Meditations On Living

There is an interesting devotional book that I picked up recently 365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heart written by His Holiness The Dalai Lama that speaks volumes to my spiritual relationship with God. One interesting entry reads,

"Let us cultivate love and compassion, both of which give true meaning to life. This is the religion I preach, more so than Buddhism itself. It is simple. Its temple is the heart. Its teaching is love and compassion. Its moral values are loving and respecting others, whoever they may be. Whether one is a layperson or a monastic, we have no other option if we wish to survive in this world" (Dalai Lama p. 9).

In this passage, with my Christian-influenced understanding of God, I can read the words "let us cultivate love and compassion" what I believe is the very essence of God, and connect instantly on a spiritual level with the Dalai Lama and what he is writing. It is such an awesome feeling to be able to put aside religious differences - labels, whether they be Christian, Buddhist - I like to put it this way when discussing my faith, "I'm a believer in a Higher Power - greater than my existence, yet interconnected with my being - and a follower of 'The Way,' manifested in many faith traditions."

This comes off as "New Age" to some and I'm, quite frankly, fine with that. I believe that our understanding of God must grow and constantly evolve. Living life with a stagnant view of God only produces, at best, bitter Christians or, at worst, broken atheists. God inspires the biblical author to write, "My ways are not your ways." It is interesting to recall that Christ continually challenged the contemporary view of God and the "religious community" in his day.

I have observed that, too often, it is unfortunately the so-called religious community that typifies a faith tradition; this is a sad fact, I believe, because it limits the expression of a particular faith to its most conservative and fundamentalist elements - our religious communities are much more diverse than that, Adventism emphatically included. What does it mean to be an Adventist?

The answer to that quest must be different for everyone. For me, it means "cultivating love and compassion." I let my temple be my heart - welcoming the Spirit of the Lord to dwell within me and God to work through me, i.e. having and upholding "morale values [of] loving and respecting others, whoever they may be." This includes the "outcasts" of society - homosexuals, women, nonbelievers, believers of other faiths, AIDS victims, the poor, those who have a different "non-orthodox theology" than ours, ect. When Jesus ministered to the people, he widened the inclusion of his ministry and outreach.

Christ included the outcasts of society - his moral values were centered on loving and respecting others. His life dramatically portrayed the Divine Love and Compassion that God has for humanity. May we as a church community learn to respect and love the "outcasts of Adventism." May we cherish the spiritual wisdom of other faith traditions. May we be vessels to express the Divine Love and Compassion that our Lord had for humanity.