Of Myself I Can Do Nothing
Uranda August 22, 1948 Sunrise Ranch
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences, for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh … Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-7,10)
We are few in number, but as we let go in His Name, that is in the Christ Spirit, in the Christ Fire of Love, in the Christ adherence to fundamental Truth, in the Christ recognition of the Fatherhood of God, in the Christ acceptance of the Brotherhood of man, in the Christ Spirit of Harmony, in the Christ Spirit of the Kingdom made manifest on earth—as we let go IN the Christ, and all that is implied therein, all that is contained therein, so that we are a part of that—He is in the midst of us. He is present with us, and He knows the desire of our hearts, the longing within to serve now and always, according to His Will, the desire of the heart to be a true disciple, the desire of the heart to bring forth fruit in the Harvest Field. As you rest in the realization that He knows, and as you rest in the realization that I know, you find comfort in the assurance that, though sometimes the expression of life may seem to be inadequate, sometimes there may be a bit of stumbling, you know that the Lord looketh on the heart, and in that knowledge, in that assurance, there is that which inspires a still more full and complete letting go whereby you may be strengthened and sustained by that Spirit that never fails. Though man may stumble and fail, God never fails. There is no lack nor limitation in the Spirit of the Living God—and by His Grace we are beginning to realize something of what the Spirit is, and what the Spirit means. As I considered with you a moment ago something of what it means to have the privilege of gathering here in the Name of the Christ, I am sure you found a deeper recognition of the fact that we are functioning in His Name, and if we be in His Name, then His Spirit must surely function more effectively and more perfectly through us.
What does it mean to let His Spirit have its way? What does it mean to abide in His Spirit, to let the Spirit sustain and direct? What do you think of when you think of the Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit mean to you? Is your vision of the Spirit limited to some concept with respect to a given moment, a momentary experience, either of the past or the future, to something that has meaning only as we gather here in Service—or do you find yourself recognizing the nature and influence of the Spirit at work moment by moment in every phase of life, in all that you think and say and do? Do you find the Current of the Spirit unifying body and mind and your own Spiritual Expression with the Things of God? Do you find the Spirit of God finding manifestation through your own emotional realm? What is it that expresses through your emotional realm? Is it the spirit of this world, the spirit of some ill reaction, emotion or fear, or do you find, when you look into your heart, the emotional realm, that there the Currents of the Holy Spirit are flowing—purifying, bringing an alignment, a consciousness of Oneness into your own being?
The other evening we considered the Oneness of the Spirit, and recognized that it was not many spirits, but One Spirit, working in and through many Members, many Branches of the One Vine, and now the accomplishment of that One Spirit in you, individually, must be to bring all members of yourself, all parts, planes, phases, of your being into one expression of life, so that there be no division between the Spiritual Expression, the mind, the heart and the body. There are only three planes—physical, mental and Spiritual—but the emotional, or the heart, permeates all three. It is not a distinct, separate phase in itself. The heart, the feeling nature, or the emotional realm, pertains to the physical and mental and Spiritual planes, and it is a means by which we can feel, recognize and know the permeating Power of the Spirit unifying all planes of Being, bringing into alignment, into Oneness, all phases of our function.
Some have imagined that that limited the sphere of function, but that is because there was a limited concept with respect to the Spirit. When there is a true realization of the Spirit, of its sphere of function, then we find that life blossoms out into all phases of Being, into still greater expressions of beauty and wonder, when we let the One Spirit unify all phases of the individual nature—and when the One Spirit has wrought the work of Oneness in the human being, body and mind and Spirit, then surely there must be harmony, coordination, unification, between all those individuals who have been individually unified of and in and by the Spirit. How could there then be divisions? How could there then be dissensions? How could there then be tendencies to pull one way and another? Surely, when we recognize the Reality of the Spirit, when we recognize the unifying Power of the Spirit in ourselves, individually, and when we recognize that the Spirit cannot be divided, that it is One Spirit, then all those who are Members of the Vine, through whom the Spirit expresses, must be coordinated, harmonized, unified, to the Glory of God—and then the Currents, not of this world but of the Kingdom, are manifesting through us in the earth; then our accomplishments are not the doing of the human being, but it is the Lord doing the work. “This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.”
The One Spirit manifesting through all the different channels, makes the vision of Oneness of Heaven and earth a reality. The Master said that, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” We have accepted that idea. We say that it is true. How is that which is “at hand” to come into manifestation? Through the working of the Spirit through the human being, through the Unit of human beings provided, manifesting the Spirit of Heaven on earth—and where the Spirit of Heaven manifests, where the Spirit of Heaven is the Current flowing through thought and word and deed, it is Heaven and earth blended, unified—At One. Can we afford to hesitate to let go to the Power of the Spirit? Can we afford to hesitate to let the Spirit work in and through such channels as we have, individually, that they may be purified, adjusted, and so coordinated that the One Spirit finds one manifestation through the many Branches, for the one purpose of unifying Heaven and earth, of letting the Kingdom come, of letting the Father's Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? It is not a difficult way. It is an Easy Way, because it is the Way of Love, and there is nothing so easy and so wonderful as the Way of Love; and when Love functions through us truly, Truth finds expression and gives beauty to the manifestation of Life, and then it is that Life, and not mere existence, not mere drifting, but true Living, the Living of Life, is manifest—and Life is Eternal.
So, now, in this instant, to the degree that we let the Current of the Holy Spirit truly work through us, so that we are coordinated in that One Spirit to a degree that allows us to live Life as distinct from existence, we are now thereby letting Eternal Life manifest on earth. We are living in the expression of Eternal Life here on earth. The expression of Eternal Life does not necessarily mean that the individual must remain on earth, according to the human concept, forever, but it does mean that at least while we are on earth we let Eternal Life manifest through us, and in that we begin to see that the fulfilment of the promise is not something that must await the passing of untold thousands of years. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”—and somehow, some way, the reality of that Kingdom that is at hand must be established still more fully, still more vividly, in the consciousness of those who are here gathered, that that realization may flow out in the Current of the Spirit to bless all who are with us in Spirit and in purpose, to bless all who respond, that the hearts of men may be prepared for the coming of the Kingdom that is at hand.
Our function here must, in all respects, become in miniature that which shall grow and fill the whole earth, and that it influences the world, causing the responding ones to tend to do that which we do, is very important. So, as there is that unified realization of responsibility with respect to our influence out in the world, and the recognition of the fact that by these vibratory channels we are preparing the way for those out in the world, the individual consciousness of responsibility should cause one to keep ever near to the Heart of God, not that it should become a burden, but that it should be a searchlight, as it were, by which we may examine our individual courses of action in relationship to our unified purpose.
Woe to anyone who “shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me.” There are many points of application, of course, and I like to see the development of meditation in you by which these various implications can be followed out, orderly, to their logical fulfilments in realization. When we consider the baby responses, the baby recognitions, as it were, of things Divine, the little shoots of feeling by which we begin to perceive the Sunlight of God's Love, and begin to make use of the Water of Truth, if by wrong attitudes, by wrong actions, responding in wrong directions, we offend—that is, hinder or destroy these tender shoots of our individual natures which are reaching up to that unity of the Divine, then we are indeed coming under the woe that the Master expressed.
I have, in so many, many instances, in so many individuals, seen the beginnings of response, the opening up, the sending forth, of the tender shoots which, because of some crystallized idea in some fashion, or some snap judgment, or reaction of some kind, were harshly trampled upon and destroyed. Each individual does it in himself more or less. As you look back, you can probably all remember instances, or at least sense that it was so, that some tender shoot of response or perception, of realization, began to appear, the “little one”, that baby growth, began to appear, and then, through some thoughtless, harsh reaction of some kind, you found that that tiny tendril had been trampled upon and mangled. Then I have seen people, in such a case, take the attitude that the “little one” could not reappear, or that it showed, or proved, the point of the unreal. So, we remember that He also said, “Let the little ones come unto Me”. That is probably applied in the field of human children or those who have become as little children in the Way, but it can certainly be applied to those baby expressions of response that begin to spring up in you, individually or collectively, the tiny tendrils beginning to let go, and perceive and utilize the Sunlight of Divine Love and the Water of Truth. They are to be permitted to “Come unto Me.” He said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” When those “little ones” are hindered, or trampled upon, we are keeping them from coming unto Him, and it is only as those baby shoots of perception, of feeling recognition, of realization and function, are permitted to come unto Him that they can grow into that full stature of Christ. So we rejoice particularly in the expanding consciousness of these things, that each one be careful that he or she does not offend these “little ones” who find birth in himself or herself, in the Spiritual sense, so that he does not prevent them from coming unto Him, but, rather, takes care that he so functions that such perception shall be nurtured and that it shall be cared for until only that which is of Divine Expression finds appearance in the individual life. “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” Woe unto those who “shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me.” Let no one be guilty of that woe.
The individual who turns to the Spiritual life, theoretically at least, acknowledges, “Of myself I am nothing, and of myself I can do nothing.” There is a recognition that only through the Divine Source can fulfilment come. Then, if that be accepted theoretically, and the individual keeps trying, of himself, to do something, to be something, we know it does not permit the bringing forth of fruit; but one who has any fundamental recognition of what we might call Christianity accepts, at least theoretically, the idea that, “Of myself I can do nothing”. It is not at all foreign; it is recognized and accepted. But now, you, as a Unit, are beginning to realize the true implications of that fundamental fact; you are beginning to recognize that if, of yourself—that is, in the human sense separate from the Divine—you are nothing, then all of the unrealities of yourself and in yourself are nothing. They have no weight, meaning or value and should be treated accordingly. But, if that is true of any one Member, then it is true of all Members, and to the degree that, mutually, there is that realization, so that whatever there may be of the human expression that remains un-unified with the Divine, it can be recognized as being nothing.
“Of myself I am nothing and can do nothing”—in the human sense, separated from the Divine. Then, it is true for each one; and that which is of the outer self, separated from the Divine, in one another, then, has no weight, meaning or value. Theoretically, you have, as Members of the Unit, potential Members at least, accepted this fact long ago, but now you are learning its true implications and beginning to let the fulness of it have real influence in your lives, because if, in looking at each other, we are seeing primarily that with which we can do nothing, our eyes certainly are not centered on the Source, and our feelings are certainly not, for such periods of reaction at least, centered upon things Divine or things worthwhile. So, I trust this is a realization that permeates each one, so that there may be no more the waste of time and energy, and destructive influence that is engendered by looking on the nothingness, fretting, stewing, reacting about the nothingness. Any human being, of himself, separate from the Divine, is nothing and can do nothing. So, you recognize that, back through the whole period of our association in this Service, I have been pointing your attention to the Source, to that Central Point where the something is, where the nothingness is no longer of any consequence, where it is no longer assumed to have weight, meaning and value. In such case, that is, through such realization, you can more readily appreciate the importance of the various aspects of the Teaching that has been given to you back through the years; the truths that have been expressed to you begin to have more meaning to you than ever before, because they begin to have more meaning without separation—and the nothingness, seen for what it is, is not treated as if it were something.
When, by reason of singleness of vision the individual is looking to Reality, seeing Reality, then he no longer wastes time acting as if nothingness had meaning. The importance of this point, which I have emphasized to you so many times in the past, cannot be over-emphasized, because this relates directly to that means, that principle, the function of the Law, by which the unreal can be eliminated, individually and collectively, in order to allow the fulness of things Divine to come forth. How thankful we are that, through the One Spirit, and true polarity in the things that are Reality, we can cease functioning as if the unreal had weight, meaning and value. When we become adults we put away childish things, properly, but there are very few adults who have begun to realize the necessity of stopping acting as if nothing were something. When we all, looking one toward another, recognize that which is of Reality and are concerned about that which is of Reality; when, looking one toward another, we no longer treat the unreal as if it were something, then do we indeed put away childish things, and grow in Grace and Stature IN the Christ.
“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Until the individual functions naturally in life, and innocently, using the word in the sense of Reality, until he can function without fear and shame and inhibitions of any sort, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, because there are no channels for the Kingdom to manifest through. The only Kingdom you can be in is that which manifests through you. Many people in the world who give very little consideration to Spiritual things are primarily of this world, and yet their capacities to let the things of even that world manifest through them are so few that there is nothing much there. The capacities of the people of this world to let this kingdom manifest through them vary; so we recognize that we cannot get away from the fact that the only kingdom in which we can be is that kingdom which we allow to manifest through us. The expression through the many Members, when unified, provides that which is of the whole. The manifestation of Reality in and through each Member provides a phase of that which is requisite to the whole, and when that which is potential, in the sense of Reality in each one, does find adequate expression in life and in Ministry, we will have a vibrantly alive and powerfully effective Nucleus of the Whole.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
