Steps toward a Profitable Life
A man came to the river early in the morning and stumbled upon a bag. He opened the bag; it was full of stones. Sitting on the bank, he started throwing those stones into the river. By and by, it became light and the sun started coming up. The last stone was left. He looked and started crying and weeping. And some people gathered asked ‘What is the matter?’ He said ‘This is a diamond, and I have thrown hundreds. I was thinking these are just pebbles. But only the last is left.‘ He was fortunate – at least he became aware with one left. Millions of us die without seeing a returning on our investment of thousands of hours of effort, even in old age; we go on working, spending and throwing away life in meaningless activities, and then we die without knowing the true principles of living.
There are two steps toward a profitable life. One, the elimination of whatever may cause us to perish and miss the Kingdom of heaven and two, the daily practice of loving ourself and others in relationship with Christ.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount gave a number of blessings, especially the first one. But He also gave several ways toward a profitable life.
What is meant by “profitable” in the spiritual realm? It means living according to God’s will and plan. This is the currency of Heaven, the real money or value that yields eternal life. Jesus revealed several ways to live successfully in Matthew chapter 5 in addition to the beatitudes but there is a problem. Many of us fall short when it comes to the currency of reconciliation.
Simple matters of finances and paying what we owe, adultery, revenge and loving our enemies in the way that Jesus advocated. When it comes to these matters we are not ready to let God’s will be done. We don’t know the way to a gainful life in Christ.
Let me tell you a little more on these two steps toward living a bountiful spiritual life.
First we must eliminate what may cause us to perish and miss the Kingdom of God. We must become yes-sayers, not no-sayers. Jesus was a yes-sayer! But our mind always says no. Rene Descartes, the French philosopher said “Cogito ergo sum:” “I think therefore I am.” Our mind says: “I say NO therefore I am.” It is a no-saying mind; it goes on saying “no” to life and yes to what stands in the way of our entry into the Kingdom. Jesus says, “If our right eye cause indulgence we must pluck it out and throw it away. This is a way of saying the part has to be sacrificed for the whole. The whole cannot be sacrificed for the part. It is a way of saying if we find any part of our being is creating disturbance between us and God, it has to be surrendered. It is better for us to lose one part of our body than for our whole body to be lost. He is saying it is better to gain profit in the spiritual world than to build up treasure here and lose our soul. Saying yes to eternal life is the real return on our investment of time, energy and resources in this world and beyond.
A second step in living a beneficial life is the daily practice of loving ourself and others. In John 21: 15 – 17, Christ three times asks Simon Peter ‘Do you love me?’ and Peter affirms with increasing earnestness each time. When Jesus asks the first time ’Do you love me, Peter?’ he uses the word AGAPAO; it means, ‘Are you in a STATE of love with me? Jesus meant ‘has your love for me become your love for the whole (God) not the part? Do you love me not only as a person but as a representative of God? Do you see my Father in me? Can you see in me God himself?’ That is the meaning of AGAPAO: it implies prayer, compassion. This state of love goes further than Eros, Philo or Agape love. To say “yes,” to Christ means to be mentally, physically and spiritually in relationship with God, which is more than the sum of the parts of ourselves or others.
Today take the steps toward a profitable life in Christ by saying “yes” to God which is the whole never the part. Nothing stands in the way of our salvation. We are reborn to be in a relationship of love with God that endures now and forever.
