In meditating on my prior post (“Always for the first time“) the image and words of “falling on your sword” came into my mind.  I didn’t quite know why this was, but I tend to be intent on following wherever I am led during meditations … to see what it is that God has in store for me to learn.  So I spent the day yesterday pondering, and studying, the meaning of this and how it applies to the quotes that I was originally meditating on.

The phrase “falling on your sword” today really means something very different than what it originally was used as.  Today it is used more like “shooting yourself in the foot”, or taking the blame for something.  In times past though it was actually a noble thing.  In Roman culture it was a sacrifice one made to save their family from having to pay for the debts or crimes of the person “sword-falling”.  In the Bible there are references to it as a way of preventing torture, and abuse.  In Japanese culture, it was a way of preserving honor.

Personally, I think this analogy is more appropriate toward Jesus’ advice to “turn the other cheek”.  Spiritually there are so many people who hope to find happiness, even though they look for an easy answer.  Truthfully, many people involved in religion choose to do so simply for a way for their kids to be raised, or for some sort of structure to force the infinitely unfathomable Universe into an understandable structure.  Don’t take me wrong … that is not any one religion’s fault (although many facets of these religions try to cultivate these mindsets, as opposed to an actual relationship with our Creator).  There is a difference between being religious, and having a relationship with God … that is a monumental gap.

So what does “falling on your sword” mean for the spiritual warrior of today?  Well, If we are to emulate a God that is Unconditional Love that means modelling that LOVE to those who don’t know it intimately.  What exactly does that look like?

Falling on your sword spiritually means every time some arrogant person seeks to demean you (i.e try to feel better about themselves)? You LOVE them … you accept their rudeness, and simply return LOVE.  Your “sword” is your own humanity, the human nature, your mind, the defensive mechanism, etc. … that part of you that seeks justice, often times rightly so.  Even if you are in the right, it doesn’t matter.  Perhaps the ONLY way for that person accosting you to know what a true relationship with God (somewhere down the road) is to be shown that LOVE over and over and over … they never really realize what it is, but it is there being modeled for them.  Perhaps they take advantage of all of the people who pattern this love for them for their entire lives, and they don’t “get it” at all until they are on their deathbed … if that is the case, it is worth it.

Not only is it worth it for that person to intimately know God in a tangible relationship … it is worth it for YOU.  Here’s the thing, if you DON’T “fall on your sword” (or turn the other cheek) then it becomes a slippery slope toward closing your heart, and losing that sacred connection to your Creator.  Every time you sacrifice yourself to pattern Unconditional Love for those who don’t know It … you are growing that much closer to God.  It’s not ABOUT the other person who injures your ego … it is ONLY about growing closer to God.

It’s difficult to do, really.  It’s easily done once or twice, or thrice … but to make this a lifestyle?  You have to be conscious at all times.  You have to be wide open and connected to God at all times.  EVERY time someone seeks to draw you out of that state … you have to fall on your sword … for their benefit … but even moreso, so that YOU don’t lose that priceless connection to your Creator.  So that you can LOVE your God as if it IS “Always for the first time” … because you never let it stop … always growing, ever evolving … winnowing Its way deeper, and closer, and further … until there is NO separation between you and God … then you are the Bride of Christ, the Brother of Christ, enlightened, or any other phrase around the world that is used to describe this sacred state.

Toward the end of my meditations, this song began running through my head … a song from my youth, sung by Christian singer Keith Green.  The line that seemed to connect it to my meditations “I know how I ought to be … alive to You, and dead to me.”

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!

There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.

By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

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