You Are Worthy

Delivered Sunday, January 25, 2015

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27 (KJV)

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal."

End each day with thoughts of peace.  Begin each day with thoughts of peace.  Continue thinking thoughts of peace throughout your precious day and happiness will be yours.

As a society we have started and ended many wars on this planet. The world has changed drastically, just in our lifetimes. If we were to try and cover all the details about the boundary lines that have been changed in our lifetime, that would probably take months to define.

Human fighting human and the ego’s need to harm one another is a disease for the whole body of humanity.

World War I was called the war to end all wars. Yet, World War II followed. We have to look into that big mirror of humanity and see if the problem doesn’t lie within us. People start war; people continue war; people decide to stop war. 

If we want the warring that goes on inside of us we have to be brave enough to go for the spiritual cure… once and for all. We have to think about what is good for all people.

Dale Carnegie said, "If half a century of living has taught me anything at all, it has taught me that nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

Let me tell you a story about a remarkable lady. Her name was Mrs. DeCosta. She lived in Argentina. Around 1900, if you were to look for a hotbed of violence, it would be along the dividing line between Argentina and Chile. People were getting killed. They two countries were constantly in dispute about their common border. They couldn’t resolve anything, so they called in a mediator who brokered a deal, and, in 1903 the dispute ended. Enter Mrs. DeCosta.

She thought, as I believe we need to think, wherever there is war, be it internal or external – and it comes to an end, "Is this really going to be the end? Is this really the last time I’ll be warring?"

Perhaps as human beings, we need reminders.

The legend goes that Mrs. DeCosta had all the cannons that were used in the dispute put into the fire, molded and made into a statue of Christ, and here it is.

If you were to go to that pass, high up in the Andes Mountains on the borderline between the two countries, you would find the statue of Christ looking right along the border between Argentina and Chili.

When she had this erected, she knelt and prayed at the base along with thousands of people from both sides. She said, “May this be a reminder. Every time we think about war or even have a warring thought, may we remember.” And I presume she means, “May we remember the Presence of Christ, the Presence of peace; not just worldly peace, but the Peace of Christ.

Perhaps what each we need to do is to kneel inside of us (so to speak) and look up to the Christ who has never had a warring thought against ANY people, and know that no matter how warring we feel in our human self, we can go to that peace of God that is at the dividing line between war and peace.

How about in your own life? Your life is where peace begins. Let’s say you’re beginning to have a fight with your spouse or your children. Maybe you need to take a moment to rest “at the statue inside of yourself” and know that there is a greater power present with you who has the power  to come through you in the moment and heal the situation in a way that you probably cannot even imagine.

Or maybe you don’t feel like you deserve personal peace. Could that be the case… that you feel you are not worthy?”

Have you ever though anything along these lines? “Oh, I’m not really worthy of personal peace because, well, I get angry. In fact, sometimes think nasty things about people. I know that Jesus said we should love one another like He loved us and I don’t do a very good job of that. So, no, I’m not particularly worthy.”

I’d like you to listen to this audio clip from last Thursday’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” radio shown on ESPN (It’s a sports talk show). Former President Bill Clinton is their guest and he’s talking about playing golf with Jack Nicklaus… (Sorry that I wasn't able to upload the clip. Here's the jist of the story. Clinton was putting 8' for an eagle and he missed the putt. Nicklaus said to him, "You didn't feel like you deserved that eagle, did you?" "No, I guess not" said Clinton. Nicklaus' replay was, "You need to get over that.")
      If you feel you aren’t good enough for any reason about anything remember the advice of Jack Nicklaus. Remember not just, “You need to get over that.” but, “You need to get over that!”

I’ll not forget this; I hope none of us will, “You need to get over that!”

If you’re not sure that you’re worthy consider this: Gen 1:26-27  ^“Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; … So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them male and female he created them.””

We are created in the image and after the likeness of God; how much more worthy can we get? We are worthy!

Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that we are God’s own possession, chosen for the blessing of His Love.

We are worthy!

Fillmore from his book on living a thriving life: “Your thoughts should at all times be worthy of your highest self, your fellow man, and God. The thoughts that most frequently work ill to you and your associates are thoughts of criticism and condemnation. Fill your mind with thoughts of divine love, peace, and forgiveness.”

Now I know the attainment of these high ideals can sometimes seem impossible, and I know we “backslide” from time to time. The important thing is to remember Jack Nicklaus’ advice, “You need to get over that.” And we get over destructive thinking and feelings (as I talked about my having last week) through forgiveness, prayer, meditation, denying the negative thinking about ourselves as being true, remembering that we are worthy, asking God for guidance, thanking God for loving us unconditionally and eternally… then smiling and speaking a word of kindness to ourselves and into the world around us.

You are worthy. I love you. You are blessed.