Some people find it easy to experience the living Presence of God, and for such people, it is a relatively easier task to discover their mission in life. Some even have their mission thrust upon them, and cannot escape it no matter what they do to try and escape it.
Other people find their mission more difficult to discern; some even find it hard to feel the Presence of God. For such people as these who still manage to find their way to God, the journey is even more marvellous and wondrous.
All of us here have a calling to follow the Way of Yahveh. Without even looking at our personal mission, that calling alone as a Follower of the Way means that we are called to do the following:
1. witness to the personality, outlook and principles of Yahveh (to be ambassadors for Yahveh)
2. act as salt to others (bring out the spiritual and emotional best in others)
3. act as a light to others (as a beacon for the goodness of Yahveh’s Way, and of God’s Kingdom)
and you don’t have to be an outgoing person to do these things.
The first steps to discovering your personal mission in relation to God, is to look for the Kingdom of God within you. What this means is to try and rediscover your ‘heavenly self’ and connect with it; then look for God’s heavenly Way within you.
But what is your ‘heavenly self’? This is part of Israelite Qedoshim mysticism. In Pss 7:6, 16:9, 30:13, 57:9 and 108:2, the word ‘glory’ refers to the heavenly human soul within us – that which is perfect, unsullied and pure; see also p.182 of A. Cohen’s ‘Commentary on the Psalms.
Before we came to earth, we were all perfect beings in heaven. For those of you who have read my books, you will know that the Bible calls our heavenly selves ‘holy ones’ (Hebrew: qedoshim, Dt 33:2). The first step therefore, is to try and reconnect with what your heavenly self once was, before birth, when you were in heaven – through meditation and prayer, to look at that complete and perfect version of yourself in heavenly bliss. In a way, part of you is still there – still accessible from this mortal realm; there’s still a tether between heaven and earth, between your soul here and your soul in heaven.
On earth, you will never be a perfect replica of your heavenly self because of the negative things you have experienced here on earth – the unfortunate things that have happened to you, as well as the bad choices we have made. However, if you try to imagine the good, devoted servant of God that you were in heaven – someone who is an untainted, unblemished, healthier, more skilled and refined version of yourself – you will come close to your original self. When you have accomplished that, you will have re-established that awesome and empowering connection with your heavenly self.
Once you have connected with your heavenly self, you can begin to explore the personal mission that God gave you before your soul came to earth. Don’t be afraid of that exploration, and don’t be frustrated if you flounder in the search; remain calm, stay focussed, and your soul will slowly remember its purpose over time.
Some people find that their place is to guide others in personal matters, or to be there for others, or to listen, to help. You may never know the actual effect you have on others, but what goodness you manage to project, you can be assured it will benefit others.
Some people are spiritual, but have difficulty ‘feeling’ God’s Presence. To these people, I suggest setting apart a prayer-space in a room (or even a room itself), where you can pray quietly and meditate. This is more for psychological reasons – it’s the Pavlov effect; if you begin to associate a particular place with calmly and peacefully entering into the Presence of God, then you will reach a meditative state more and more quickly as time goes by.
If you can imagine the most noble, the highest good, the greatest love, the most just and the most compassionate way, then that is the religion of heaven. That is the perfect religion you practised while you were in heaven, and even if you cannot recall it, you can still imagine it in your times of prayer. You can imagine what the ethos and heart of God’s Message (Davar) is; you can imagine it as a warm sea that you swim in, or a perfect forest of beautiful scents, or a shining city of great beauty – anywhere you are calm and collected, and surrounded by perfect love. That perfect place is your natural home, the place you came from, and the place you will return to when you have completed what God has given you to do.
If you can connect to your heavenly self, and to your heavenly home, you have your connection to your greater self, which is beyond the limitations of time and space. In time, you will begin to see glimpses of why God sent you here. You may not be given precise details, but you will be given a direction.
Once it becomes known to others that you are Follower of the Way, the best way to witness to others is in the way you live your life, in the understanding way you speak to others, in the pleasant way you treat others, in the calm and reasoned way you project your opinions. Think about the kind of people you like to be around, the kind of genuine people who make you smile and subconsciously make you want to be their friend, and that is the very kind of person you should aim to become. Acting like salt to others is to become a stimulus and a catalyst to others, which brings out the best in them.
In our society as it is now, we need healing. Politics has drained us, our political leaders have made us miserable, the pandemic has wearied us, and our economic situation has taken its toll on us. Many people seem to have forgotten what it means to be a decent person; the bar seems to have been lowered to a very low standard. Members of some other religions will scream at you what it means to belong to their religion, and pester you to convert. However, if you look at the kind of people they are, they are often just as lost as they were before they joined their new religion. A Follower of the Way is called by God to live out their faith, not just talk about it to win converts; the loudest voice is not always the one who talks the most or can shout the loudest.
The ‘Good News’ of Talmidaism is that there is a better way – living the Kingdom of God. The Good News is that the Kingdom of God is here and now; the Good News is that our Living God is already here among us; and the Good News is that we will get through all this, and we will survive. The Good News is that there is a better future for those who are willing to live it, and are willing to live the Will of God.
You also have a part to play in the resurrection of the Way. Talmidaism is just starting to re-establish itself in the modern world, after an absence of nearly 19 centuries (since the death of the last Nasi, Yudah, in 135 CE). You therefore have your important part to play in that re-emergence, small or great, and it is a most sacred calling. No one is asking any of you to make ground-breaking changes to the world, but everyone, no matter how great or small, has their part to play.
As for myself, for as many times as I tried to run away from my mission, you cannot turn away from the will of God. I have found my pearl of great price, and I have given up everything to possess it. Therefore, look for the Kingdom of God within you – your heavenly self, your connection to the Davar (the Living Message) of Yahveh in heaven, and to the sacred, eternal place you came from. The next step will be when God gives you your direction, and in time, maybe even more specific things.
What you have done in your past has prepared you for where you are now – a prologue to what is yet to come. All of us have our small part to play in the re-emergence of the Way, and in the building of God’s Kingdom, in each and every generation.
Blessed be the Holy and Wondrous Name of Yahveh, our Living Saviour!