The mythological tale of Icarus has much to teach us about grace.
Icarus was a young boy, the son of Daedalus, who was a prisoner on the island of Crete.
Unable to escape the island by sea, father and son made the decision to affect their escape by air.
So Daedalus constructed for both himself and his son, two sets of wings made from feathers, thread and wax.
Daedalus then taught his son to fly like a bird, as they prepared for their final flight to freedom.
With this, Daedalus instructed his son to fly with him by his side, at an altitude which was safe, and free of the dangers presented by the elements.
However, when the time came for the pair to make their pivotal journey, Icarus made the fatal mistake of ignoring his father's urging not to rise towards the sun in flight.
In rapture at the freedom he felt in being one with the sky, we are told that Icarus soared higher and higher to the clouds and beyond.
As he ascended towards heaven, the blazing sun beat down on his wings and softened the wax, which caused the feathers to fall from his wings, until none remained to hold the air and suspend him in flight.
By the time Icarus realized what was happening, it was too late.
The son of Daedalus then plunged through the clouds into the sea where he met his death.
What this story embodies for me is the truth that we cannot use our own wings to have an experience of grace.
An essential element of grace is the mystery of when its loving hand will gently touch and shine light on our face.
In this, we cannot force the hand of God.
As the source of divinity itself, it is God who visits his love upon his children and graces them with his presence.
Until he extends his divine hand, no grace will flow, and the awe inspired by his touch, we will not yet know.
In his ecstasy, Icarus soared towards the sun, which is symbolic of God, only to have the man-made effects which were his wings, fail him in his search for liberation.
In this, his efforts were not enough, and by his insistence he perished.
Rather than surrender to God, Icarus chose the path of resistance by attempting to rise through his own effort.
What God was calling him to do was occupy a state of effortlessness, but in his striving he could not heed this call.
Had he but surrendered to what he was called to become, the sun would have drawn him closer and embraced him as itself.
So often we circumvent the power of God in our lives because we move against the will of God in our hearts.
See in this that with no will, there is no power, for only with authentic will comes authentic power, and what is authentic but that which has been crafted by the hands of God.
From this we can learn that we need not build externally, what God has gifted us with internally, being the wings of an angel to ascend to the heavenly realm while on earth.
As Icarus should have listened to his father, so should we listen to our divine father who teaches us not to strive, but to be in the state of love which is the eternal companion of grace.
Like a mother gives birth to a child, so does love give birth to grace, and we are left speechless as we behold the miracle in its most sacred form.
In the child, we can see ourselves, born of a space that knows not the limitations of fear, consumed by a presence that knows not the absence of joy.
In the death of Icarus, we see the death that we must endure, if the ego is what we clutch to as the source of our strength.
Only in the ego would we find the arrogance to believe that we can ascend to the throne by our own hand, not to unite with God but to supersede him.
But how is this the road to sanity? Only the insane man would attempt to dominate and control what is so free as to be indomitable.
As God is free and unconquerable, so is grace incapable of being defeated, for it has never left his hand.
So what you thought to be weak and timid in substance is anything but.
God is relentless in the pursuit of his children, as grace is relentless in the pursuit of their peace.
Only ever does God desire to have you as he created you.
With this, learn that you never need be more or less to find his favor, for in truth, more or less are illusions of the mind which work to rob you of the realization that grace is what surrounds you.
Never can what is not real impose its will on you, for it has no strength.
Broken and twisted, it awaits its awakening, when it will finally serve its purpose and become an instrument of grace for the world to see.
See in this the gift that you are called to be to the world.
Being of him, you are an instrument of transformation in which all that is graceful can be seen.
While this is not what you embrace, it is what embraces you as you dream not of illusions, but of him who brings truth to your eyes.
With this, understand the limits that the physical body cannot move past alone.
Given primacy over the heart, the physical body becomes a frail companion, depleted of strength by the insecure mind.
Not knowing the connection that it shares with spirit, the physical senses are trained to validate and give life to the little master.
This is the ego that will seek to deny the presence of grace at every turn, for never will it accept the life of God that is eternally one with grace's coming.
One with God, you will kill the assailant that keeps the key to the door that is your freedom.
But who is free whose life is built on beliefs that have been shaped in the dark? Knowing not the softness with which light greets those who have chosen to travel in its company, all humor is lost as the prisoner tests their reality.
This is why you take your beliefs so seriously, being the evidence that you hold of your own existence.
Vested so heavily in what you have chosen with the ego mind, you render un-open to challenge, that which would fatigue you to defend.
Limited in what you know, you are limited in the strength that you can find outside the ego's domain.
Having not the reach to touch grace where it is, it waits for you like the sun, which will only appear once the moon has danced to nature's song.
Being ever patient and precise, grace comes as its creator breathes, not in worldly time but in eternal timelessness.
Knowing its place, it works in space that is beyond the capacity of the physical world to measure.
Being blessed of him, it carries not sin, for what is of him is not perilous in what it promises and not deceitful in what it delivers.
As truth itself, grace harbors no illusions in what it is capable of delivering.
Miraculous in its nature, it has set a curriculum that only disciples can understand.
Blessed with humility, the disciple will be blessed by grace also, for hand in hand God and the spirit work together.
Communicating in tongues that are understandable to all and not liable to misinterpretation, all power is maintained and not diluted by suffering.
Beyond the reach of the ego to hear, the heart's message is not capable of being laid on a beggar's alter to be sacrificed by that which knows not integrity in spirit.
As one in spirit, the son can hear the father's call to grace, but what is not heard is not learned.
See in this the curse that afflicts those who deny that the father has ever spoken to the son.
Choosing to accept a lie as reality, what has become real to them is the silence that brings not peace, but a torment that cannot be doused but with the water that flows as grace does into the heart that love has made.
With this, understand that grace is benevolent in its functioning.
How it comes to touch God's children is for their ultimate benefit and not for their ultimate detriment.
So be weary of what the fearful have to contribute to a spiritual conversation.
Hearing not his voice in their own lives, they have grown bitter and twisted in how they perceive the world.
Separated and lonely, they see not the face of God in the abundance of blessings that he has come to bear in their own lives.
Worshiping the ego, they mistakenly believe that this is the source of their abundance.
But who enjoys abundance in the confines of illusion? Seeing not the true source of their blessings, they understand not the true nature of life.
Perceiving God as the enemy, they lay at his feet the blame that can only be reserved for the ego.
This they do because they allow their pain to be the filter through which they see the world.
Indulging their pain, they feel it more intensely, but this they do not to move past it, for they are intent in their madness to form an identity that testifies to their ignorance.
Wearing a mask, they become what they are not, and learn not the lessons that life has to teach them.
Opposing life, they choose not to grow, and this they do primarily by denying the presence of grace in the world.
Notice here why only the faithless believe in coincidences and practice superstitious behavior.
Not seeing God's presence in everything, they label it all as chance, but can there be such a thing as luck in a perfect world.
Wanting to deny the source of that perfection, they take it upon themselves to be the source of everything.
But how can one bird rule the sky that stretches further than it has traveled? In its arrogance, has it not endowed itself with more power than it has in truth? With this, understand very clearly what the spirit has to teach you.
You are all powerful, but only when you plant your feet on the rock and not on the sand.
Being of the ego, the sand is dangerous because it is infused not with the truth that teaches you what is important.
Separated from the one who gives you strength, you are nothing; connected to him, the whole world bows before you in service.
Seeing in you a faithful servant, the universe knows only to mimic your faithfulness in its connection to you.
As one with the universe, you cannot deny grace in its totality, for in the oneness that you find in every moment, so does grace reveal itself to the same end.
Amazing grace never fails to come to the one who welcomes its presence.
Expecting love, love will reveal itself to lead you into a deeper experience of life.
So honor the company that you keep, and take not for granted that which takes its breath in the same silence that gives life to your heart.
What is imperceptible to the senses never escapes the soul that is stirred by the fragrance that lingers forever long in the eternal moment that never comes and never leaves.
Learn from this the promise that grace makes to you in the eternal moment.
Never separate from you, it can never leave you, and never scarce in its offering, it is abundant in what it delivers.
Living in spirit, it shares its light and is never shrouded in darkness.
Not knowing darkness, it brings not pain to the heart that trusts in the wisdom of its lessons.
So be in this the student that is ready, willing and able to remember the truth that grace's love has never allowed you to forget.