With this understanding of karma established, it is now important for us to understand that not all of physical hardship and suffering is karma. Some is the test of the Spirit—actually, the test of Satan! In ancient Israeli teachings, Satan was the accuser (ha-satan in Hebrew, and the exact name used in the book of Job) and the tester, as we shall see in the story of Job. In fact, according to classical rabbis, Satan’s job was to “break the barrel but not spill any wine.” In other words, he is to test us hard but not destroy our soul in the process. In Kabbalah, Satan’s role is to tempt us as best he can, then turn and accuse us when we fail—but the Kabbalists believed that, deep down, Satan wanted us to be victorious, because he was, in effect, an agent of God’s testing. The planet Saturn and the day Saturday have been associated with the test by Satan. Astrologically, the planetary influence of Saturn is said to engage one in his or her tests on the way to self-awareness and enlightenment. Saturn’s lessons require one to succeed through trials, building toward mastery of free will, God’s gift to us. Here’s the story behind the idea of a life with divinely approved tests and trials.
The high priest Melchizedek wrote the biblical book of Job for all incarnate souls to better understand the nature of incarnation. Life here is a test of our love, our companionability, and our commitment to God and the ideals that are Godly. Melchizedek begins the book by describing how the sons and daughters of God came together to present themselves before God, and Satan came among them. God turns to Satan and asks if he has seen the goodness in His servant Job. Satan challenges Job’s apparent goodness, claiming that if God touched one thing of Job’s physical life or physical person, Job would curse God to His face. Satan claims that the human is not interested in spiritual life with God, only physical life. He wants two cars in the garage, a chicken in the pot, a fantastic spouse, money in the bank, and a healthy body. Spiritual things are of no interest to him. Job’s prayers to God are just to keep physical, selfish life the way Job wants it, not to awaken spiritually or know God personally. After Satan laid down this challenge, God instructed Satan to test Job to see if this were true. From that moment on, Job’s physical life and body fell on hard times. His friends accused him of sinning against God or that members of his family had sinned. But Job insisted that every time he or his family sinned, he had asked for forgiveness, and Job believed that the all-merciful God forgave him and his family. Still, his friends wondered what else could explain these sufferings and misfortunes. Job had no answer to this question, but he did not and would not curse God. In the end, God and Job talked directly. They got to know each other and understand one another. A hundredfold of what Job lost in the test was restored to him.
So it is for all of us who journey through physical incarnation. Here we will be tested to see for sure what we really treasure: mammon or our Creator and ultimate companion. And the Spirit of God is composed of the Fruits of the Spirit. These fruits have the seeds of the Spirit within them and grow a more companionable soul to the Creator, who longs for our companionship. “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) What may be the qualities of this Spirit are revealed in the Fruits of the Spirit, the focus of study in this book.
God’s wisdom is evident in this exactingly magical law of karma and the testing revealed in the book of Job. Understanding mistakes, vices, and weaknesses in others and faithfully enduring the tests are two keys to regaining our birthright as companions and co-creators with our Creator—the Creator of the entire universe and all that is in it.
2
Grace
Like karma, the word grace has its origin in the ancient Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit. It comes from the root words gr and grnati, meaning “warm approval” and “favorable acceptance,” respectively. It finds it way into Latin as gratia, meaning “to favor,” and ex gratia means to give a favor when one is not required—this is where the word gets its greater meaning as an unmerited divine favor given to souls for their salvation, regeneration, and sanctification.
Although the effect of grace is similar to mercy, there is a subtle distinction: mercy is when God does not give us what we deserve, and grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve. Grace comes from God’s awareness of our potential as eternal companions—the purpose for which God conceived us and gave us free will. Seeing this potential, God established leeway in the unfolding of creation and our soul growth. This leeway is the grace of God’s love for us.
Aware of the ultimate potential of the developing soul, the Creator favors the soul even when it does not yet deserve it. Grace is a gift from the Creator to the created, given in a spirit of love and patience.
American writer and theologian Frederick Buechner wrote:
Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.
The grace of God means something like: “Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.”
Grace is also with us because our Creator’s presence is always with us, whether we are conscious of it or not. In conceiving us, our Creator made our deeper portion in its image, after its likeness, and placed a piece of itself within each of us. (Genesis 1:26–28) As a result, the Creator experiences what we experience, knows our most intimate feelings, and is aware of the temptations, tests, and karma that we face in our soul growth. This is beautifully expressed in Psalm 139:
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You are with me, behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty. I cannot attain it.
Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Hades, behold, you are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;” even the darkness does not hide me from