We are Close to God| Daily Meditation-August 20, 2021

Today’s Quotation:

We are close to God when we are close to people.  If we think of God as something in favor of the betterment of human beings, and if we act in a way that brings about that betterment–if we do not cling to riches, selfishness, or greed–then I believe we are getting closer to God.-Daniel Ortega

Today’s Meditation:

When I do things that help other people, I feel that I’m opening the door to the larger force of good and love and compassion that permeates the world, and I feel that I’m more in tune with my greater purpose here in this world.  I’m not able to define or identify God–and I’ve never met anyone who can–but I do know that the feeling that I have is one that is very positive and very much in tune with my surroundings and my life.

It’s interesting to think of our contributions to the world have an effect on our relationship with God.  If it’s true that through giving we grow closer to God, then wouldn’t we all want to give even more than we do already?  Personally, I’m not sure that it is possible to be closer to God, as I see God as being everywhere at all times, but I know that I often shut the door on God by focusing more closely on things that affect only me.

No matter what we see God be, it’s clear that God is a force of love and peace.  If we’re committing actions that bring about the betterment of others, even in the smallest of ways, then we’re making ourselves a part of that force.  If we always act in self-interest or in destructive ways, then we’re pulling ourselves away from and out of that greater force for good.  When we pull ourselves away from it, how can it possibly help us?

We definitely have our choices concerning how we spend our lives.  And the choices of our actions help to determine the forces in this world that we’re closer to, that we’re more in tune with.  When all is said and done, I want very much to be in tune with the forces of good and peace and hope, and much less in tune with the more destructive forces that we encounter.

Questions to ponder:

1.  Which forces of this world are you most in tune with?

2.  How can you go about getting your life in tune with the more positive forces?

3.  What kinds of things constitute the “betterment of human beings”“?

For further thought:

Each one of us is bound to make the little circle in which he or she lives better and happier.  Bound to see that out of that small circle the widest good may flow.-A.P. Stanley