Forward Day by Day Meditation for June 12, 2016 - 4th Sunday of Pentecost

Galatians 2:20b And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You can trap a monkey by putting a banana into a jar with an opening just big enough to reach in and grab the bait, but not wide enough for the monkey to pull his hand out while clasped around the food. This is a perfect metaphor for the human ego.

Paul uses the term in this very passage; in the Greek, the word “ego” is simply the word we translate as “I,” the personal pronoun. There is no problem with a healthy sense of self. What leads to sin and suffering is when we cling to our ideas of ourselves like the monkey’s hand on the bait. Our ego—our sense of personal self—is like the bait. There’s nothing wrong as long as we can let go.

Letting go is the work of a lifetime—learning to patiently and gently navigate our own hearts with the infinite love and healing grace of God. Letting go is the joy of the journey, the secret of the saints, and the essence of spiritual experience.

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