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of Charity, the seed of which the Lord is
sowing in the hearts of all people. If we
accept the full import of the Heavenly
Doctrines, we must accept this hopeful
vision also. Therefore, real faith in the
global sense is realizing that the Lord
is working tirelessly in the hearts of all
people for the good of all people, now
and for the generations to come.
Faith and love are internal, deeper
than the struggles to get our external
house in order. Love and faith are deep within, the repositories of the Lord in
us. He has promised us, in a covenant as sure as His covenant with Abraham,
to protect us in faith and in love, to guide during the darkness of faith, and
share with us the joys of love, imaged in the “covenant of the day and night”
in Jeremiah.
We can best honor the Lord’s covenant by carrying an attitude of faith and
love into each new day, every day, and in all things we do. This is beautifully
expressed in a Sanskrit poem from the 5th century:
We can best honor the
Lord’s covenant by
carrying an attitude of
faith and love into each
new day each day, and
in all things we do.
Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth, the glor y of action, and the splendor of achievement.
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation of the dawn!
– Kalidasa, Hindu poet, 5th C. CE.
Therefore, the Psalm says it well: “Let the morning bring me word of your
unfailing love.” This is a message of hope that things work out in the end, a
message that good will come from the nights of loneliness and despair, and
that the Lord will guide our efforts as long as we hope for the best in all things.
The Rev. James H. (Jay) Barry is pastor of the Immanuel Church in
Glenview, Illinois. Prior to that he was assistant to the pastor of the
Bryn Athyn Church and Director of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. He is a
second-career minister who ran a successful business in New York City
for many years. He and his wife, Barbara (Benigno), live in Glenview.
Contact: [email protected]
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