Spiritual fitness is a dynamic process which requires regular selfevaluation. But do we have the time to spend on it' These days, we are all busy. Yet such busy-ness is largely self-imposed. When we have some free time, all too often we manage to spend it in front of the Tv, playing video/computer games, or chatting on the phone. These activities are enjoyable in moderation, but when we examine our lives closely we will discover (perhaps to our surprise)that we don't have to be so busy. Do we ask ourselves why it's often easier to say ''yes'' to all kinds of family or social obligations than to say ''yes'' to spending time with God on the path to spiritual fitness' Remember, the generations before us had to work in the fields, at the market, or in factories and shops all day, and then return home to do even more work. Yet somehow, our ancestors found time to be closer to God. The best times of day to evaluate your soul and have a "face-to-face" session with it are in the early hours, either before sunrise or at break of dawn, and again at night before going to bed. At dawn we can share with the Creator our hopes for achieving goals on the way to spiritual fitness. We can reflect, as does the Qur'an, on the birth of a new day that will never come back; "0 Lord, You have not created all this without purpose, all glory be to You." At night we can meditate on a spiritual balance sheet of the past day. How has our faith grown, How helpful were we to others' And, do we have the will to do better tomorrow' The satisfaction, indeed the sweetness, of our achievement toward spiritual fitness will make that evaluation an enjoyable process, for tasks like this create beautiful moments in our hearts that give our lives meaning and value.
This value is not generated from material wealth or social status and acceptance by others, but from within - wholly because of our relationship with God the Creator. No single discipline of spiritual fitness is as difficult to practice, let alone master, as the imitation of God. Yet other effort toward spiritual fitness is as effective as the degree to which we emulate the Divine attributes of love and mercy. Imitating God means doing one's best to acquire and develop some of His attributes, despite our severe human limitations. As God Almighty is gracious, we seek to be humanly gracious; as He is merciful, we strive to be humanly merciful; and as He is just, we aspire to be humanly just, and so on. These are just a few of the highest goals of our human existence. Imitating God also means that we love the good that He loves, and hate the evil that He hates.
To train the soul in such a path is both challenging and rewarding. Can we be models of justice to others, irrespective of gender, race, color, religion, or familial relationship? It's something for all of us to think and pray about the next time we are given the power to judge someone. Humanity was created in a world of relativity. But in that world, people can be a worthy reflection of their Creator. We can be generous, in imitation of God, the Absolute Generous. We can be unique in character, but no match for the uniqueness of God, the One, the Only, the Incomparable. We can also be strong, but we would have no strength at all were it not for God, the All-Powerful and the All-Compelling. It is an illusion if human beings think, for even one moment, that they can function independently from their Creator; there is no real human existence apart from God. At the physical level, we are totally dependent on our Supreme Creator, Supreme Fashioner, Supreme Shapero God's natural Law, at the physical level, is evident everywhere in the universe - in the body we occupy, in the air we breath, in the food we eat, in the earth on which we walk, and in the wealth we accumulate.
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