Responsibility

THURS., APR. 24, 1986, 6:27 AM
FARM, STUDY

An important part of healthy life is responsibility. Even children can be responsible, and one of the evidences of truly old age, when the body outlives the mind and spirit, is lack of responsibility. It is a term that is not easily defined, and it definitely cannot be measured and quantified. Yet it is so important that I teach about it this day. Hear, o son.

You had an extra responsibility last evening, and as it approached you resented the time and effort and attention it would take. Yet before you began you prayed for My help and you acknowledged that it would be worthwhile and that you would enjoy the process, and even the result. My advice continues to be that you decide which responsibilities to take and which to leave alone (and you needn’t take on every responsibility offered), but when you accept one you must do it well and you should enjoy it.

If you knew you were terminally ill and that you had only a short time to live you might be tempted to give up all responsibilities. This is not what I desire of My servants. You need not be overburdened, and you obviously need not take on some responsibility that would require more than you could give, but in appreciation of the life I have given you, you would continue to act responsibly and to be responsible, to Me. As Jesus I continued My responsibilities as a son and as a forgiving, saving Messiah even during the dying process. Each of you who follow My path must do no less.

Often it is difficult to decide which responsibility to take on when there are two or more than compete for your time and attention. The criterion I favor, obviously, is that from which spirit can grow most. It may not be the easiest one, nor the most enjoyable from a social support standpoint. It will not always be the one that tests spirit the most. It just must be the one in which you can develop in spirit and in which you can help others to give more attention to spiritual matters.

Now the marvelous aspect of decisions such as this is that for the person whose hand is firmly in Mine responsibilities will differ only superficially. When I call you and you respond, virtually every life situation becomes an opportunity for spiritual expression and growth. Twenty years ago you, nor anyone else, would have affirmed that your position in Health Education here would be the base for spiritual development, and that from this base you would be a leader in this aspect of My “current movement”. Could you have done it as well from another place? Yes and No. Your development was fundamentally between you and Me, and therefore could have occurred in any site. Yet this was a selected place, with the best balance of comfort and upset, of opportunity and challenge, of freedom and assignments.

Nancy struggles with a decision, and, yes, I am a part of that struggle. She is a unique servant of Mine, and she could be effective as My servant in either setting. It would be easy for Me to tell you what she should do, but that is a responsibility that is not yours to have. Rather, the very process is one of spiritual growth, and she must weigh and decide. The responsibilities and the opportunities will be different, but can, eventually, be equally spirit-filled. There are young people in both settings that can profit from her tutelage and her very self. Neither choice would be a bad one, from the perspective of spiritual growth. But I shall lead her to the one I would prefer.

You have responsibilities this day… ones you anticipate and ones that shall just arise. Whenever you feel burdened, relax and realize that the ultimate reality of life is that you are treading lightly and joyfully on an upward path toward Me, and whatever you encounter is just an opportunity on that path. You can still worry, decide, love and dislike, feel discouraged, but never forget the true reality, beyond earth responsibilities.

Shalom
7:33 AM
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