There Is A Single Destination

         Our personal lives, personalities, backgrounds, and aspirations are all different, but when it comes to spiritual awareness, there appears to be a single, final destination.  That destination is, loving others, without conditions, in every moment. I believe this because of the interactions I have had with many individuals throughout my life.

       During my professional career I had opportunities to attend AA meetings with friends and acquaintances.  All of the speakers I ever heard related their experiences of first getting lost in an exhilarating and aimless life of alcohol, drugs, sex, and power, then losing all that they thought was important. Finally, they realized that all that they were doing was killing themselves. Universally, their stories of recovery involved rediscovering the truth of who they really could be, by appreciating, caring for, and loving themselves and others.

       I have met individuals who are devout Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelical Protestant Christians, Latter Day Saints, Unitarian Universalists, Druids and, yes, even devout atheists. I may frequently disagree with their perspectives of theology, but when I talk with them about how we can help others who are in need, we tend to agree time and again. As a result, I have become less interested in opinions about theology and more interested in how individuals and religious organizations promote acquiring a loving attitude.

      Jesus’ mission wasn’t to convert anyone to Judaism, or Christianity, especially since there were no Christians in existence during his lifetime. He didn’t have any organizational or membership goals, and he didn't establish a new religion. His mission was to change individuals, inside. He encouraged all to seek God and wisdom from within, to find love in our hearts and express it outwardly, and in that way take care of everything else. 

        If you carefully look at the practical results of the teachings of all major religions, you will find love there too. Sometimes it is almost hidden underneath dogma or doctrines designed to make God’s love conditional to the tenets they teach (which it is not), but love is there.

          For me, it is not that God loves us, as if we are in one state of existence and God is somewhere else. God cannot be external to our being. God is the principle, force, and power underlying and guiding our existence. How this can be is the real mystery of life, but its reality is experienced whenever we act with loving care toward others. 

       Something happens when we drop our evolutionary shield of fear and self-centeredness and view others with compassion, empathy, and love. In these moments we cross the bridge from material dimensions to spiritual reality. God is always there. In His presence, what we tend to view as problems of material human circumstances become irrelevant and awareness of new possibilities, humility, harmony, and hope emerge.

        God’s eminence becomes evident as we love and care for one another. God is the love that inspires and fulfills us. That is why the Great Commandment is so important. If we experience God as love and make that first and foremost, we are placing love in our lives above all else and that leads us to automatically fulfilling the remaining commandments. 

         Reading Jesus’ parables we realize that is what they collectively teach. We may have all sinned, in whatever way we define that for ourselves, but all our highest spiritual destinations are the same, learning to love continually, without restrictions. The Kingdom of God is not somewhere else in time or location; it is always in our midst, ready to be accepted and expressed through us. As Matthew wrote , "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)     Let love live.