When we behold life "from the highest point of view", we don't feel like strangers in this world. We don't want to get out of it. Instead, we accept our mission in life as co-creators with God. We do our best to bless the world.

We are integral parts of the whole system. The law of universal equilibrium demands that we should be active in fulfilling our part, so that the flow of life might bring to us whatever we need to thrive and to grow. Jesus outlined this principle in following words: "Give, and it shall be given to you".

There are many channels of giving. Financial offerings which are often emphasised at church services, important as they are, provide only one of them. One of the most important channels of giving is our work.

"As soon as the man is at one with God, he will not beg. He will then see prayer in all action. The prayer of the farmer kneeling in his field to weed it, the prayer of the rower kneeling with the stroke of his oar, are true prayers heard through nature", writes Emerson.

Prayers which aim to get something for nothing are vain and childish. The one who always begs for undeserved blessings doesn't know much about God, and doesn't have much respect for himself/herself either. Let us pray that we might deserve good things. Let us pray to become skilful and successful in our work. Let us pray for new opportunities to demonstrate our inherent abilities. Let us ask for better cooperation with the Creative Spirit. Such prayers are always answered.

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life."

Some people say that they "have to work", as if their work is a burden which prevents them from doing more important things. Their attitude is wrong. As long as they hold on to it, they are unable to learn lessons which life brings to them, so they repeat them over and over.

When Jesus said that we need "go the second mile" with the one who forces us to go one mile, He did not mean practicing blind obedience and self-abandonment. The opposite is true: all our actions should become conscious. We need to act, not to react.

When we find ourselves in a difficult situation or doing something unpleasant, we need to guard our hearts against resentment. Instead, let us look at things "from the highest point of view" and recognize that there are no accidents in God's world.

We were brought to this particular point, at this particular time, to do a particular work - and to grow through it. Every situation demands our mental concentration. This is why escapism turns to be counterproductive.

As we pray, we may affirm: "I accept my circumstances. Nothing in my world is void of meaning. Nothing in my world is void of reason. I won't flee from that which is meant to bless me. I will look at the things from the highest point of view, acquiring the universal perspective. At the same time, I will look deeper, doing my best to uncover hidden treasures of every experience. I will go all the way which lies before me - along with God. There will be no attempts to turn back".

One of the ways to spend our time in vain is to think about the world's problems rather than about our own life. Yet there is only one sure way to make the world a better place - to make ourselves a better person. Someone might call it self-centeredness, but in truth we won't affect the world by meddling in the affairs of others. We make the positive impact through the power of our example.

(to be continued)