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 uring
the course of our lives, I think all of us take on a search for something
we don’t possess. Many search for truth and justice, many search
for cures to deadly diseases, knowledge, peace, understanding, and of
course, some search for riches and prosperity. I’m sure you know
plenty of people searching in that direction. But have you ever known
anyone searching for one simple thing - one rare and mystical thing
- the true believer?
To understand my quest, I guess you must understand what I am seeking.
What is a true believer? What do they believe in? What do they look
like? Where can you find them? And why do you even want to find them?
What possible importance can they play in the scheme of life?
Well, for starters, they are the scheme of life. A true believer is
God’s perfect plan, his most magical plan, his grand design.
A true believer is a person who knows without a doubt that there is
a God. Now I have your attention. Right? I bet you think you know hundreds
of these people. You’re are probably looking around you thinking
they are everywhere, sitting right next to you, living right down the
street from you, going to school with you, working with you.
I think you’re wrong.
The most obvious place to look is the pulpit. Those in the religious
life have to be true believers, right? I don’t agree at all on
this point. Look at their sad and tortured faces and you will see the
confusion and doubt. Like ash, it covers them with a dull finish. They
preach, they pray, but do they believe? Sadly, many of them don’t.
And even more sad is the fact that it shows, the fact that we can see
it so clearly.
What does that say to those of us who are not in the religious life?
I don’t think I need to elaborate here. It’s very disheartening.
If your Rabbi or priest doesn’t truly believe, than why should
you believe? If believing has not afforded him joy and peace, why would
it afford you joy and peace? If serving God has not brought him contentment
and joy, why should anyone serve God?
Will you find true believers inside the congregations of synagogues
and churches? You can, but it isn’t easy. They need a true believer
to lead them, touch them, guide them to that threshold. Most of them
are only going through the motions, seeking comfort from something they
only barely comprehend.
One place where true believers seem quite abundant is inside mental
institutions. Wait, you are saying, those people aren’t true believers.
Those people are mentally ill, demonstrating what is clinically called
religious ideation. That means they were perfectly normal individuals,
leading a perfectly callused life until they went insane and decided
to find God. Instead of finding God, they found a psychiatrist. And
soon they were no longer looking for God, they were looking for a road
back to their normal, callused existence.
Finding God can sometimes be an impossible and dangerous mission. It’s
scary. It’s terrifying. To find God means you must first find yourself.
I decided to search for a true believer instead. It seemed to make more
sense. Besides, I don’t want to end up in a mental institution.
I’m not stupid. I know how those people got there. They were looking
in places they didn’t belong.
True believers are unmistakable to those that seek them. For one thing,
an incandescent light emanates all around them like a force field. They
are consumed by the joy and wonderment of life. Working hour after hour,
they seldom tire. They absolutely never complain, certainly not about
themselves, although they may complain about wrongs committed against
others. Generally they won’t tell you that God speaks to them in
audible words. But God speaks to them. He speaks to them through the
bright sun, the dark night, the rainy afternoon. He speaks to them from
the mouths of innocent children. He speaks to them from the mouths of
the suffering and gravely ill. And when he speaks, the true believer
always has that space in his heart and that hour in his schedule to
listen. Do you? If God did speak to you, would you listen?
Put your arms around a true believer and you will feel a rush of power.
Listen to a true believer laugh and you will hear the tinkling of golden
bells.
But the most important aspect of the true believer is the fact that
their very existence on this earth is a minor miracle. In today’s
world, they are the endangered species threatened with extinction.
Contact a true believer and you will find yourself breathless. You
will be spiritually overhauled in a matter of minutes. Not with words
and sermons. Not with lectures and speeches. But the sun will be brighter,
the air fresher, and you will know the real meaning of hope. Try to
say the word hope without your lips touching; you cannot. Just as you
cannot feel the presence of God without touching someone or something
that truly believes. As you look over your shoulder and walk away, you
will know there is a God. I can’t tell you how you will know it1
but you will know it. This, my friends, is the grandest design of all.
This is the continuity of faith. We, as humans, could never have devised
such a plan, never implemented it, never maintained it. But, let me
tell you, it works. It’s God’s word of mouth plan. It’s
God’s low-budget ad campaign. It’s God networking at the highest
level.
A true believer carries God in his heart. And he shares instinctively,
naturally, willingly. His supply of love and hope never runs out. The
more he gives, the more he has to give. The more people he touches,
the more people touch him. This is infinity of the spirit. This is the
constant circle of love.
This is a true believer.
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