“I am the light of the world”
I was surprised to learn that in the Jewish and Arabic languages, that the only “doing” verb is I Am — there is not you or us or they in it at all.
By Holy Writ this means “I am all” that there is only God who does anything and what He does not make is of no importance [it reminds us of the First Commandment.]
The next day I found this story in The Christian Science Sentinel. It’s about wondering where bad thoughts come from as in Jeremiah (29:11) we read,
“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”.
But what about the not-so-good thoughts, the aggressive mental suggestions that come to us?
There is a story that has been around for many years (and may have been inspired by one of C. S. Lewis’s works) that illustrates how such suggestions work in our thought. It goes something like this:
The chief devil decided he wanted to cause an epidemic. So he decided to send out all his emissaries to create this epidemic. They all came back, feeling great success, except for one.
The chief devil asked him how he was approaching this work. He answered, “I go to people and I sit on their shoulder and whisper, ‘You do not feel well today.’ ” “Oh,” said the chief devil. “You are going about it wrong. You have to make them think it is their thought. Whisper, ‘I do not feel well today,’ and they will think it is their own thought.”
Just so. Christian Science shows that the “devil” is not a real mind, but a lie, a belief that there can be a mind besides the divine Mind. In being alert to this belief, though, we need to recognize what is our thought and what is not.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, wrote in an article titled “Ways that are Vain”: “Watch your thoughts, and see whether they lead you to God and into harmony with His true followers. Guard and strengthen your own citadel more strongly” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 213).”
Some of the ideas presented in this post are inspired by an article ”Which I“ by Betty Lewis Hausrath. From the October 17, 2016 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel, a subscription is needed to read this article.
So because this website, HealingThought.org, is about healing thought we have to keep our thoughts pure and chase off any nagging suggestion on our shoulder!!
Each good thought we have about someone else, our teachers, our world, the universe and even politics as good thoughts light up the stage on which we are taking part in the continual drama that is unfolding.
The people across Laos and many countries in S.E Asia, at the end of the very hot and humid rainy season, unload all their problems each year onto pretty little rafts made up of cork and decorated with flowers with a candle in the middle. Everyone takes their float to the riverside and launches it in the river! It the evening at the end of Lent marked by the full moon!
As each one is put in each person sends the bad thoughts off with the flowers and candles. It’s the most beautiful sight rather like a sea of flames. And everyone stays there until their float has gone out of sight so there is a lot of laughter, especially when one perhaps gets caught up in an eddy and looks as though it might return. But they know that eventually the current will build up or someone will push it to take it on it’s way!
It’s a simple idea but is an effective reminder to let bygones be bygones or forgive and forget! We all really need to let go of sorrows and failures!
So here in Asia tonight there is space in our thoughts to move on to brighter more productive issues!
In this weeks Bible Lesson Sermon on Probation which is about constant learning and improvement the Golden text is
. . . walk as children of light: . . . Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Ephesians 5:8
And this is true for everyone in the world!