Joy is the reward. Joy is the purpose for existence. Joy is light. Joy is glory.

True joy can endure. Joy originating from the fleeting rewards of the impermanent is illusion - it has no substance and will not sustain. What principles are true, permanent, and result in a lasting reward, true joy?

Love, Faith, and Mastery.

What is love? Love is the desire that the recipient obtain joy. Love is inclusive. Love is concern. Love is unconditional. Love is limitless. Love can increase and has no bounds. Love includes that which is without and that which is within. Love is balanced and harmonious -- love for God, others, and self are of equal importance. The exclusion of one leads to the exclusion of all. To truly love God is to love your fellow and your self. To truly love your self is to love God and your fellow. To truly love your fellow is to love God and your self.

What is faith? Faith is power. Faith is understanding. Faith is comprehension. Faith is learning. Faith is intellectual. Faith is spiritual. Faith is science. Faith can increase and has no bounds. Faith is belief, hope, and action. Faith without action is dead. Faith without hope is dead. Faith without belief is dead. Belief is the vision, the object of one's desired understanding. Belief is theory. A belief may be deduced, theorized, hypothesized, alluded to, hinted at, taught, or learned. But belief is nothing of itself. Hope is the motivator. Hope strengthens belief so that it becomes a little more solid. Belief and hope do not enlighten. The true teacher is experience. Belief is the compass, hope is the motivation, and action is the teacher. Lessons refine belief and strengthen or weaken hope -- both of which direct future action. The faithful is one that follows this path and continually searches after truths. A true student teaches -- the faithful will testify of that which he has learned to others. Such testimony is a seed, a seed that may germinate within the recipient leading to belief, then hope, then action.

What is mastery? Mastery is the liberation of the free agent of the shackles of predetermination. Mastery is control. Mastery is complete freedom to choose. Mastery can increase and has no bounds. Mastery is purpose, wisdom, and discipline. Purpose is reason. Purpose is desire. Purpose is passion. Wisdom instructs. Wisdom shows the way. Discipline is practice. Discipline is the exercise of will. Together, one may master body, mind, and spirit.

Love, faith, and mastery are interconnected -- elements of one are influenced by or comprised of the others.

Growth and progression. As in mathematics where counting may increment in perpetuity, so may joy. Ever-increasing joy comes from ever-increasing love, faith, and mastery.

Just as one may achieve greater joy than the next, and another greater still, God is who and what we may become for He has already done so. He will continue to increase in joy and will forever be more than we, but due to the love that is part of his joyous nature, He has provided the opportunity for us to increase in joy as well. He instructs. He loves. He has, does, and will provide. Through Him comes joy because joy is what He wants for us and for Himself.

Tags: Joy Love Faith Belief Hope Works Mastery Discipline Purpose Wisdom Progress

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