"The process of aging enables us to accept our holy self. For as our bodies disintegrate and become less 'attractive' according to worldly standards, we begin to search elsewhere for experiences of beauty. And no experience is more beautiful than coming to understand who and what we really are: beloved children of God.
"I believe that if we truly came to identify with our holy self, we'd be in such ecstasy at our own truth, beauty, and goodness that we could hardly bear to live in this world. I have a word for this deep internal beauty. I call it luster, and I believe it has three component parts.
"The first component of our luster is light. We have luminosity; we shine because we are the reflection of God. Part of claiming our holy self is to see our light most clearly. What did Jesus instruct us to do with our light? Put it on a pedestal and let it shine for all to see. He told us not to put it under a bushel basket so that it is covered over, but that's what happens to our luster when we have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem causes us to depreciate ourselves, to discount ourselves, to disbelieve that we are holy. Solid self-esteem lets us allow our true holiness to shine like a beacon on a hill.
"The second component of our luster is beauty. At our very core exists an attractiveness that surpasses anything the world can offer. We are called to contact this beauty, to appreciate it, to cherish it, to give testimony to it. We are to do this all in finest humility. If we could see and really accept the beauty of our holy self, we could also grasp the everyday beauty of the life that surrounds us.
<>p>"The third component of our luster is status. We are God's children. Think of it! We are the highest of any created being in the universe. The angels are not higher; they are made to be the same angels forever. We children of God are called to grow, to change, to come closer to God. Indeed, to become perfect as God is perfect. How fantastic! I believe if we could truly comprehend our status among creation, we would quickly come to find worldly things completely trivial. We would become disinterested in material possessions, professional success, wealth, and so forth. Enthralled in our 'child of God' status and exalted in our newly found distinctiveness, we would enter an altered state of consciousness that would be close to ecstasy."Our daily task is simply to become aware of our luster. If each moment we see the beauty that lies inside us, accept the truth of who and what we really are, and embrace the goodness that made us in God's image, we will find ourselves following the light of Christ as he leads us to God. Our life is a journey both purposeful and intentional, and it is full of lessons of love for us to learn every day, the foremost of which is to know who we truly are."
