What Joy in Life Comes From God?

These are truths I know today.  On some tomorrow, I am certain to revise them, but for today, these truths bring me peace and joy.

Life on earth changes when

• you move from caution in believing in God, to commitment to belief in God. 
• you stop wondering HOW to trust in God, and start placing your trust in God. 
• you no longer question the feasibility of praying without ceasing, and simply open your eyes, ears, heart and soul to God's unceasing presence.
• you know and accept that loving God means loving all of God's people and creation, and failure to love even one of them makes your love for God less than real.
• you learn that loving God above all others, means you love all others even more. 
• you no longer need to see winners and losers; you no longer need to see everything as right or wrong; and you start to see multiple perspectives, each stemming from a legitimate baseline, where legitimacy lies in the beliefs and values of the holders, and each holder is one of God's own.
• you not only pray without ceasing, but you also seek the wisdom of God that lies within your soul, your "True Self," your "Immortal Diamond" in the words of Father Richard Rohr.

Life on earth has ended, and heaven is your home when You and Your True Self/Immortal Diamond/Soul are one and the same.

What joy in life comes from God?

• Having simple faith in God.
• Trusting God without hesitation.
• Prayer and other time spent listening for God.
• Loving God and loving all of my neighbors and all of God's creation, and rejoicing in how much more love I feel than I did before.
• Loving the peace that comes from knowing that I am comfortable with other peoples ideas, beliefs, perspectives, and knowing that I find comfort in sharing my ideas, beliefs, and perspectives, and trusting that I only need to press mine over others if I have once loved their ideas, beliefs, or perspectives, or am confident that their ideas, beliefs or perspectives are a sure and present danger to the ideas, beliefs, or perspectives I love.

My greatest joy in life comes from seeking my True Self/Immortal Diamond/Soul.  It isn't easy.  We are so accustomed to judging and being judged.  It is so easy to wonder, "what will others think?" or "how can I convince them that I am competent (or loving, or successful, and the list goes on)?"

But giving up this search for my Immortal Diamond is no joy at all, and dwelling on my failings isn't either.  Seeking our Soul is a lifelong journey.  Even Mother Teresa was sure she had not fully found it before her death.  What I know, however, is that few, if any, of us find it BEFORE death, but God wants all of us to find it in death.  And God seems to know how to get what he wants. 

Henri Nouwen's "twins" (in God's Greatest Gift) debated the fears and joys of leaving their mother's womb to enter an unknown world.  Our debates ask if there are more fears or more joys in leaving this world to enter God's eternal kingdom.  For me, God's Greatest Gift is the joy of heaven, the joy of finally knowing your True Self, Your Immortal Diamond, Your Soul, and the second greatest gift is found in the seeking of  your immortal diamond.   God has granted each of us one certain joy, and this is it, guaranteed!