Mick Turner

As Christians, each of us is an adopted member of God’s holy family. With this divine relationship our identity has shifted from the old to the new and with this new identity comes many countless blessings. One of these great blessings sometimes goes unnoticed, so I want to spend a few minutes bringing it to the forefront – with the hopes of giving it the attention it deserves.

 Scripture refers to God, our Father, as the Father of Lights. Personally, I find this appellation one of the most meaningful of the many names given to God in both scripture and tradition. It stands to reason the God, the Father of Lights, is also called Light. His very nature is Light and scripture and tradition again attest to this. God is light and in him there is not darkness the beloved Apostle tells us. Jesus is also referred to as light. In his own words, he tells us:

 I am the light of the world….

 And here is where the family connection flows in its strongest way. God is indeed the Father of Lights. Jesus, his only begotten, incarnates and is the Light of the World. And guess what my friend? Jesus goes on to give us the same identity by saying, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). We are light bearers for God, pure and simple and if we fail to see this deeply in our hearts and minds, we lose something of immense value. We lose something that is beyond the pale of duplication. We lose our spirit and our light and in a sense, we lose the perception of our true identity.

 In the Prologue to John’s gospel, the Apostle tells us the Jesus, the one true light, came into the world but the world was unable to perceive it. When we lose connection with the Master, we lose connection with our new and true identity as the ongoing incarnation of Light in the world. In essence, we repeat the mistake made by the Lord’s contemporaries. Only in this case, we are the Light of the World, but we perceive it not.

 Our task, then, is to find ways in which we can keep our light burning, not only before others, but before ourselves as well. That way we lessen the risk of forgetting who and what we are as adopted members of the family of God, the Father of Lights.

 What I have discovered over the years is that there are certain practices, certain things that I can do that can make this realty a living, breathing and animating component of my daily living. One such practice is the process of meditation. Here I am specifically referring to the more contemplative forms of meditation, not to be confused with the intensive, thinking, and reflective forms such as lectio, etc. I have found that through disciplined, consistent practice of meditation, I become more open to and aligned with the Spirit’s messages and leading. Even more, through God’s divine revelation I am able to discern more deeply the outworking of the Spirit’s healing.

 As we grow more accustomed to sitting in meditation with a mind that is relaxed but attentive to the movement and message of the Holy Spirit, we become increasingly aware of the many unexpected blessings that fill this seemingly empty chamber. As countless mystics have discovered over the ages, our inner sanctuary is anything but empty. In fact, it is within our sacred sanctuary that we encounter the ground of our being. Agnes Sanford tells us:

 …we realize that God is not some far-away sovereign, but is actually the medium in which we live – the very breath of life. This is so whether we know it or not. But the more we realize it, the more real it becomes to us. For as we tune in our thought-vibrations to the thought-vibrations of God, we expose ourselves as it were, to His eternal shining and so receive Hi image in ourselves.

 Sanford goes on to say that we should begin our prayers not so much focused on our needs, but instead, rivet our attention of God and his sublime nature. We should utilize whatever method makes him most real to us. For example, we might praise God with these potent scriptural words:

 Hallowed be thy name.

 As we recognize our Father, we gain more understanding of who He is, what He is, and what a privilege it is to be adopted into His holy family.

 I will write more on these themes as the near future unfolds. Suffice to say for now that one of the most helpful things we can do for ourselves is to establish a regular pattern of meditation practice. The technique utilized is not nearly as important as the motivation and the desired goal. As for myself, the motivation is to come to know the Spirit on a more intimate level, whereby a positive exchange can take place – his life for mine. The goal is to just be still before the Master – still, and teachable.

 © L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved