Scripture: James 1:16-17 (The Message)
So, healing my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven.

Thought for the Day: Most spiritual Masters make no effort to hide the fact that the spiritual path is narrow and difficult. James believed it was easy to get thrown off course by people preaching easy access to God through contrition, confession, and public showings of good works. Jesus made it very clear that the path is difficult to follow, requiring one to give up everything held dear, everything they thought they knew about reality.

Unfortunately, it’s generally easier to follow the masses than it is to go your own way. The public is fickle. They’re all, “We only want to use Microsoft Windows” one minute and “Microsoft is evil, I’m using a Mac” the next. One day “The Secret” is the greatest spiritual guidebook ever written, and the next Joel Osteen is a Prophet. Crowds follow the next great thing like dandelion seeds in the wind.

But these spiritual shortcuts never last. James knew that 2000 years ago. Finding true unity with God requires diligence. We seek God not expecting something in return, but rather merely to return to God. Through grace God has reached out to us, offering us reconciliation to our true human nature—a spiritual nature, as exemplified in Christ Jesus. But to get there, we have to stay the course, and not be sidetracked by the spiritual P.T. Barnums of our era.

Prayer: God of reconciliation, sharpen the focus of my mind and soul, so that I might find my way back to you without being kidnapped by the circus. Amen.