How to be Saved

by Dionysos Maskaleris

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One night, a juror came to Jesus and he wanted to know what he could do to be saved. Jesus didn't get bogged down in the kind of isolated approach of what he shouldn't do. Jesus didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop lying." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must stop cheating if you are doing that." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must not commit adultery." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, now you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing that excessively." He said something altogether different, because Jesus realized something basic - that if a man will lie, he will steal. And if a man will steal, he will kill. So instead of just getting bogged down in one thing, Jesus looked at him and said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again." 
-MLK from the speech: Where do we go from here?

The problem with the so called 'Born Again Christians' and most of us - is we get 'bogged down in one thing'.  You know there is many ways to be saved. If you are writing an email and you want to practice restraint of pen, tongue and keyboard and not send the email right away - you can click "Save Now" and that icon will then say "Saved". I can save some Pussy Willow seeds [so soft and delicate] and send them to a friend folded in a letter in an envelope and by saving these seeds and then giving them away I cherish my friend, I cherish Art, I cherish the world and I cherish love. This is how and these are some of the many ways I save and am saved.
 

And I am not "born again" once only and then have the smug and false assurance that I have the ticket to heaven - that my way is the best or only way to heaven - I am open to being born again and again every moment as I find new ways that I am unkind and new ways to learn to turn the unkindness's around to doing real actions of loving kindness. So it is an ongoing process to be saved and it is saving others - which is affirming and cherishing others and cherishing the Earth and cherishing God - cherishing God not by asking God to save us or to fix us or give us what we want like spoiled children - it is cherishing God by we ourselves saving God by helping God - by we truly loving ourselves and others - for God loves us and cries tears of sorrow because we are so separated from love - by what we call love  - which is false and selfish.  God needs our help and protection. So I believe it is not for God to save us - it is for us to save God by truly loving others. By protecting others we are all protected. By helping others we are all helped. By loving others we are all loved. By helping God we are all helped by God. God is the Light - we are the eyes to see that Light. God is the force - we are the actions of that force.  It is up to us to see and to do the actions of love.

Dion

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{All Dionysos Maskaleris writings copyright or copyright pending}

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Photo of Pussy Willow:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salix_caprea_02.jpg

The flowering shoots of pussy willow are used both in Europe and America for spring religious decoration on Palm Sunday, as a replacement for palm branches, which do not grow that far north. Ukrainians orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Polish and Bavarian Catholics, and various other East European peoples carry pussy willows on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches. This custom has continued to this day among Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ruthenian Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, and Polish Catholic emigres to North America. Sometimes, on Palm Sunday they will bless both palms and pussy willows in church. The branches will often be preserved throughout the year in the family's icon corner.