What is God and how are we connected to God?
God is the source of all things, and Swedenborgians often define God broadly as love and wisdom, the source of consciousness, life, and all being. We can come to get a glimmer of God’s great love in those in our lives who show love best, without neediness or judgment, and especially within ourselves when we take the effort to uncover it. Although God’s love isn’t judgmental, God does encourage us to express greater love in our lives for our own sake and for others’! God’s love and wisdom is so broad that it shines through many different peoples, religions, and spiritualities across history, encouraging us to find peace and greater life within our awareness of our unity with God.
All of our gifts come from God, this includes our life and our love. Swedenborgian spirituality affirms that because of this, God is the foundation of our lives–whether we know it or not! Unfortunately, many of us are ignorant of this connection to God (who is known by many names, across traditions). Instead, we often believe that God is far away or that there is no God at all, or perhaps, we believe that God is only close to a select few.
Our tradition encourages us to become aware that our life is sourced from God and not separate from God. This life is love itself. When we become distracted by our false beliefs that we are separate from God and others, it is hard to see this love within and around us. This is why Swedenborgians also encourage each other to let go of ego (what we call this false idea of ourselves) through spiritual practice and reflection.
Meet Rev. Cory Coberforward
Rev. Cory works with the our online community, Spiritual Sunshine, and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Canada. He loves playing music, exploring spiritual topics, being spontaneous, and connecting with others.
More information: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog