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Here at Restoring
Grace, we believe God, in His Highest Wisdom, created every human being for two
main purposes. The first is to
mend you own soul. Healing begins
as we face ourselves honestly and openly, recognizing our need for God’s
willing participation in our lives.
But not long after we start the healing process, we realize that just
being involved in our own rescue is not the highest level of fulfillment we can
experience.
The next level (and
there are many more levels beyond this one) is what is known in Hebrew as “Tikkun Olam”. While there are many different understandings of this
term such as: to repair the world, to rectify the world, to return the world to
the state of the Garden of Eden, the message remains the same. We are to do the spiritual work needed
t make this world the one Messiah will desire to return to.
While this may seem
like a daunting or even impossible task, here are some practical ways to get
started. Everyone believes that in
the physical realm, a single lit match can start a fire that will encompass
thousands of acres in damage. Why
can’t a single Divine Spark have the some spiritual effect? I believe it can!
1)
Take
good care of yourself; you are the only one of you that you will ever get. A
great way to contribute to repairing the world is to volunteer to donate your
organs once you have moved on to the World to Come. But that donation won’t mean a lot if your organs are
polluted by a host of poor eating practices, or even worse, by “body pollution”
such as nicotine, alcohol or drugs.
Take care of your temporary “temple”, and offer it to the benefit of
others when your visit in it is over.
2)
Share
Ruthlessly. Sharing is not always
about money. It can be your time,
like taking a friend to lunch to encourage them on their path. It can be a weekly phone call to a long
distance friend, to let them know that both you and God are thinking of
them. Share a Twinkie, share a
smile, share a hand and hold a door or help someone carrying his or her
groceries. These acts of sharing create
a vacuum of opportunity for dialogue and the expressions of love.
3)
Be
involved in acts of social justice or support groups that do. We have so many valuable resources on
the front lines of social justice.
The possibilities for involvement are endless. You may ask, “Well, they always need money and so do I right
now.” Great point, but there are
more to these causes than just giving money. Ask them about writing letters, making phone calls to
encourage their staff members, and so on.
We seem to believe that reaching into our wallets will cure the world.
If that were true, that God would have sent a bank to the world and not His
Son. People make the difference.
4)
When
you give, give small and often.
Large splashes are nice, but many people hold back their hands from
donating because they cannot reach the 10% giving matrix. God will honor and bless any gift of
any size. He places the power of
the gift based on the condition of your heart and intent, not on your ability
to reach a percentage scale.
I hope these ideas
have helped you think of ways to get involved. For now, this is our world and we should make all of the
gift God has given us. If you
think of creative ways to express your involvement, e-mail me and let me here
your success stories.
Also, please go visit…
http://www.wix.com/dfour2626/restoring-grace
This is a new website
we are launching for “seekers” and hope it is simple yet to the point. Let me know what you think!
David
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