MAN

MAN

The  Commission  Of  Men  And  Women

Made  In  The  Image  And  Likeness  Of  God

from

That’s Enough!

Martin Exeter   June 14, 1987

Thinking particularly of the male of the species Homo sapiens—of all misnomers!—there has been the complete absence of the reality of manhood on earth. There can be no manhood without acknowledging, in the expression of living, certain facts. We looked at these facts this morning, [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/no-more-sea-martin-exeter-june-14-1987.html] the fact of the power of love. This should be a self-evident fact in view of the operation of the universe. Some scientific gentlemen along the way have introduced the idea that only because of the intelligence exhibited by man has intelligence been introduced into the universe. What unspeakable arrogance!

Not so very long ago I spoke about manhood: Let There Be A Man On Earth. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2020/10/let-there-be-man-on-earth.html] A man is responsible for the power of love, bringing to focus in a specific sense the creative process, which is in fact operative throughout the whole universe. But man—I am still speaking of the male, by the way—has a primary responsibility in letting this focus be established. Unfortunately the male of the species has invariably been subject to the female. He may not look at it that way but it’s the fact of the matter. In the story of human failure the female was supposed to have been initially responsible. If that should be the fact of the matter and the male has subsequently remained subject to her—contrary, mind you, to the view of many females—then the state that was introduced into the experience of mankind is still well maintained; and the results are obvious. Even with the rather limited evidences of intelligence on the part of the human race, both male and female, it is quite unavoidable in these days not to recognize what it is that has been produced on earth by the behavior of humankind.

It seems that those who are included in this classification of humankind spend the days of their years blaming one another for their troubles. Returning to the male once more, if such an attitude is taken—it certainly is by men, as well as women of course—but if it is taken by men then here is an immediate evidence of the failure to assume responsibility. Of course we are familiar with that ancient story about Adam and Eve who hid themselves behind the trees in the garden when the LORD God came walking in the cool of the day, calling, “Where art thou?” Here was an abject state, certainly not revealing of either manhood or womanhood—but certainly not of manhood. “Oh the woman thou gavest to me, she tempted me.” The same sort of puerile attitude has been maintained throughout the history of the human race: “Someone else is to blame.” And accusation runs rife.

We have seen all this and presumably have decided that such a ridiculous attitude was no longer tenable insofar as we are concerned. There is nothing that can be done, of which I am aware, to stop human beings from indulging themselves in this consistent attitude and state of accusation. “Who is to blame?” This is the first order of business when anything happens: Who is to blame for it? We have a situation in North America, for instance, where anyone who starts to take responsibility for action of some kind will be immediately opposed. Of course all this opposition is spawned by fear and greed, two of the primary attributes of humankind. Speaking of these things, one pauses to remember that one is humankind oneself. Nothing is gained by accusing oneself, any more than by accusing others.

What I have been saying is not intended as an accusation. It is merely a facing of facts, of honestly looking at the situation as it actually is. We do not separate ourselves from others in this regard with some sort of a holier-than-thou attitude. Accusations still occur, judgments still take precedence on occasion, so that our circumstances and the people around us determine how we behave. We have all been tarred with this same brush, and the results are everywhere evident. But we come to a point where, in all honesty, we may say, insofar as our own expression of living is concerned, “That’s enough! It’s gone on long enough.” How long, who knows? Twenty thousand years? But it’s gone on long enough. It comes to issue. It obviously is coming to issue, whether anyone likes it or not. Thank God for those who like it, because if they like it they are not going to complain about it, for one thing; and they are not going to accuse anybody about it.

It is a most delightful and wonderful fulfilment that all this muck and mire that has been produced on earth by filthy human beings, ourselves included, finally comes to the point, because there are those on earth who take that attitude, that that's enough! Is this not an attitude of absoluteness? We have spoken of that before. Human beings are expert at temporizing, hiding behind the trees: “Poor us. We have been so badly treated.” Nonsense! We have just gotten what was coming to us, that's all. Thank God that the Cosmic Law, if we could call it that, works. You can't get away with anything. Human beings have been trying to get away with things for a considerable period of time. They have never succeeded, but they are so dumb, I suppose you could say, that they keep trying. They are going to do what they want to do; they are going to achieve great things. Well we know all about that. Enthusiastic ambition is another human trait—some have it.

All this has produced a situation where the very planet, though having been so kind along the way, is reaching a point where it cannot handle the mess the way it has been handled anymore. There is a point of no return. I think that has been passed. But still we are inclined to go blindly along on the basis of the same old habits of old, as though there would be no day of retribution. Individually human beings have come to a day of retribution regularly in every generation. If it happens to the individual it can happen to the whole body of mankind. Mankind is important; otherwise I think they would have slipped into oblivion long ago.

But there is a task for which MAN was created, and for that task to be accepted again there must be a man—and here I am speaking of the male of the species—because without a man there is not going to be a woman. It has been said that women are going to lead the way back into the kingdom of heaven. Obviously the female of the species has a job to do, just the same as the male—not the same job—but she will not be restored to her true estate without there first being a man. This is not an arbitrary thing; it’s merely the way the creative process works. Human beings have been very ardent about trying to defeat the way the creative process works and substitute their own schemes, but none of them have worked, and none of them could ever work.

These days people are always looking for a breakthrough, in this field or that field. No one ever stops apparently to consider that all the tribulations that afflict mankind have been brought about by the behavior of mankind. The idea is that we will have a breakthrough, so that we can continue to behave the way we have always behaved. And we are going to get away with it. As I recall, that idea was promulgated by the serpent, whoever the serpent was, when he said, “Ye shall not surely die. The human race will persist.” Of course we found out that individually we do die, but that is taken to be the normal course of events, the sure thing: death—and taxes of course, but taxes are recognized as being a human imposition. Death is not seen that way. But it is exactly the same thing. It was humanly produced by human failure, by the lack of manhood on earth, for one thing, and the consequent lack of womanhood. And we have these pallid creatures creeping around on the surface of the earth claiming to be men and women.

But it is a fact, it can be stated—whether anyone accepts it or not is another question—that MAN, male and female, was created in the image and likeness of God to reveal the controlled operation of the creative process brought to focus because of MAN, male and female, here on this particular little planet. Mankind has sure botched it up, haven’t they? But we come to a point now when the books are on the way to being balanced, and it doesn’t need a computer to do it either! Sharing something of this awareness, is there anything else that one could honestly do other than accept the responsibility that is the commission of men and women made in the image and likeness of God? Think of all the excuses that rise up when a statement such as that is made: “Oh, it couldn’t be! I am too humble.” Let’s find out whether it’s the right thing to do, whether it’s true or not, simply by doing it. Who has the guts? Well we are finding that out too, because it is certainly contrary to everything that human beings have accepted into their experience in this deplorable human state. Seeing it is such a deplorable state, why should there be any hesitancy in accepting a different state, what may well be defined as a new heaven and a new earth?

So we share an opportunity here, some of us have shared it for many years, not to try to make the world over, not to generate any more techniques or schemes for producing heaven on earth, because every last one of them has failed all down the millennia, as witness the present state of the world. What's the point of trying to produce more? I would say it’s the height of stupidity to keep doing the things which have proven to be destructive all through the ages, utilizing the same old worn-out methods to try to solve all the problems that put in an appearance. Problems that put in an appearance cannot be solved. It may seem as though one has a solution to something, but it produces more problems. For every solution to some problem that you so intelligently produce, you have probably created about ten more problems. It’s futile! It’s overwhelming in the end, and it’s not far from the end apparently.

We begin to be aware that man is created in the image and likeness of God. This is MAN, male and female. God is characterized by love. Love is the power, the power which might be said to fuel the operation of the universe. Human beings have long lost the experience of love. They have something that they call love, but that emotional state is not God. God is love. Love is the power for creative action; truth, design and control, is the means for creative action; and life itself is the action. We are well aware that mankind has denied the power of love, has denied the truth, the design and control already established, which certainly implies immediately that human beings do not need to invent designs and ways of control. Yet this has occupied human experience for a long time. There are all kinds of designs with which we are familiar—humanly produced. The nations themselves are humanly produced; the governments of the nations are humanly produced; the social systems, the cultures, everything is humanly produced. And while it has not been recognized, at least in recent times, that it is an endeavor to defeat God, nevertheless that’s what it is, to defeat the creative process—which is utterly stupid!

The creative process operates the universe. Is some silly human being on the face of this planet going to defeat it in favor of establishing his own design, and his own desires and his own ideas with respect to fulfilment? Yet this is the human state. The light shines in darkness but the darkness comprehends it not. The truth is present, love is present, the power is present, the creative process is working, but human beings take no notice. We have all conducted our lives along these lines in times past but now exhibit at least some willingness, I trust, that all such nonsense should be relinquished. Oh yes, we have things to do in the external sense. But the question is: Why do we do the things we do?

Is it to give the power of love opportunity for radiation in our living?

Is it to permit the design and control of truth to emerge in the creative process?

Is it to allow the increased vibrancy and glory of life to be made known?

   

We may find many different ways by which this may happen, but the happening all occurs within oneself, and it is not controlled in any way rightly by anything that happens in the external sense. As long as the things of the external world can control us and dictate to us the way we should behave, we are dead. That takes a person right down into nothing. That causes a world to be created in the image and likeness of these puerile human beings. That world will pass away inevitably, inexorably. Will there be anything left? Of course—if there are those present on earth who reveal the power of love in their momentary living, working according to the design and the control of truth which is already a fact. It doesn’t need to be invented; it’s there already and will appear when allowed to do so.

Did human beings have to invent the trees, the flowers? There is the idea that human beings are so great because they can procreate. “I can create a new human form.” (Of course it takes two of us!) So human beings pat themselves on the back and overpopulate the planet. This is the one field where human beings are able to create a living form. In all other fields they may adapt already-existing living forms, but they cannot create living form; although it seems as though they are on the verge, just on the verge, of doing this. This is something that has happened before in the history of mankind: overpopulating the earth and coming to the point where it was possible to create monsters. Well we have created some monsters. Up to this point they are inanimate, except for humankind itself. That’s a monster indeed!

We come again to the point of accepting responsibility for the creative power of love, in a recognition that the design and the control of truth is already present and simply needs to be given space to emerge in our own living. It is this that allows MAN to be restored. It is this expectation of restoration to the state of MAN that has permitted the human race to survive to this point. If this does not happen it will survive no further. But it does happen, because there are those who accept the responsibility and are not looking to someone else, even to Jesus or some believed-in God, to get the job done. MAN gets the job done; he was created to do the job. There is no sense in him being present on earth if he doesn’t get the job done. And who is going to accept that responsibility? It takes a very humble person to do it, but it takes an attitude of absoluteness where one says with respect to oneself, “I am responsible.” It all happens because I take responsibility, not because we take responsibility. The fact of the matter is that when “I” take responsibility, “we” also take responsibility. And that is a marvelous thing. We discover that there is a unifying influence in the power of love. It holds all things together.

It is considered that the universe is mostly space and little bits of flotsam and jetsam floating around in the way of galaxies, etc. The universe is one living whole. The galaxy is one living whole, this galaxy in which our solar system is present. The solar system is a living whole. The earth itself is a living whole. Life is everywhere. Because human beings have been so busy making sure that they died, they have overlooked the fact that life is everywhere and that it is evidence of complete failure to die. That comes because a human being—we are thinking of human beings in this instance—has removed him-or herself from the whole. This is the human endeavor, isn’t it? “I am an individual. I am a very important person. I am going to achieve something in spite of all the opposition that I have. In spite of all the hostility around me, I am going to get something done.” All alone? You’re dead! Life is of the Whole—and unless the individual is included in that whole he’s dead. We have a little time, a few years, a life span, to be willing to let ourselves be included in the whole and live. Virtually no one ever does it because they are all frantically going after their own thing.

Finally, relinquishing such stupidity, we may be drawn back by the power of love into the whole. And we are drawn back because the substance of our being begins to resonate with that radiation of love. As the substance of our being resonates with the radiation of love, we are drawn to that radiation. There is union, and there is participation in unified radiation.

© emissaries of divine light