A Simple Formula for Opening Spiritual Doors

A few years ago, when my sanity was threatened by severe illness in my family and the sudden loss of my job, I relied first on inner strength to keep me from going under. Raised in a city environment where individual strength and self-reliance were prized, I was able to convince myself I had the mettle it would take to survive. I did survive; and my children survived with me.

When I look back now on those days I realize they were no catastrophe; they were a blessing. Soon after I had steadied myself against the onslaught, I was met by wave after wave of caring people reaching out, wondering if they could in some way provide a life jacket. I would come home from a long day of working and visiting my loved one in the hospital and listen to my phone messages. Often there were as many as a dozen, mostly from members of my church living the love they understood to be at the heart of our faith.

I learned to cry in those days and ever since then I’ve been more vulnerable to tears than any self-respecting, tough-guy Detroit boy should be. The tears were not over the pain I suffered but in response to the acts of love. I cried because in those days I learned that love is real, love is possible and love can triumph.

As a Christian teacher and searcher, one of my fascinations has been to understand how we can open doors to the spiritual presence Jesus described when he said: “Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened …” Even before the days of which I write here, it had occurred to me that suffering might be one door into the spiritual rebirth Christ promised. It seems clear that the “kingdom of heaven” Jesus reveals in his parables is a state of spiritual elevation to be enjoyed here on earth -- not just when we pass on to whatever realm awaits us after physical death. And people who sense intuitively that there is a truth that exceeds mere knowledge are as hungry today for an answer as they were in Jesus' day.

As I said, I had put suffering on my short list of “doors” even before I came into my time of suffering. And certainly I came out of that time as a more spiritual being than I went in. But I discovered that it wasn’t actually the suffering that made the difference. If I had stood alone against the tide and prevailed, it would only have inflated my sense of self reliance. What made suffering a door-opening experience was the way it connected me in love with others. I began to realize that the other “doors” on my short list, like service for example, were only doors because they involved a love connection with someone beyond myself.

Someone once wrote that God is like a force for good that exists but, like a car in neutral, doesn’t move until someone puts it in gear by acting in love toward another being. In that moment God becomes real and active, and can be seen moving upon the face of the earth. If you want to be lifted into God’s realm, lift someone with you. If you want to open the door to spiritual rebirth, love someone.