What will God say to us, if some of us go to him without the others?
Charles Péguy

What we are ultimately to become is an issue that lies at the heart of the process of creation. It impinges upon our thoughts as we retire for rest. There is first the matter of our own end in terms of the life we have lived here. But above this rather self-centred approach there is the matter of creation itself, remembering that each of us is a part of the whole. The contribution we make may not be especially startling in worldly terms, but our psychical emanation may affect the lives of the many who work alongside us, for good or for bad. In the famous words of John Donne, "No man is an island entire of itself - any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." Yes, indeed, we are all part of a greater continent, and the whole is not complete until each part is healthy and so functioning to its full capacity, true to itself, that it can make its own unique contribution to the whole.

In this respect the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, for the glow of individual contributions is expanded into a glorious radiance far in excess of the sum of the total participation when people work together in a unison of intent to praise their Creator and serve the common good. It is hard for the untried person to envisage any good that transcends personal grandeur of the type that wealth or power may provide. It may require a radical stripping of all earthly supports before the inner integrity is glimpsed and then slowly attained: the account of the Prodigal Son is the classical example. When we are nothing in the world's eyes - and also in our own eyes - we may be much closer to God than even during our time of material splendour and religious certitude: the progress of Job guides us here. We come to God as naked as did Adam and Eve before their momentous fall. After it their nakedness separated them from God, but not he from them. Only when we regain the beautiful simplicity of pure nakedness can we go to him again, and then, to our amazement, we find that we are accompanied by many other naked people, clothed only in the purity of restored innocence.

In this state of being there is no trace of triumphalistic assurance such as we may see in the type of revivalist who parades personal salvation before the world, exhorting everyone to repent and acknowledge God according to a theological formula before it is too late: or else the alternative would be eternal damnation. The God of love, however, never rejects any of his creatures, but they, at least the rationally proficient of them, have the power to reject him. Until they repent, however, they exclude themselves quite deliberately from the greater fellowship of humanity which finds its fulfilment in the knowledge of God. Their conversion to the light is a matter of urgency both for their own well-being (so that they can begin to enjoy life to the full and no longer be imprisoned within the walls of material supports) and for the greater good of the community, who could gain so much from their unique contribution were they to proceed from selfish exclusion to loving participation.

In fact, to return to the question posed by Péguy above, none of us can come to God while any remain outside. A good analogy would be the heavenly banquet that forms so important a part of biblical allegory (Isa. 25.6-9, Matt. 8.11, Matt. 22.2-10). Could we, while sharing joyously in the festivity, bear to hear others outside begging for food? While the religious rigorist might actually rejoice at their misery as a proof of God's justice, those filled with the love of God, like the father of the Prodigal Son, would rush to open the doors and let them in to share God's bounty.

I thank you, Lord, for the privilege of my creation, the joy of being able to know you, and the promise of sharing in your very being. May I play my part in bringing closer the day when everyone will know you and work together for the coming of your kingdom upon earth.