A Little Clarification on the Last Post

Just a little clarification on the last post...its not that anyone has said anything unkind to me of late, that is not what prompted the post. More like I have heard from so many people who are afraid to say what they feel, what thoughts they have, in sheer fear of being judged and thus put away as some infidel, some heretic, for even having thoughts that question what they have been taught, or what they have faith in.

I have been shunned, not in the Amish style, by not even being looked at, but still ignored as if my thoughts on the book, The Secret or my response to those who did attack me over the subject, ( I simply replied in kind, spoke the same language they did).

As a people, we are so uncomfortable with honest thoughts, no matter where they end up, where they take us. We may just be wandering in the wilderness, seeking our own spiritual experience and not just accepting the experience of our parents, our teachers, our pastors or our church doctrine. We may just be discovering that truth, truth for all mankind can come from many places. Is the truth of these sentences any different, simply because of their source ?

Is the truth different because a different man spoke them ?

Jesus: "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." Matthew 25:45

Buddha: "If you do not tend to one another, then who is there to tend you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick." Vinaya, Mahavagga 8:26.3

To be honest, I am sad because so many folks sit in judgement of others and condemn people for some of the very same things they have done in the past. Are we not all on the same journey to find peace, love and acceptance, but not all walking the same pace, with the same map.

What does it say in the Bible, "he who is without sin, cast the first stone". Why do we forget that saying ? Why do we lunge after someone with a speck in their eye, while a post sits in our own ?

Why do we need to make ourselves feel better by pointing out the faults in another ? Is not our own place in Gods kingdom enough to make us feel secure ?

We need to change, we need to not look at ourselves as so holy and above others that we can decide to cast them off because they are not as "good" as we are. Examine yourself, and see if you have decided not to be friends with someone any longer simply because they are not where you think they should be. Examine yourself to see if you have judged your children harshly and cast them off because they are living differently than you. Did you once live like that ? Has Christ cast you off for your hard heart or your cherished sins ? Has Christ disowned you because you are a wayward child in your heart, despite what you appear in public ?

We need to change or our young people will certainly not WANT what WE have, if what we HAVE is rotten fruit.

Many times we wonder why kids join gangs, why they seek out like minded people that are a bit off the mainstream. Might it be because they feel accepted ? Would it not be better to have such a relationship with God, like Mother Teresa or some other such person of unconditional love that young people want what we have and seek to know what makes us so full of peace, love and acceptance ?

Christ loved even the unlovable and they in turn loved Him. Peter denied him, not once but three times. Christ loved him regardless. Shouldn't we give our own children, our own friends the same love as Christ gives them. The reason our love for Him can grow, is knowing He will love us no matter how many times we fail. Invite your wayward children over, show them true love, that doesn't mean you have to compromise the mechanics of your home, but welcome them with loving arms and in your actions show them what the love of God is about. Give them something they want for themselves. Be a warm loving example of true godliness.

He loves us, even though we fail over and over. We fall on our knees daily for forgiveness and His hand is not shortened towards us. Don't we need to be the same ?

I just want to see a change in how people treat one another.