Hearts that are pleasing to God…..
“Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Though many of us will find comfort in this thought, what does it truly mean? I actually sat and meditated on this thought. It is repeatedly stated through out the Bible. So what does this mean? Some may interpret this as, “There is no need to change, because God sees my intention.” Well this is only true, to a certain extent, at least to me. We should constantly be in tune of what God expects of us. That is what Jesus taught us through His Life, and even Death on the Cross. We should always come to Him first, as to what His Will for our lives are. There is no use in fighting it, because it is what is ultimately done.
However, when it comes the conditions of the heart, to which only God sees, this requires a constant refining, to what God expects of us. A heart grounded in God’s Unconditional Love, will always feel when it is not doing something that is in line with God’s Laws. A heart that is in constant communion with God and His Ways, will always follow whereever God takes them. This will be a heart pleasing to God. The intentions of the heart will always want to love others, more than themself. It does not stand for anything of the SELF. Is that not Jesus demonstrated with His Own Life? He died on the Cross, for the sake of unshackling ALL OF MANKIND from evil.
A hear that is pleasing to God is a heart that yearns to do God’s Work, to seek how to Love, as Jesus did. Love unconditionally. To love in ways that do not violate God’s Divine Laws of Love. A heart that feels the moment that it does so, to want to fix it, and make it right in front of God. A heart that is not afraid to love. A heart that is not afraid to go against the earthly ways that are not in accordance to God’s Divine Laws of Love. This kind of heart is confident in its stand, because it always honors God. The same kind of fearlessness that Jesus displayed at the Cross. The same kind of fearlessness that Jesus demonstrated by preaching God’s Words to everyone that He encountered.
So a heart that is pleasing in God’s Eyes, requires to battle the things of this world. It needs to constantly be tested, to break away from the ways of this world. It needs to be refined, and polished, just as a diamond in the rough is, to become polished and shining in God’s Eyes.
It is not an easy path, but a path that must be taken.
“An Eye for an Eye, Makes the Whole World Blind.” -Mahatma Gandhi
I would like to thank a special friend of mine that inspired this Blog entry………
Many times, Mahatma Gandhi has made reference to Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. The title of this entry, is no different, in that regard. Anyone that has taken Jesus Christ’s words to heart, have all been inspired to lead a life that is free of nonviolence, and wrath. But a way filled with pure love. In fact, Jesus did proclaim that the Old Testament‘s Law of “Eye for an Eye” to be replaced with “Turn the Other Cheek“. It states it right there, in the Sermon on the Mount. To understand this is one thing; but to LIVE it is what makes you stand out from the rest, in God‘s Eyes. And that is what people like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi; Mother Theresa (just to name a few) did, with their lives. The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most powerful passages in the Bible; and a great synopsis of what God expects of us.
What Jesus meant by this is that no matter how much we are wronged in the earthly sense, we have no right to harm any of God’s Creations. Wrath, is one of the 7 deadly sins. Wrath is not up to us, but up to God, in the end. In fact, we should not also, anticipate for those that wrong us, to get “punished by God”…because that is, in a form, an “eye for an eye”. We were all created to LOVE. Even as Jesus died on the Cross, convicted of a crime He did not commit, He died in Love for all of Mankind…for those who loved Him, for those that hated Him….for those that did not know Him…and those that served Him everyday. The cycle had to end somewhere…and God asked us, through the example of His Son, Jesus Christ, to end the cycle of “eye for an eye”.
We live our lives, holding ourselves accountable to God. Not awaiting the consequences of this earth, when we have not followed God’s Ways. God states, in the end of it all, we all stand before Jesus, on the Day of Judgement, and He will pass judgement on us, based on us holding ourselves accountable for our own actions; by the intent of our hearts, which will be reflected within the purity of our souls. Only God can see such things….no man on this earth can forsee this of themselves. We must remember this. When we live our lives, holding ourselves accountable for ourselves, that is when we remove the log from our own eye, to see what is present in the world around us. By overcoming our own sins, can we only help others see theirs and through our testimony in overcoming, helping them to overcome theirs.
Famous sayings of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.”
“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.”
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
“Patience means self-suffering.”
“The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children”
We must not live for the ways of this World
As I meditate on the life of Jesus Christ; and see how those who have been inspired by His Life have translated that understanding, within their own lives; there is one resounding thought that comes into my mind:
“If God said, He is not of the ways of this world; then we, in our service to God, must serve the Father of Creation, in the same manner…with a heart that is not bound to the ways of this world.”
It is true, that we were all created for a purpose on this earth. But why do we think of such grandiose ideas? I think that is the earthly mentality that makes us think that way. If you look at all those that have changed Mankind; their changes began with simple acts in their everyday lives, to which they attributed as their calling within their lives. For instance, Mother Teresa felt that she needed to focus her ministry as a Nun, with the poor of India. And she face a lot of roadblocks, in doing this. However, it went to the point where she ended up , just walking away from the original convent that she originally belonged to, to pursue serving the poor on her own by walking in the streets everyday, to see how she can help them by preaching about God’s Love to them. Mahatma Gandhi was a man that saw injustice of racial prejudice of the Indians in colonial India. He began within his hometown; which eventually inspired others to do the same. He saw that the injustice of modern slavery in his homeland needed to stop…not by fighting with weapons or by spewing insults. But by questioning why certain things were being done in his homeland; and by not cooperating if things done were in violation of God’s Laws of Love. It was the modern Nonviolence Movement. He started as ONE MAN; whose one simple realization and the desire to stand up to a violation of God’s Love; inspired the 2nd largest democratic nation in the world, to gain their Independence from their British Colonial Rulers, by a means of Nonviolence. And this is a nation that consisted of many different religious beliefs. In fact, a nation that gave birth to all agnostic relgions on this earth, were able to stand as ONE, in total agreance to God’s Love being violated. Such acts, when done in utter obedience to God, leave PERMANENT results for the betterment of Mankind.
GOD’S TRUTH NEEDS TO ONLY MAKES ITS MARK “ONCE”; AND IT WILL LEAVE ITS IMPRINT FOREVER.
It is being faithful in the everyday things, in how we serve God, that earns us favor in His Eyes. By constantly being aware of Him and His Existence…as to what will and will not be pleasing in His Eyes. The PR for ourselves, is not to MAN; but to the One who Created you, into being. God sees what the world does not see; and that is the purity of the heart. That only comes with unbinding your heart, in desiring the things of this world, and connecting it with God’s Divine Unconditional Love. That is when the things of this world will no longer matter; and God Ways will anchor such a heart. We start by being faithful in the everyday things within our lives. Then the larger things will also fall in place. God’s ways do not require monetary investment, that is an earthly means. It requires the investment of the self. God has already given you all of the tools you need to serve Him; we just need to be more conscience of them.
When we focus on the things of this world are not your focus, the ways of this world that try to hurt you, will not. It might keep you back, or cause a temporary setback. However, by going through Evil’s Trials of this Earth; you will only refine your heart, through a Refiner’s Fire. Bringing out the heart of diamond, that is grounded in God’s Love.
Roots to Evil
“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles” -Mahatma Gandhi
A Collage of My Personal Heroes in History
St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
- Jesus Christ
St. Thomas, The Apostle (a.k.a. The Doubter)
Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
St. Mother Teresa
“Benediction” by Rabindranath Tagore
Bless this little heart,
This white soul that has won the kiss of heaven for our earth.
He loves the light of the sun,
He loves the sight of his mother’s face.
He has not learned to despise the dust,
And to hanker after gold. Clasp him to your heart and bless him.
He has come into this land of an hundred crossroads.
I know not how he chose you from the crowd,
Came to your door, and grasped your hand to ask his way.
He will follow you, laughing and talking,
And not a doubt in his heart.
Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him.
Lay your hand on his head, and pray that though the waves underneath grow threatening,
Yet the breath from above may come and fill his sails and waft him to the heaven of peace.
Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi were very good friends.
Humanitarians who took Jesus’ Life Example as their own….
Mahatma Gandhi is known to be the greatest Man of Nonviolence in the Modern Era. He was able to bring Independence to the largest democracy on Earth, India; through the means of nonviolence. In fact, to date, India is the only nation on earth which gained it’s independence from its colonial rulers, through such a manner, without war. He has openly admitted that his life was influenced and inspired by the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Here is what he has said on Jesus Christ:
“The message of Jesus as I understand it,” said Gandhi, “is contained in the Sermon on the Mount unadulterated and taken as a whole… If then I had to face only the Sermon on the Mount and my own interpretation of it, I should not hesitate to say, ‘Oh, yes, I am a Christian.’ But negatively I can tell you that in my humble opinion, what passes as Christianity is a negation of the Sermon on the Mount… I am speaking of the Christian belief, of Christianity as it is understood in the west.”
Talking about the Gospel passage of the rich young man, he said, “St. Mark has vividly described the scene. Jesus is in his solemn mood. He is earnest. He talks about eternity. He knows the world about him. He is himself the greatest economist of his time. He succeeded in sermonising time and space – He transcends them. It is to him at the best that one comes running, kneels down and asks, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said unto him, “One thing thou lackest. Go thy way, sell what thou hast and give it to the poor, and thou shall have treasure in heaven – come, take up the cross and follow me.” Here you have an eternal rule of life stated in the noblest words the English language is capable of producing.” Let us seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, he said, and the irrevocable promise is that everything will be added upon us. “These are real economics. May you and I treasure them and enforce them in our daily life.”
“Of all the things I have read what remained with me forever was that Jesus came almost to give a new law – not an eye for an eye but to receive two blows when only one was given, and to go two miles when they were asked to go one. I came to see that the Sermon on the Mount was the whole of Christianity for him who wanted to live a Christian life. It is that sermon that has endeared Jesus to me.”
“The example of Jesus suffering is a factor in the composition of my un-dying faith in non-violence. What then does Jesus mean to me? To me, He was one of the greatest teachers humanity has ever had.”
“I refuse to believe that there not exists or has ever existed a person that has not made use of his example to lessen his sins, even though he may have done so without realising it. The lives of all have, in some greater or lesser degree, been changed by His presence, His actions and the words spoken by His divine voice… I believe that he belongs not solely to Christianity, but to the entire world; to all races and people, it matters litle under what flag, name or doctrine they may work, profess a faith or worship a God inherited from their ancestors.”
“I want to tell others what I feel so particularly keen about, namely what is called non-resistance, but what is essentially nothing other than the teaching of love undistorted by false interpretations…This law has been proclaimed by all the world’s sages, Indian, Chinese, Jewish, Greek, and Roman. I think it has been expressed most clearly of all by Christ…”
