Have you ever noticed how many conflicting voices there are out there? There are as many different opinions about politics, religion, and spirituality as there are people. How does one ever decipher this cloudy milieu of information, especially when it comes to one’s personal walk with God?Fortunately, we have been given reassurance that if we seek God we will find God. Jesus told us, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. To do this is to start on the path of gnosis—the path of knowing God.
The Apostle John reminded us, “But since you received the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit lives in you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what the Spirit teaches is true—it is not a lie.” (I John 2) This is an important Gnostic truth.
Gnosticism is about a personal knowing (gnosis) of God. It means that you go directly to Source to learn about Source. The Apostle John was a Gnostic. He believed the Spirit lived within you and taught you personally. There are many Christians today who might be shocked to consider that there are Gnostic teachings in the Bible.
There is a wonderful Old Testament Gnostic text in Isaiah. “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’. (Isaiah 39:20-22)
We have been given the promise of guidance. Our teacher is the Spirit and we can trust that what the Spirit teaches us is true. We can also go to sacred writings for guidance and inspiration, but sometimes there are conflicting messages even in the Bible. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t inspired, it simply means that inspired men and women communicated through the lens of their own culture and language. Translators translated the words through the lens of their own culture and language. When we go to the scriptures and find conflicting information, we go to the Source and ask for guidance and teaching.
We can be assured that the God who spoke to the writers in the Bible, will also speak to us to help us see more clearly. When we respond in love to God, it opens our hearts and makes us receptive to seeing God. This is what the path of Gnosticism is all about, seeking God with all of your heart and having the Spirit live within you.
The Apostle Paul wrote in several places about the great mystery of God’s plan. What is this great secret that he so often spoke of? It is that Christ lives in you. To have the Kingdom of God is to have the living Christ.
The wonderful news is that the living Christ can be invited into our hearts. He invites, “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them.” Too often we whine and complain about the lonely journey. If only Christ were here with us personally, we think, we would not be so discouraged. In reality, Christ can be with us every moment of every day. We miss out on his company because we have left him outside on the porch.
Would you like to spend time with the greatest teacher who ever lived? We have access to that kind of mentoring, encouragement, love, and support by opening the door and beginning an amazing journey with the Living Christ. The Spirit never comes in unless invited and will only stay as long as we choose.
This was a truth that Mary Magdalene learned before the other Apostles. The seven evil spirits were replaced with the Living Spirit and nothing was ever the same for her again. It is the most important truth for us to learn. If we desire a living faith and a vibrant hope, it will come when we invite the Living Christ to be our teacher and live within our hearts and minds. This is the path of the Christian Gnostic.
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