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There is a great story that demonstrates the advice Jesus gave His followers when He sent them out to tell people the good news - the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It is about a struggle between the Wind and the Sun, about who was the strongest. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in tornadoes, hurricanes, sand storms, and thunder storms. He pointed out his ability to transform a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a raging forest fire which could level hundreds of thousands of acres of woods.

There wasn’t a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his strength. The Sun grew weary of the Wind’s arrogance and decided to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.

“Look, you old wind bag,” bragged the Sun, “I’m going to prove you’re not as strong or influential as you think you are.”

“Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?” taunted the Wind.

“See that old Truth Student down there taking a stroll?”

The Wind whisked himself around to get a closer look. The Wind smiled his pleasure and delivered a taunting gust of wind to knock the Truth Student off balance.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I see him. Kinda wimpy isn’t he? Surely you can find a more challenging subject than that weak old Truth Seeker!”

The Sun’s voice did not waiver as he leveled his dare. “I dare you to blow the Student’s coat off his back.”

“Ha! You’re making this much too easy. In a short while,” he boasted, “I shall rule Heaven and Earth.”

He began to blow, gently at first, to disorient the Truth Seeker. To his amazement, the man clung to his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting to and fro across the street - but the elderly Truth student grasped his jacket even tighter! The harder the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.

The Truth Student’s tenacity angered the Wind, so he blew huge gusts of wind, which pushed the gentleman into parked vehicles and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not let go of his jacket. One more fierce gust of wind blew the man’s hat off and knocked him down, but the man clung to his jacket even harder.

Finally, the Wind gave up and challenged the Sun to succeed where he had failed.

The Sun grinned and sent brilliant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The man stood up and brushed off his jacket and trousers, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to respond to the heat. Beads of sweat began to pop out on his forehead and neck.

The sun continued to send radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unbuttoned his jacket and then took it off.

The Sun’s “soft sell” style was much more persuasive, wouldn’t you agree? The Wind’s plan was to rip the jacket off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.

The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of persuasion is showing warmth, kindness, and understanding through letting its light shine - instead of intimidation, power, judgmentalness, or humiliation.

The Sun applied the same secret Jesus practiced when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on others. He recommended a soft metaphysical approach. The message is in three of the four Gospels, so it is a valuable teaching. It appears in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.

The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Reveal the Truth with those who are ready to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don’t force things. Shake the dust off your sandals and non-judgmentally continue your Truth walk.

Metaphysically, this passage is rich in timeless wisdom. I’ll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:

Jesus: that within us which recognizes and conscientiously strives to fulfill our Christ Potential

Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness

Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers within us

Town or village: a group of accepted views, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors

House: individual human consciousness

Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the shallowness of materialism or the unhealthy magnetism of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual understanding

Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual meaning:

1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, represented by the 12 disciples, which are strengthened by our (I Am-ness) to our existing beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will meet with some internal struggles. It is natural to feel some inner fighting whenever we are expanding our spiritual awareness.

2.Some of our beliefs will be easy to revamp. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you shift your thinking to the new, greater spiritual Truth.

3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we need to deny the power of materialistic inclinations to cloud our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and continue to walk the spiritual path on practical feet.

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