All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times;
but to make them really ours
we must think them over again honestly
till they take root in our personal expression.
~ Goethe
This quote reminded me of how we can hear wise thoughts from other great thinkers, but until we understand those thoughts, they feel like distant theory.
Jesus Christ has taught the way to eternal life. He has given explicit instructions on how to walk the same path. But we can’t idly entertain notions of “Oh, that’s nice.” We have to wrestle and grapple with his teachings until they make sense, until we’re doing the same and walking the path.
The same rule applies to the teachings of Christian Science. The truths work and bring stupendous results. But the ideas need to be made our own. We must grab onto the powerful truths like a horse trainer jumping onto a wild horse that needs to be broken. We hold on for dear life, and never let go until the wild beast is tamed and the rider and animal are walking along in perfect unison with each other.
This reminded me of one of the most fascinating things I ever saw. I went to an evangelical presentation at a rodeo grounds in nowhere Montana. It was called “Sermon On The Mount”. A horseman preacher spent about 3 hours teaching the lessons of Matt 5-7 while saddle breaking a wild mustang colt. It was an amazing insight into what Jesus was trying to teach! Thanks for the reminder.
Two things in particular I remember him saying were that “fear is the “fingerprint of the devil” and we often find them on ourselves. And, “it was a nice colt but just slave to a few fundamental lies”.
Anyway, your analogy reminded me of that fun evening years ago.
This is a much needed reminder – thank you. And I enjoyed Johann Wolfang von Goethe’s citation. Here is on in return, it may have been heard before: „Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being”. (Goethe)