ASSISTANT MINISTERS' COLUMNS
Rev. Karen Rice
Rev. Carol Bliss

MINISTER'S COLUMN

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace," so said St. Francis of Assisi. While he goes on to speak to the ways he sees this happening, I want to consider the very willingness to simply be used by the Divine. The pure trust that God has ways to work through an individual that can bring forth good in the lives of the individual and the people the person touches.

This speaks of a willingness to first be quiet and listen, then to act on what is heard in the depths of the soul. It expresses a conviction that God could only want to use us for good, that we are safe, and that we are here to bring forward the Divine. Ernest Holmes wrote in the Final
Conclusion of "The Science of Mind," "What the world needs is spiritual conviction, followed by spiritual experience. I would rather see a student of this Science prove its Principle than to have him repeat all the words of wisdom that have ever been uttered. It is far easier to teach the truth than it is to practice It." St Francis clearly wanted to practice truth.

In the Science of Mind we are brought along a spiritual pathway that moves us from being victims to the world, the place most of us start out, to this place of faith and conviction. When we think as a victim, we are saying and feeling that something or someone out there is doing
something to us. We feel that we have no control or power in the situation. Often we feel that God is outside of us and we perceive God as testing, rewarding or punishing us.

At this point life is painful and we become willing to grow, just to move away from the pain. So we take a class or go to church and begin to study Spiritual Principles. We learn that there is a power in the universe that we can use for good in our lives and we begin to use it. We star to recognize that God is not out there but within us. We hear "The kingdom of heaven is within you," and begin to understand it. We begin to demonstrate changed conditions in our lives and to feel powerful. This is all good. We must Consciously use the law until we are firmly grounded in the awareness that God is always present. We clean up our thinking patterns and take responsibility for our lives.

At some point we come to realize that there is more to life than this. Interestingly, at this point we become willing to surrender to something greater than we can visualize. We begin to say with St. Francis, "Lord make me an instrument." We realize there is a Presence of Good in the Universe and we are willing for it to use us. We may say simply "Let me be the Love of God in this situation." We listen for direction. We find ourselves doing things we would have never thought possible, changing careers, taking classes, finding ways to assist others. We become the hands and feet of God.

Through this work, we enter the fourth stage of spiritual growth, which is to identify with the Divine. Jesus said, "The Father and I are one." We come to realize that God is present as our lives. There is no separation. We understand that we are born out of the desire of Spirit to experience and express life, our purpose is simple to be the aspects of God. This is the mystical Christ that Holmes writes about as he states:
"I AM, what more can I say? I am, it is enough!
Because Thou Art, I am!
From out of the deeps of me, I AM!
In and around me, I am! Over and through me, I am!
O Inner Being, Eternal and Blessed, Complete and Perfect!
Birthless and Changeless and Deathless, I AM! I AM!
And evermore shall be."

Both Holmes and St. Francis say this is the space in which we consciously realize we are eternal. Francis said simply, "It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life." The surrender to the Presence of God is the key.

I invite you to join Rev. Karen on July 10 for her ordination where she enters even more completely into the willingness to serve God as the Divine appears in every person that stands in front of her. She has agreed to be an instrument of Divine Love.

From my heart to yours,

Rev. Kris