beneficial for himself.
The question, "Why does he want that?" is a misplaced question. He does not wish to benefit himself as a means to something else. He loves himself.
This is how you should love yourself.
This is how you should love your neighbor.
Love is not the son of want.
Love is the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Love is the air which its citizens breathe and through which they see.
Prayer is love in communion with God.
Kindness is love wearing work gloves.
It is freely received and freely given, poured out without measure.
It is shared, and increases all the more.
It is generous, like the woman who poured pure nard over Jesus's feet.
It is a cascade of flowing water, which cleanses what is soiled and heals what
is wounded.
It is full of joy; finding something good, it seeks to share.
It is forgiving; it looks upon the person who has wronged it, and says, "I love
you."
Love God.
Love the brothers and sisters, all mankind, yourself.
Love the stars, the waters, the animals, the trees.
All that is written about the nature of godly living is an explanation of love.
Heaven, the hope of the ages, is the final hope of being united and immersed in love with God and the saints.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of love.
The rock, the foundation, the origin of all.
A state of being eternal and changeless.
All glory, all holiness, all authority, all wisdom.
Beyond all measure.
Infinite stillness.
Life beyond life.
Light without any darkness.
One.
Thomas Aquinas wrote many books; among numerous others, he wrote a Summa Theologica of encyclopaedic volume.
Late in life, he had a vision.
In this vision, Christ spoke to him from the Cross.
The vision profoundly affected him.
He became silent, and ceased to write.
And all his great and wonderful writings?
He declared them to be straw.
A journey is a long voyage that leads home.
Childlike faith meets testing and fire and new experiences, that it may become childlike faith.
Depths of theology, profound insight, and great learning, lead to hearing the simple words, "Jesus loves you," and trusting them.
The Alpha is the Omega; the First is the Last; the Beginning is the End.
All good things come from God through the Way;
all good things return to God through the Way.
To worship is to take a little step into Heaven.
A candle which is lit, glows. It sheds light and warmth on all that is around it.
One who walks in the Way will carry little pieces of Heaven with him. He will bear with him a sense of timelessness, peace, joy, and love.
Bringing Heaven down to earth is very important.
It is to be not-done and done.
A relief worker, returning to a war zone, said, "I'm going back to Hell, to plant some flowers."
Jonathan's Corner
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The Way of the Way
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