OFFLINE

Oneness is not the end. It is the condition by which we get there. The cause is Jesus. The end is fulfillment of life, purpose, and destiny. Oneness is walking hand in hand; destiny is where we are going.

Oneness is marked by laughter and ease of heart. Trust flourishes within it. Trust is not that the other will not fail. Trust is that God will bring good and that all participants will recover from whatever error(s) may threaten. Trust is patience, that I am not called quickly to straighten out the other or myself lest all be lost. Trust is forbearance, that the other's or my own fumbles or purposeful sins are but momentary and require only my love, compassion, and forgiveness.

Only in oneness are we truly capable of rejoicing in the other's accomplishments. Prior to fullness of death of self, we only think we rejoice, while inwardly we grind our teeth in jealousy and feelings of inferiority. The arrival of oneness is the purchase of highest fulfillment for us when the other does better than we, for on the one hand we know we are part of the support system that enables, and on the other hand his success has become ours because we are one. "The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12). This becomes our aim and our joy rather than our dread of replacement. Then it is joy in the happiness of others that arise from innermost wells; it does not have to be trumped up, and its end is not a sour taste in the mouth and despondency but contentment and a sense of well-being.

(Extracted from Letting Go of Your Past by John and Paula Sandford. p.107-108)