There is an apocryphal Gospel of St. Thomas. If you don’t know “apocryphal,” it is the word for unofficial ancient scripts, the ones that did not get included in the Bible when the church defined it. So, of course, many of us want to consider these unofficial writings to see what got mistakenly left out. This phrase from St. Thomas is one that rattles my cage:
If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what is within you will destroy you.”
Such a compressed, profound thought! We either work to get at our core gifts and use them for the world, or we fritter away our souls. No amount of the good life complete with the latest iPad, 3-D TV, title or income can save us from the task of answering our call and expressing our originality in the world.
“How am I doing on this calling score?” is the question we must regularly ask ourselves. We must look for the evidence—not dramatic displays so much as daily connections and steps—that signal our souls are at work. A conversation with your sister that mattered. An interaction with a co-worker that bolstered their confidence. A skill being acquired, a new thought that better serves us.
Is what is within you saving you, or chewing you up right now? And, at the risk of wasting our time, we can think of others: Anthony Weiner, Charlie Sheen, how’s it going? Dirk Nowitzki, what’s up? Helen Mirren,what’s goin’ on? Bono, what’s next? Thanks to the media, we are always seeing public displays of destruction and expression. No judgment here of course: Lindsay Lohan, Charlie, Tiger, there are many chapters ahead—no hurry. But do get on with it please, for your sake and everybody else’s.
And the same holds for us, of course. Get on with it. That which lies within needs our focused attention.
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