I was brought up in a Southern Baptist Church, where there was a lot of individual Bible study, and I was never comfortable with their idea of my Jewish friends going to hell simply because they didn’t believe our way. The God I knew was loving. Period.
I wanted a Bible that had only Jesus’ words in it, so I could concentrate on just His messages. I could always feel the love in His words. (Hmmm, I wonder if they still print any Bibles with Jesus’ words in red.) I wanted to truly understand His messages. I didn’t just want to read the words. I wanted to experience them.
Later, after college, I continued to have that same desire as I read book after book written by spiritual seekers and tried to understand this crazy world of ours…and my place in it.
Over time, I realized I was reading essentially the same messages of love even though different language was being used. Since many people think in distinctly black/white or right/wrong ways, I have rarely been able to have a conversation about that. In fact, I have watched people grow uncomfortable as soon as I suggested any similarity.
This week I came across a book called “Bridging the Gap between Christianity and Mysticism” written by Ann Albers, an author whose words had resonated with me in an article I had read. I couldn’t wait to check it out.
Ann’s Dad was a physicist and she had graduated and worked as an electrical engineer, so it was natural for her to begin her spiritual searching in the world of science. As her searching continued, she found herself having mystical experiences with angels. She lovingly shares her insights and personal experiences, including Jesus asking her to “come out of the spiritual closet” and share her views. I’m so glad she was listening.
In “Bridging the Gap between Christianity and Mysticism,” Ann starts with this:
“Put simply, Christianity is a religion based on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, while mysticism is a belief that you can have a direct experience of God. Notice that the Christians and the mystics are not really talking about the same thing. They’re looking at truth from different angles. One says, “I can have a direct experience of God.” The other says, “The only way I can have that direct experience is through Jesus Christ.” These statements are not mutually exclusive.”
And ends with this:
“You do have to embrace the Christ consciousness, the divine spark, the love within you, if you want to find your way to God. When Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me,” it was the Christ consciousness within Him speaking. It is the divine spark within each and every one of us that is our pathway to God.
It is not so difficult after all to bridge the gap between the various beliefs on this planet if we focus on the one underlying truth that intuitively beckons to each of our hearts –
the greatest commandment is love.”
I LOVE THIS! We don’t have to agree/disagree or decide who is right/wrong. We only have to be our own unique version of “Me-ness”…and love, simply love one another.
This is the perfect book, if you find yourself searching for a bridge between spiritual beliefs.
Healthy A-Z 
Love is the answer! I worked with a young woman who had always thought they were German but had recently discovered that they were actually Jewish. Their grandmother had hidden their identity during WWII in Germany to keep her family safe. This new revelation set this young woman off on a spiritual journey. I was so excited for her! Many of my Christian friends did not understand my excitement but I truly believe that whoever seeks out their creator will be found by him. As for Jesus being the way and the truth…who’s to say that He is not known by different names? If religion makes as narrow minded and creates hate instead of instillng a genuine love for our neighbour it should give us pause and cause us to re-examine what we believe, at least the interpretation of what we believe.
Be careful and ask for discernment from God in your studies. Sometimes, what we think sounds good is actually a distortion of what Jesus preached. There are many “false Prophets” who kind of say some things you want to hear. But, their intent is to lead you astray.
Yes Karen, you nailed it! My point exactly. 🙂
I bet your excitement for your friend’s spiritual journey felt really wonderful to her. You were supporting her in who she was, even as her “labels” were changing. That’s a beautiful thing…and a great indication of love in action!
Thanks! I think I was more excited than her!
Hi Cyndi, Yes they still print Christ’s words in red. The reason this is done because his teachings were written in blood as he shed his blood because of his teachings.
Still printing…good to know. You ARE a wealth of knowledge!
Amen! Seek the truth where you find it. “…and the greatest of these is Love.”
Even the Beatles said, “Love is all there is!” 🙂
Pulsating through all of life is the Spirit of love. The only question is: how conscious are we of this love? Great post – thank you.
Thank you, Don! That Spirit of love comes knocking in so many different “disguises,” doesn’t it? Sometimes the mind puts up a block, so I like tuning in to the feeling of it.
What an enchanting place!
Thank you, Sean! And I saw some great inspiration over at Jimmy vs. World, too. 🙂
A great post Cyndi! My thoughts are very similar, will check out the book as well – and try to buy a Bible with Christ’s words printed in red color. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy your additional explorations. I know I am.
Hola, it Veronika from Travel Live Life and I have nominated you for Leibster Blog Award. You can take a look here – http://travellivelife.com/2013/06/22/liebster-blog-award/ . Thank you for your inspirational stories!
Thank you so much, Veronika! IThat’s a wonderful gift!
My pleasure my friend! You deserve it! Keep the spark alive 🙂
Being that you wanted to read only the word of Jesus, I’m curious, have you ever read the Gospel of Thomas? Or, any of the other books with Jesus’ teachings that didn’t make the cut of church and political leadership “Holy Spirit” authorized Bible?
Also, I’ve lately been considering the line about “I am the way, the truth, the life…” and I think there are many ways we could look at that. There is one way, which is what dictates the religious view that you either become a Christian or go to hell… but I think there are a multitude of other ways we might look at this line which all generally speak to the same point (I like the way the author in your post describes it).
What does Jesus mean by “I” ? At first glance, we might take that to mean Jesus and only Jesus, the man. But if we also accept this “Christ consciousness” would that qualify those with that consciousness as being “in Christ” as well? Thus, his “I” would mean God, who inhabits all those who have the consciousness of being a child of God? For example, if I were to be speaking of something that I believe to be resolutely true, I may use “I” in conversation, but if what I am saying is in actuality fully true, would it not also apply to all other “I’s” in the world?