Strength To Be

SAT., SEPT. 22, 1984, 6:47 AM
FARM, STUDY

Physical strength is a strength you recognize and make some effort to maintain. In each dimension of being there is a proper concept of strength, so this morning (if I can keep your attention) I shall focus on spiritual strength – what it is and how it is maintained.

Being, o son, is not automatic. A certain amount of strength is required for being itself… and a strong sense of self and purpose is evidence of spiritual strength. Just as physical strength can be revealed and demonstrated dramatically… even blatantly, so spiritual strength also can be shown. You read the report of My servant Rey and his demonstration of spiritual strength. It does show power when one’s witness to Me is open, evident, and dynamic, yet it is also possible to go too far, for the role that one can best play for Me. There are many preachers of My Word, some called and some not. But I have relatively few coaches who can help young people develop spiritual strength along with physical prowess. His effectiveness in this important place could be damaged by too much zeal in showing strength… like unto the linebacker who hurts an opponent and incurs a penalty over an unnecessarily vicious tackle.

Your being is multifaceted. There are the dimensions that you know so well and teach with increasing comfort. I have told you that the spiritual dimension is that which unifies, coordinates, and facilitates all of these dimensions, so I add here that with spiritual strength this unifying function is simply done better.

The roles you play are other facets of your being. How many “persons” can you “be”? How well can you “be” each? The answers to these questions are a matter of spiritual strength. Even functioning as a true friend to a variety of people requires spiritual strength. This kind of strength is needed when your being is challenged by some new opportunity.

Yet it is important to have an accurate estimate of this strength and not attempt more than you can truly do… or be. You wisely do not attempt to expand your being into areas that you should not, for to fail in an honest attempt, even as it may be a good learning experience, can be damaging to sense of self. At the same time, to be too cautious and stay with just who you now are can be an erosion of spiritual strength. And it requires strength to keep this balance.

Now how does all of this emphasis on the self and its being equate with the knowledge I have given to you about the importance of selflessness and the eventual return to Me? It involves the paradox that the truly selfless person is the one with the strongest and most varied sense of self, who can willingly give up this strong, developed self… in service to Me and to others. You have to develop it before you give it up. To give up something you don’t really have… to give up something weak and undeveloped… is simply a show of spiritual weakness.

And yet there is another paradox: this strong sense of self can be developed best in the giving away process, not by a concentration on the development of self. It makes sense in the same way “the last shall be first, and the first, last”… not logically, just spiritually, true. You just do become stronger as you give yourself away.