Joshua - by Joseph F. Girzone

Excerpts from the book "Joshua - A parable for today" by Joseph F. Girzone:


1. God´s presents:

Joshua watched them, smiling, with obvious satisfaction at the simplicity of the children´s delight. Then, at once, they turned to Joshua, hugged him, and told him how much they loved him.

He bent down, put his arms around them, and told them that he loved them too.
"Your Father in heaven has given you many presents, just like these little birds, but all alive and free singing for you all day long, and even at night, like the nightingale. You should notice these beautiful creatures and let them remind you how much your Father loves you."

"Do you know God, Joshua ?" the blond-haired girl asked him.
"Yes, I do know him. We are good friends !"

2. Church and religion:

"Josh", Herm asked, "what do you think of church and religion ?"

"Real religion is in people´s hearts, not in buildings. Jesus tried to teach this lesson once before when he told the woman at the well that the time was coming when men would woship neither on Mount Garizim nor in Jerusalem, but would worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Unfortunately, that lesson never caught on. Religious leaders always felt they had to organize people and structure the practice of religion in such a way that they would become highly respected mediaries with God, and religion then became the practice of what religious leaders told one to do and deteriorated into the measurable observance of manmade laws.

Religion doesn´t have to be like that. Jesus taught that people are free, free to enjoy being God´s children, free to grow and become the beautiful people God intended !"

3. Vision

Each person looks at life through a different vision. Three men can look at a tree. One man will see many board feet of valuable lumber worth so much money. The second man will see it as so much firewood to be burned, to keep his family warm in the winter. The third man will see it as a masterpiece of God´s creative art, given to man as an expression of God´s love and enduring strength, with a value far beyond its worth in money or firewood.
What we live for determines what we see in life and gives clear focus to our inner vision.

4. Solitude

"Joy comes to those who do not fear solitude."

I like being by myself. And I´m never really alone. People stop in all during the day. And besides, God is with us all the time, and He´s real, though we don´t think of that very much.

5. God´s Love

God´s love is like the warmth of the sun, which touches every object in creation at the same moment.

I think that you can best find God if you look within yourself. The most powerful revelation of God´s presence and his love lies within you. If you take the time and talk to God, you will find Him, and in finding Him you will find the greatest joy of your life. He will reveal himself, and in possessing Him you will understand all else.

6. Daily Life

Look in the mirror when you go to your room tonight and you will see an evolution of wonders far more exciting than a miracle. The whole course of each day is filled with endless wonder, which we take for granted because it all flows so smoothly as the ordinary cause of life. But each tiny event, and each moment of time, is a miracle of creation.