Tag: righteousness

God’s “pruning” of our lives

Published on by lindseybiggs3 Comments


When I first started gardening the idea of pruning was intimidating to me. How do you know where to prune? Doesn’t it hurt the bush or tree?

Now, I’m amazed at how pruning works. It’s like saying, “Nope, that’s a dead-end ” and the shrub or tree will then grow in a new way. It doesn’t stop or limit growth because new growth is always happening.

God works a similar way in our lives. God lovingly shows us where the dead-end roads are in life so that we can avoid wasting energy going that way. These dead-end roads consist of materiality – material living and thinking – such as a love of money, looking to material possessions for satisfaction, looking to a human being to complete us, looking to a human body to tell us how happy and healthy we are, and comparing ourselves with others to determine how successful we are. These are just a few but there are many dead-end roads we may discover.

Christ Jesus advised, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)

When you prune a shrub, you are helping the shrub to fulfill its purpose. You probably planted the shrub for a reason: to help create privacy or to cover something unattractive or just to have something lively and pretty to enjoy. Whatever the reason is, pruning – and starting early on – will help the plant grow into something beautiful and useful.

God’s pruning of our thought takes a way thoughts and desires that would be harmful to us and others so that we can have productive, beautiful and useful thoughts. These thoughts are then expressed in right actions and exemplified in our lives.

Not guilty!

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments


Have you ever considered your innocence? The wonderful fact that you are not guilty?

The world is always trying to tell us we are guilty of something: not being good enough, past regrets or even simply because of this mortal existence.

Spirit is the creator; and Spirit creates everything in Her own image and likeness. Since Spirit has never fallen from Her perfect state that means we haven’t either. Goodness, innocence, purity, joy, childlikeness are all inherent in us. 

Sure, we’ve all made mistakes, fallen short of our own or other’s expectations; perhaps in the moment of that mistake we were governed by fear – fear of what would happen or what wouldn’t happen based on what we would we should do; in a sense we forgot, in that moment, who we were as the perfect, image & likeness of Spirit/Love/Truth with a rich, divine inheritance. 

These instances of mistakes can never change who we really are.

“If you believe in and practise wrong knowingly, you can at once change your course and do right.”¹

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”²

So we don’t need to be plagued by guilt today. We can drop whatever it is, perhaps even taking some footsteps to right a past wrong. 

I experienced this first hand yesterday. I suddenly found myself feeling quite unwell physically. I started to pray about this with the books and study resources I have for prayer/meditation. I called a Christian Science practitioner for metaphysical treatment (this is someone who prays to know the supremacy of divine Mind in your experience and that no other thought that is negative or sickly can reside in your consciousness. It is wonderfully effective and demonstrates the connection between mind, body and spirit).

Just before bed it occurred to me that I was feeling guilty about a mistake with a friend. Even though the situation wasn’t a big one there was still lingering guilt and fear about it. I decided the best thing to do was to email the friend and apologize. I wanted this person to know my intentions and that I didn’t want things to be awkward. 

After sending the email, I felt a lot better. I also watched an online lecture called “You’re not guilty” which shared a lot of great points:
1. You are not guilty of disappointing God
2. You are not guilty of creating your problems
3. You are not guilty of spiritual ignorance.

I went to sleep feeling peaceful. When I woke up I was hungry, feeling a lot better, and I received an email from my friend who said no worries and that all is well.

Recognizing our spiritual status as not guilty enables us to act that way, to love who we really are, and to love our neighbor better by recognizing their status as spiritual and not guilty! 

Have a blessed day! 🙂

¹Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
² King James Version, The Bible, Psalms 37:23, 24
 

What is the Scientific meaning of salvation?

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

I was reading the weekly Bible lesson this morning (which is comprised of citations from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) and it talks about “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

I began thinking about how the Christ (the activity of God) “saves” us from sin.

I think popular theology says we are “saved” from sin so that we don’t go to hell afterwards and have eternal life.

However, Scientific understanding realizes “sin” (or ‘missing the mark’ as the Latin implies) to be a kind of cloud that covers up God’s light, grace, and love.

So this “salvation” from sin, is actually saving us right now in this present moment.  Sin results from the belief that we are separated from God, good, divine Love.  But we are not and never have been separated with that Love.  We are at one with God, divine Love, right now.

When we live in accord with God’s spiritual nature we are open and receptive to more light, more opportunity and God’s blessings.  We are magnifying good, which is another term for God, and therefore we experience more good in our lives.  We are able to have better, more enriched relationships; confidence in knowing God is supplying all of our home, financial, and job-related needs; and a greater sense of peace along with loving our neighbor & communities better.

So this salvation isn’t meant to deprive us of all the joys of material living now so we can have eternal bliss after.  It is realizing, since God is Spirit, to live in accord with Spirit, to be at-one with Spirit, is where true goodness, peace, and, therefore, happiness comes from.  This is realizing eternal life now – the seamlessness and continuity of life, being, and existence right now.