“And the Lord appeared unto [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said. So do, as thou hast said.”
There is a very simple and beautiful story, portraying a right attitude on the part of a human being toward the Lord. Most of those who do pay any attention to the Lord are inclined to make demands upon Him: “O Lord, help me.” “O Lord, forgive me.” “Do something for me!” Why do you think we are assembled here in this room this evening? We might say to greet the Lord, to invite Him to pause with us while we are all together here, for an hour perchance. We would extend an invitation in this regard—we could hardly do so unless we were in position to provide what would be fitting for His care and comfort.
When human beings think of doing something along these lines it is usually seen in terms of some sort of a religious ceremony; one would perhaps have to go into the church, where the Lord would feel welcome. Having been in some churches, I have wondered a little on this score. But this relates to right attitude on the part of anyone, and the invitation should not only be extended on special occasions. We may have something of a setting here which reminds us of the rightness of extending an invitation. On some other occasions we may not think of it. If we have the attitude of welcome to the Lord, and a sense of responsibility with respect to the place into which we invite Him, then we are careful that all the immediate field of our responsibility should be such as to allow Him to be safe with us.
When He did come into the world there was, apparently, very little preparation made for His coming; there was no indication of an open welcome, and He Himself said that “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” There was no place on earth right and fitting and safe for Him. We have come to know that “The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Therefore we are concerned, at least in our fields of responsibility, to make sure that He is welcome and safe. We would run to meet Him—provide enfoldment.
This is rather a reversed attitude for most people who have given any thought to the Lord. They say, “We want His enfoldment.” “We want His love.” “We want to feel that we belong to Him.” “We want to feel safe, and secure.” “Help me. Lord.” What self-centeredness! We are here this evening, together, to extend an invitation to the Lord, and we would wish to make very sure that the atmosphere that we provide, the setting that we provide, the provision of our offering, be acceptable to Him.
If we can sense something of this as relating to our immediate responsibility here and now, we should be able to see that the same invitation, in an individual, personal sense, should be constantly extended. Is it safe for the Lord to come into the kitchen? What would He find there? What would the spirit and the attitude, the words and the actions, of those present in that particular circumstance be? Is it safe for Him to come into our homes? into the office? the workshop? wherever?—wherever we may be present? Possibly some of the circumstances in the world where we may be do not seem to be particularly fitting; the behavior of those present is not such as to provide much of a welcome to the Lord—but I am not particularly thinking of somebody else but of what is true of us as individuals.
We have often spoken of human beings as revealing a good deal of self-centeredness. People get so wrapped up in what they happen to be doing—not necessarily in what they should be doing, but in their own feelings and emotional reactions that are occurring within themselves. Sometimes these things have very little to do with the particular job that is being undertaken; the mind is somewhere else and the emotions are involved. When this is the case, then there is forgetfulness that we are responsible, responsible for maintaining this open invitation. If the Lord is not welcome—and I'm sure you recognize that your attitudes on occasion are not a very open invitation to the Lord—then what foundation have you for living? There is something to be born now here, something coming down from God out of heaven to be welcomed, to be provided with a proper setting in which it may safely appear. We would provide such a setting in this moment. This requires something of us—to remember what we are about, for one thing—so that we're all here. I am sure that if it was the fact, in the usual human view of things, that the Lord Himself, in person, were to come in through this door here, we would be very alert, we would be very careful that we missed nothing, that we were right there! He is not likely to come through that door, so we feel, “Well, we'll wait awhile. Maybe He'll show up—but not tonight; therefore I don't need to be all here.”
He did show up back along the way, some nineteen hundred years ago. He showed up on earth. Except for His immediate parents, very little was provided for Him and He was not particularly welcome. He seemed to cause people to be uncomfortable. This is not the usual picture that good Christians have of Jesus, is it? “It's so comforting to have Him around.” I wonder! I'm sure none of us would wish to have Him experience anything of that nature again; once was entirely enough. So, obviously, we have to provide a different setting, a setting of welcome, a state where He may rightly be entertained. [How To Meditategreatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-to-meditate_10.html]
When He was on earth He said something about “in an hour when you think not, the Lord comes.” This could mean unexpectedly, when we're not giving it any thought; and yet, here is the opportunity for His coming, if we were alert to it, if we were giving it a little thought. When Abraham saw these three men who represented the Lord, he ran to meet them. He bowed himself to the ground; he offered a spirit of hospitality, to provide all that was needed in that particular setting and situation, not asking for anything—no self-centeredness whatsoever. How little of this attitude there is in human beings toward the Lord! We are not here to get anything from Him.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the KING of GLORY shall come in. Welcome! The concern, rightly, is to provide that welcome, provide the essential setting. In the settings in which you find yourself during a day, would you wish the Lord to show up just after you had opened your mouth and said something? Would there be an enfoldment for Him?
“Welcome, Lord; this is your home”
“The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Welcome! Come to be here, assured of protection, comfort, safety, the enfoldment of love. We are here this evening with one accord, to provide such a setting; but we are not likely to provide such a setting now, even though we may pay more particular attention to it, if we have not been providing that setting in all the areas of our daily experience. When human beings get emotionally involved in something, everything else tends to be blotted out; it makes very little difference if the emotion is a pleasurable one or an unpleasant one, the same thing happens. A person says, “Well, I like this, this is wonderful, this is really enjoyable.” For whom? “Well, for me, of course!” And the Lord is forgotten. He should always be present, shouldn't He?—with the two of us, the spiritual aspect and the material aspect of what we are. Here is a triangle, with the apex in the Lord; but when we get involved with each other emotionally, all this is forgotten.
Are there any situations into which the Lord would not be invited with an open heart? It's all right now, isn't it? We can invite Him now because we remember and this is our immediate concern, and we're not all wrapped up in each other or in the circumstances that press in upon us. Perhaps we can relax and, remembering, extend the invitation to the Lord: “Welcome, Lord, to my home, which is indeed your home; and may my words be sweet and right, my thoughts likewise, my feelings also, and my actions,” that the setting would be just right.
I wonder how many Christians who anticipate the second coming of Christ really have this attitude. They're so busy about their business that, “Oh, of course I believe in the second coming of Christ; He'll show up one of these days. But I have all these things to attend to; I'm involved in all this mass of stuff. I like some of it; most of it's not so hot, but I have to be busy about it anyway.” What a tremendous difference there is in one's own experience if one is providing the setting in which the Lord is welcome.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the KING of GLORY shall come in. He's right there! There is a Holy Place for Him, a Holy Place provided by what we are—our own expression. We can't have a Holy Place on earth without a physical body and a capacity of consciousness. What we are as human beings requires this, that there may be spiritual expression, that there may be a Holy Place. The Holy Place is right next to the Holy of Holies, as it was in the Tabernacle of old, with just a curtain in between—the veil. The Holy of Holies was an actual place in the Tabernacle—it had dimension, thereby symbolizing that it was a part of the dimensional world, representing the heaven of the now here—and the Holy Place into which that heaven might be received through the veil. Those who were encamped round about, the Israelites, were not all endeavoring to cram into the Holy of Holies, “Well, we need to get in there; that's the place to be.” No, they were in the encampment. They didn’t even cram into the Holy Place. There were some who belonged in the Holy Place—the Priesthood.
So it isn't a matter of getting through the veil, but of providing the setting for what is the other side of the veil to come here; and if it is to be a reality it isn't an on-again, off-again business. “Well, we'll just provide a setting in our services; that's good enough.” Then, on that basis there's no real setting in the service, because the setting is provided by those who are present, and if those who are present know nothing about the setting from the standpoint of their daily experience, what have they to offer on some special occasion when they come into the Chapel? This is what happens, mostly, in the Christian world, isn't it? Some people think it's the thing to do, to go to church on Sunday. What do they bring? What do they bring with them? Do they provide a setting? No, they expect the church to be the setting, and, coming into that setting, they expect to get something out of it—maybe a little bread and a little wine to make them feel good, to assure them that they must be of some value.
But who really goes into a church to make sure that there is a setting there for the Lord because they are present?—not because of the building, not because of all the embellishments of the building, but because of the people. If there is a setting here, it is because of you. We have a beautiful room, and we thank God for that; it's better than sitting out in the snow, and it makes it easier for us to provide the setting. But the setting is provided by people or it isn’t provided; and if the setting isn't there, if the gates aren't open, then the KING of GLORY doesn't come in.
Those who truly love the Lord never leave the Holy Place. Does that mean they never go out of the church, or the chapel, or wherever? No, simply because they are the ones who provide the setting of the Holy Place, if there is such a setting. If one is providing that setting, one will provide it everywhere, no matter where one is, and you would never allow anything that defiles, works abomination, or makes a lie, to enter in. Could the spirit of resentment prevail in the right setting? Of course not! Could words of complaint and criticism be expressed in the right setting? Of course not! It couldn't be done; it wouldn't be possible. Some people think it's such a chore to be a right person. It isn't a chore; if one is providing the right setting, one couldn't help but be a right person, and the ill attitudes which arise in human experience simply couldn't remain. If they did put in an appearance they would be gone very quickly, by reason of one's own attitude: “Get thee hence!” This setting should be the setting of our lives twenty-four hours a day, and when it is, the KING of GLORY comes in, to this extent.
There is a certain requirement if He is to fully come, and that requirement includes many people in whom this Holy Place is maintained. If the many people required are not present, then only a partial coming in is experienced. We recognize the reality of a Body of Many Members, through which the Lord comes on earth. That Body must be sufficiently developed, sufficiently mature, if it is to really happen. There are some rather fanciful pictures of Jesus as a boy, even as a baby, blessing everybody. How ridiculous—handing out miracles! He was a baby human being for a while, a young boy for a while, a youth for a while, all necessary to the development of the physical capacities and the capacities of mind and heart, the capacity of spiritual expression, all to be developed so that the KING of GLORY might come in—a whole body, in the individual sense. Well, this was, as we know, representative of a larger Body, the True Body which is composed of many people; and that larger Body has to grow, has to pass through these various levels of development, to come to an adequate maturity for the KING of GLORY to come in adequately, to be revealed adequately. But there is something revealed all along the way, and this development occurs as there are those who take seriously the matter of accepting responsibility for providing a setting which is described by the words “Welcome, Lord.” Then the Tabernacle of God is with men, and because of that, the former things can pass away.
This evening, surely, our hearts are yielded and open in that beautiful attitude portrayed in the little story which I read about Abraham. Welcome, Lord, into the atmosphere of my life! Welcome, Lord, into the atmosphere that is provided by all of us here together this evening!
The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
There is a design! Ascending into the hill of the Lord we may stand in His Holy Place, because we retain nothing in the expression of our lives which would not be fitting as a setting for the Lord. And when this is the experience, then the blessing from the Lord is received, and righteousness from the God of our salvation. That is the state, and the KING of GLORY comes in.
Is it not the longing of our hearts that it should be so? What hope is there for the children of men unless it happens? And who shall let it happen, if not those who are consciously aware of the way it happens?—and being consciously aware, assume the responsibility for the happening? Not for making it happen; there's no need to make it happen. Just let it happen, because the invitation is extended and it's a genuine one—not just when I happen to think of it. If we love the Lord, we would be willing to care for Him, to protect Him, so that if it should be that He came in person, He would be safe. But we want to make very sure that He would be safe before He comes in person. Welcome, Lord, to our home, the home in which we dwell constantly, wherever we are, whatever we are doing. That is the home because we are present. And it is a true home, a true setting, for the Lord whom we love. [Body Of The High Priestgreatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-body-of-high-priest.html]
So it is we walk always on holy ground. No matter what's going on around us, we walk on holy ground. In a practical sense we can't help it; the earth is the Lord's. But we know it's holy ground, and our attitudes are accordingly. And so, with you, I thank God for the privilege we have had this evening of sensing more vividly the nature of our responsibility. What a delightful responsibility! What more wonderful thing could be imagined than to provide the invitation to the Lord, than to be willing and delighted to entertain the Lord always!
I always find it very pleasing to look upon you as I come to service. But I'll tell you something. I have the impression that a few of you, anyway, do not have any really vivid sense of destiny. Perhaps there is a lack in my vision in this regard, but I wonder if it might be wise to consider this matter. It is tremendously important that if you are present in the Chapel at a service, or whatever it is that is being undertaken, there should be a keen sense of interest and consequent participation. I would far rather have two or three people who were really interested than a Chapel full of lukewarmness. This real interest, so necessary, relates to the experience of a senseofdestiny, as I have called it. One has a keen sense of responsibility for the right fulfilment of the creative purposes of God. One's whole being is directed toward this.
This comes to a particular point of focus in our Chapel, of course. It is more easily seen in its focus point, or should be, than anywhere else. We are not, after all, when we come into the Chapel, busy with our responsibilities in the external field of daily function in the ordinary sense. We're not cooking, or keeping books, or washing dishes, or whatever the things we do may be. Therefore our whole attention can be brought to focus with respect to the true purposes to which our sense of destiny directs us. If it doesn't occur when we have a clear field in this sense, it is not likely to occur when we are out there doing other things. If it does occur when we are together, when we are all really participating in that which is being brought to focus, then when we do move out in the field of our daily affairs those external activities will not dominate our viewpoint. We will not ignore them, we will not neglect them, but they will not be primary. They will be the means, the important means, by which we are enabled to serve and to direct the creative expression of our beings into the field where the power of God is required. So it is in these times together that we have the greatest opportunity for developing this sense of destiny. I suppose in other terms we could call it a sense of real meaning, Divine meaning. A sense of meaning is very important to a person if there is to be experience of living in any vibrant sense. As soon as we begin to lose that, we're on the way out.
There is this matter of keen interest, then. And as I say, from my standpoint I would far prefer to have a few people who are vitally interested and right there than a collection of droopy, dozing people. From my standpoint I prefer that if a person is going to sleep, he go to bed and do it where he should be doing it. If there are those who feel that they are not interested, or not going to be able to be interested—I don't know what that means, exactly—then I would prefer that the individual didn't come. Perhaps if he didn't come he might discover the fact that he wants to be there, or he might be quite content not to come, in which case that individual is on the way out. These things will prove themselves out in that fashion, because we really have something to do and we need to do it. There needs to be developed a keener awareness of the reality of what I call destiny.
There have been individuals who have moved through the pages of history who obviously had a great sense of destiny. Of course the most outstanding one, the only completely true revelation in this regard, relates to Jesus, who clearly had a keen sense of Divine Destiny. He not only had this but He acted accordingly. Now there have been many others who have had a sense of destiny, but for the most part it has been a limited or distorted thing—a human pattern and not a Divine one. There is nothing wrong with the compulsion of this sense of destiny. What goes wrong is the individual's translation of it in his own consciousness.
What would our sense of destiny cause us to say of ourselves? “I am Divine man,” perhaps, and in this sense, “I am mankind; all mankind depends upon my sense of destiny.” I wonder how clearly defined that is in our individual consciousness. We take responsibility presumably in our spheres of function day by day. Sometimes there have been little points of failure even in this, haven't there? But for the most part we have learned to be responsible in this regard. However, there is the inclination to look upon what we do as being "this much", contained in our field of responsibility, and we have consequently what might be called a rather puny awareness of our destiny. If our destiny merely relates to what we happen to be doing here at 100 Mile House, even though we hold responsible positions in whatever it is, this is not adequate at all, is it? We need to have an awareness of a far greater destiny, which relates to all mankind.
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,” our Master said. "They" was not exclusive in any sense. He included all people in that statement. To what extent do we have a consciousness of destiny in this regard? We have used words to indicate something, by saying, “I came into the world to save the world”; but for the most part, I think this has tended to be just words. There must be something inside oneself which knows this to be true. I am not suggesting that there should be the development of a human sense of self-importance. Nevertheless it is right and proper that there should be, underlying one's function, a deep awareness of one's own Divine importance.
It is true of so many, isn't it, that they don't really have very much consciousness in this regard, because individual human beings tend to feel, “I won't be missed,” and they say, “No one's indispensable.” I suppose in one sense that could be said to be true, but in the Divine sense it isn't true, is it? We are all absolutely necessary. No one is dispensable. If any aspect of Divine Being is missing, the whole of Divine Being is rendered meaningless, because God is One God. If there is any part not there—this is impossible, of course, but supposing—then the whole thing is dissolved. From the Divine standpoint everything is in place, and we all have destiny in this sense. Of course very often the word "destiny" is used in the human way, to indicate some sort of fate. It was Judas Iscariot's destiny to betray our Master, in the view of many people. It wasn't his destiny at all; that was his human choice. The destiny of which I speak is the Divine Destiny, the true purpose for being. We need to have a consciousness of this, whether we have the specific awareness of what that destiny is or not. It is not as though we could prefigure it, but in our moment-by-moment living it needs to be present in us, so that all our actions, all our thinking, all our speaking, is conditioned by this awareness of one's own Divine importance—an absolute thing. Then we're not depending upon anyone else.
I mentioned something about the lack of interest, the tendency to be only partially present, shall we say, which sometimes appears in different ones. This is an indication of the fact that the individual is not participating, not playing any part. If you are in a position where you are the only one, and there is something to be taken care of, you know darn well that it's going to be taken care of by you or it isn't going to be taken care of. Yet if there is more than one, the human being tends to lose this consciousness. He thinks, “Oh well, it doesn't matter. Someone else will do it.” In other words there is no real sense of worth. One is saying of oneself, “It doesn't matter; I might just as well not be here.” Well why don't you cut your throat then? You might just as well, if it's true that it doesn't make any difference whether you are here or not! It makes, actually, a tremendous difference from the Divine standpoint—but we need to have a consciousness of the fact that it does make a difference.
We can't be meaningful if we have no sense of meaning within ourselves, if we are, so to speak, apologetic for our presence. Mind you, there are times when perhaps we need to be a little apologetic about something, when it is the sense of the fitness of things that brings forth what is expressed. Let us not be apologetic about being ourselves—but let's not always be apologizing for ourselves. Now I don't necessarily mean coming out in words and saying so. I'm talking about an attitude. One should have a keen awareness of the fact that if you are not in place, everything is going to collapse.
Now, of course, that can be carried to an extreme too, from the standpoint of human ego, which doesn't wish to allow anyone else to carry any responsibility. We are willing to carry our own responsibility, and we are willing to let others carry their responsibility, rightly; but from the standpoint of our own responsibility, this is a vital factor in the whole. If it is not there, the whole pattern is going to be spoiled. Yet people take the attitude that it doesn't really matter whether they are present or whether they are not. Of course, when a person is taking that attitude, in one sense I suppose it doesn't matter. But the individual is not being true to himself when he takes such an attitude, because there is the reality of Divine Being, which is not dispensable at all. So it is important that we should have this sense of destiny, of our own Divine importance. We're not, because of that, going to thrust ourselves in and say, “Look how important I am; you've got to take note of me.” No, there is humility, there is a sense of the fitness of things, but inside oneself there needs to be this rock which knows. And that state of consciousness is tremendously important. Without it we can't go very far.
I wonder if we might look at something else related to this matter—perhaps a little excursion into a field of adventure. Let us think of our own physical bodies for a moment, not just from the standpoint of the parts, the organs and so on, which we may know about, nor yet even from the standpoint of the cells of which the body is composed. Let us consider it as to its basic structure, which relates to what are called atoms. Some vast, meaningless figure may be given as to the number of atoms that are present in a physical body. Now, these atoms are presumed to exist; they actually are simply in our consciousness; nobody has seen one. The atom itself, the structure of it, may be broken down still further, into little bits. But they aren't “bits,” are they? It is said of an atom that sometimes it behaves like a particle and sometimes it behaves like a wave. Well, it isn't either a particle or a wave. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2022/10/trailing-clouds-of-glory.html] It may seem to behave that way according to human viewpoints, but within the atom we recognize the positive and negative factors. These are very insubstantial, aren't they?—you certainly can't lay your hand on them. They might be described in the term used by Mr. Wells, who refers to them in the Journal of Modern Subjectivism as “conscious constructs.” That is, they exist simply in one's consciousness—this takes them out of the realm of "things" as we think of things—positive and negative conscious constructs, whatever that means.
Now, we have brought our bodies down to this. Really, it isn't anything in this sense, anything of which we have any direct awareness, is it? We have an idea that we have a solid physical body, and if we are human, in the ordinary sense, we think of ourselves as being this. Yet, when we come right down to it, we find that it is very insubstantial; it is hardly there at all. There are these positive and negative factors in different combinations, built up one upon another, until finally we have a few molecules, and then some cells. These cells are constantly changing, we hear, in our physical bodies. This is not necessarily an indication that all the atoms are constantly changing. There may be a breakdown of cells, and the atoms may be used in other cells. In any case, if we are intent upon imagining that we are our physical bodies we are virtually saying we are nothing—just these positive and negative factors.
It is rather interesting to consider this matter of positive and negative. I suppose, in another way, one could say: yes and no. If you stop to think about it, whenever you decide to take any action, immediately you create positive and negative factors. For instance, if I decide to stand up, at the same moment I decide not to sit down. And you will find that in any action that is initiated there are always the two things. We have heard something about the processes of creation which relate to what has been called the unformed—apparently nothing—and yet, out of this nothing the positive and negative factors emerge. Why? Well, obviously, because some decision was made. In this unformed, if we can call it that, there is unlimited potential, but that is all there is—potential. I suppose you could say potential is something, but what is it? We don't know what it is until it emerges and stops being potential only. The positive and the negative factors are consequent upon a decision. As it is put in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, “And God said”—He made a decision—“Let there be light: and there was light.” But there was darkness too.
Now there is a teasing thought! Could there be darkness without light, or could there be light without darkness? These we can recognize as positive and negative factors emerging out of something. Light and dark are potential in the unformed. Can you imagine a state where there is no light? “Oh,” you say, “well, it would be dark.” No, because you've got to imagine a state where there is no darkness. “Then there would be light.” No, neither darkness nor light! What would that state be? Of course it is beyond the comprehension of the human mind, but here we see the nature of the unformed. We have an awareness of that which emerges but we can't comprehend that which isn't formed, out of which the emergence comes. But whatever it is out of which it comes, it must be there or nothing could come. Incidentally, we have already taken note of the fact that if there is a creation there must be a creator. You can't have one without the other. You can't have a creator either, without the creation. The terms would be meaningless. So we see how the initial starting point in any creative process always establishes the positive and the negative, the yes and no, the proton and the electron.
There can't be a proton without an electron. Now they may not necessarily be together, but they are each necessary to the other. We have the idea of anti-matter. There is matter and there is anti-matter, yes and no. Of course this is more or less speculation in the scientific field; but according to all the indications, there couldn't be one without the other. So we have a universe and an anti-universe. We recognize what we would call heaven and earth, and there can't be one without the other. There is this duality everywhere. The creation takes place by reason of the fact that a decision is made. Now if a decision is to be made, there must be a decider. A decision can't appear of itself. The scientific developments in recent years have come to the conclusion that there is no need for any initiator of any processes—they just follow along. Did none of the scientists ever initiate any processes themselves? Because of a decision creation is initiated. If I decide to stand up, I create this condition. I create the condition of standing up, and at the same time I create a condition of not sitting down. We are constantly creating in this sense, on the basis of decision.
Now, we recognize that something hasn't worked quite right in the field of human function. I don't wish to go into that at the moment; you know something about it. But when we begin to accept the true identity of what we might call the DivineDecider, we may participate in the creative process, transmuting elements in the realm of potential into the actual. If I am presently sitting here, the state of standing up is just potential, it isn't actual. If I make the decision to stand up, the potential of standing up becomes an actual experience, an actual creation. It emerged—from where? Where did it come from? Well, you can say it didn't come from anywhere. And yet it was there in potential, or it would not have been possible to stand up.
We can recognize that there is a vast field of potential, absolutely unlimited potential, out of which there may be eternal creation. We are never going to run out of potential—but the potential is nothing, in effect, until the decision is made. If our decision is based in our acceptance of identity with this physical form, then our decisions are going to be distorted, because the physical form is not the true decider. The physical form, we have noted, is an actual creation that came forth from the state of potential, and it has built into it the capacity to decide. We recognize that this capacity to decide is necessary if a decision is to be made at the particular level where the physical form is. There could be no decision made at this level if it were not for a built-in ability to make the decision. As this particular construct of the human form was brought forth for the purpose of providing the facility to make decisions—in other words, to create—at this level, it is only natural that the facility should be present. But it isn't present so that it should make the decision, but so that that which created the facility might make the decision. We come again to a recognition of the basis of right function, which centers in right identity.
This atomic structure here is a part of this creation. It only exists because there is a creator. The creator is not the creation. This is something that leads into various other opportunities for understanding. The creation is contained within the creator and yet the creator is contained in the creation. We have an awareness of the fact that within the scope of our own consciousness is contained everything of which we are aware. In that sense it is within us, and yet we are in the creation. There is a seeming paradox here. The creator is present in the creation but the creation is also contained within the creator. We do not necessarily need to figure this out, other than to recognize the truth of it. We are rightly in the position of being identified with the Divine Maker of the decision—the making of decisions, the ability to make decisions, the ability to create. We are here to create rightly, to bring forth rightly.
I think that very often, when there is consideration of Divine creation, it is imagined that God snaps His fingers and here is a perfect creation. Presto! There it is, all complete, everything just right—according to the human concept. From the scientific standpoint, usually based in the idea of the evolutionary theory, it appears that nature made a lot of mistakes along the way, whatever nature is. It developed a form up to a point and then discarded it. Of course the view of these things is a view of something distorted in any case, because the viewer is seeing things through a distorted viewpoint. And because the creative processes have not been functioning correctly, since the creator in man has not been in position to function correctly, there have been mistakes in that sense. Those mistakes we call evil—something unwholesome, something wrong, something which shouldn't be.
On the other hand, in the true creative process there are cycles of what we might call trial and error. Isn't the main experience of joy known by reason of working something out? If you just have the finished product it may be a novelty for a while, but you get tired of it. It has been emphasized that happiness relates to creativeness, and there is a process of molding and working things out. Even if we look at the evolution of a human embryo, starting just as one cell, to the adult person, one could say there were many things that were discarded along the way. They served a purpose up to a point, and then they were no more use. Would you call that making a mistake? No. It is part of the evolutionary process—part of the creative process. In developing anything, there is this which relates to what we might call trial and error, even from the Divine standpoint. It is the drawing forth of the potential. We draw forth a little this way. No, this is not quite right. We move it over here, and that's better. Gradually there begins to be the development and the bringing forth of whatever it is that is being created. There are decisions to be made every step of the way. We know this from the standpoint, for instance, of building Red Coach Inn here. You could say, in one sense, that a lot of mistakes have been made. Things have been put in that had to be torn out. You may say, “Well they shouldn't have been put in in the first place.” Perhaps not, but it hadn't evolved to that point then. It only evolved later. Then the change comes.
In all creative processes there is this. And it is right, from the Divine standpoint, provided that the creation which is being brought forth is being brought forth by the True Decision-Maker and not on the basis of the distorted human viewpoint, the ideas of good and evil as human beings have them established. That is no foundation for creation, because, fundamentally, good and evil in the human view are what is considered to be good for human beings or what is considered to be bad for human beings from a very short-sighted standpoint. And that, again, is eating of the forbidden fruit. But there is the True Decision-Maker, and these decisions are made utilizing the facilities of the physical body, with its mind and emotional realm, to get the job done.
Now maybe, if there is a clearer view of the nature of the physical body—it is not such a substantial thing, after all—we won't be so determined to try to identify ourselves with it. In any case, if it is composed of all these myriads of atoms, what composes it? Why is it the way it is? Obviously because there is a Decision-Maker there with respect to it, and this is YOU. This is the individual. This is the reality. The reality centers in the Divine Decision-Maker, and we need to have the experience of being that, being ourselves, being in position to make the right decision, consequently having a sense of destiny. Individually we have that responsibility from the Divine standpoint, the responsibility of making the decision, of taking the responsibility, of recognizing our importance in this creative process. Whenever you make a decision you create. If the decision is not made from the standpoint of Divine Being, then you create destruction. But we have an awareness of this vast potential. Out of this vast potential, actually very little is required to be drawn to create what is right here on this planet of ours. The potential is here. The Decision-Maker is here. Let us share the responsibility of creating. Let us see the reality of that responsibility, in the recognition that whenever we make a decision we create something. And we can't get out of creating by refusing to make any decisions, because the very fact of not making a decision is making a decision. If you say, “I won't make a decision,” well you are not making a decision—and that is what you have decided. The positive and negative are present, and the nature of the positive and negative that are brought forth determines what the further progeny is going to be.
If we have this keen awareness of the effectiveness of our decisions in the creative field, it may give us a sense of power perhaps; but if we do not have any adequate awareness of Divine Being, we may be a little frightened by it, because we can't stop creating. The only right creation emerges by reason of the fact that we are identified with Divine Being, so that our decisions relate to the Truth, in the spirit of Love, and consequently bring forth Life. Then we have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. The sense of destiny is vital, the sense of Divine importance, because you may say, “I am a creator.” In every decision there is creation. Let the decisions be the decisions of the Divine Decision-Maker, who you are in reality. And behold, all things are made new. It isn't such a desperately difficult problem. The vast sea of unknown potential is present. This is the provision of which we speak. We say, “The provision is adequate.” Why? Because all the potential is there. You can't take it away. It's always there, and it is in the decision with respect to this potential that the creation takes place, the positive and the negative emerge, male and female, yes and no.
We see this yes and no in harmony, don't we? It isn't, “Yes, I'm going to stand up; no, I'm going to sit down.” Rather, “Yes, I'm going to stand up; no, I'm not going to sit down.” And we have a harmonious unit. The trouble has been that it hasn't usually worked out that way in human function. We have these creative units, the positive and negative, permitting the Divine potential to be made actual.
Here we have something upon which to meditate, and something of which to be reminded constantly in our living. Your decision creates. If you know what is right and you decide to do something else, you are creating evil, in the sense of unwholesomeness, something that is wrong. It is absolutely sure. No matter how pleasing and nice it may seem at the moment, you are creating something that is going to be destructive. If, in your awareness of truth, you know what is right and you do it, then you are creating from the Divine potential, drawing forth that which should come, and on this basis creation may continue in the fulfilment of Divine purpose. This is the way in which our steps are directed, that we may play our part to the glory of God and to the consequent blessing of the creation. I thank God for your interest which has allowed this much actuality to be drawn out of the present potential tonight.
Our Gracious and Loving Heavenly Father, it is with grateful hearts that we come together in Thy Name, that we may let this hour he set apart as one in which we may truly worship Thee in Spirit and in Truth, that the Inspiration of Thy Spirit working through heart and mind may truly cause each one to so let go in Love Response to Thee that Thy Will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven, for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever. Aum-en.
As man counts time, one-thousand-nine-hundred-fifty-four years ago our Master was born on earth—according to the numbering of years as they are used. He was born about 5 B.C. One-thousand-nine-hundred-fifty-four years have passed since the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings was born as a babe in a manger. He spent about one-third of a century on earth—one third of a century. Most of us here have lived more years on earth than our Master did, yet consider what a tremendous impression His years made upon the world. He was still, even as man counts time, a young man when, in that prayer to the Father, He said: “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do”—a young man in his early thirties who left this sphere of things about one-thousand nine-hundred-twenty years ago. More than nineteen centuries—and He was here for about one-third of one century.
We are in that season set apart and dedicated to commemoration of His birth. It is a story that never grows old, and on Christmas Day I wish to consider some parts of that story with you, but tonight I am thinking of the word, “preparation.” We have been preparing to celebrate Christmas Day. The LORD made preparation for His birth long ago. It was not an unheralded event. The birth of John the Baptist and the events connected with the Master's own birth all pointed to the tremendous significance of the occasion. The prophets had foretold His coming. There are those who live in Jerusalem today who still look for the coming of the Messiah, who still wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy. They do not recognize that the prophecy has been fulfilled. When we think of such individuals we find it rather amazing, rather difficult to understand, but it is nevertheless so.
The Master's coming was foretold; preparation was made, that the world itself might be prepared, and yet when He came, how few there were who were prepared or who recognized His coming for what it was. How few there were who had any idea of the importance of that event which we celebrate this Christmas Season; and we say, “How could any fail to recognize the fulfillment of the prophecy, the provision of the LORD made manifest according to the preparation?”
But, let us ask ourselves another question: “Why did our Master come?” Was it not to prepare and open the Way of Salvation? His Life, His Teaching, His Ministry, were supposed to be a preparation for something to follow. We have perhaps rather prided ourselves on recognizing that He did come, and that He lived and ministered, but for what was He preparing the Way? Can we, considering His Word, His Teaching, instruction, His Life and example, say that we and those who have lived in these nineteen centuries have fulfilled that for which He prepared? The preparation He made for all who should follow after—to what degree have we taken advantage of that preparation? To what degree have we accepted that which He made possible and available through preparation? Has that which He prepared for us been made manifest adequately and effectively? Those who count themselves to be Christians are numbered by the millions in the world today. There are millions in many lands who celebrate this Season, who commemorate the birth of our LORD, and yet, can we say that these millions have adequately accepted and received that which He prepared for us?
If the millions of every race and color and creed who are counted Christians had truly received that for which He made preparation would there be the horrible threats of war? Would there be the misery, suffering and sorrow? Would there be the widespread sense of futility and fear? Would there be uncertainty on every hand? Did He prepare the world for uncertainty, that uncertainty should continue, or did He prepare against uncertainty, that man might know the certainty of the Way, the Truth and the Life? Did He prepare the Way so that the millions of those who live on earth should continue in frictions and discords of every sort, or did He prepare the Way for the Peacemaker? For what did our Master prepare? For that which is now in the world? Oh, we can point to so many achievements of the Christian peoples, and yet when we place those achievements in the balance against that for which the Master prepared, that which might be received and made manifest, can we be proud and satisfied? I think not. I think there is no Christian upon the face of the earth who has any true right to self-satisfaction or who can truly point with pride to the achievements of the so-called Christian world.
When we recognize the difference between that which has been achieved and received, and that for which the Master made preparation, we must surely feel how woefully inadequate has been the fulfillment in and through those who claim to follow Him. He prepared the Way, the Truth and the Life, that the Kingdom that was and is at hand might truly come, and that the Will of God might be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Under the supreme influence of the Prince of Peace there would be no wars or rumors of wars. Under the supreme influence of the Great Physician there would not be widespread devastation through pestilence and disease. Under the supreme influence of the Lord of Love there would not be hate and discord and misunderstanding.
We commemorate the Master's birth, but in that commemoration let us not forget the vital necessity of doing our part toward allowing the fulfillment of that for which He prepared. He made a glorious beginning from a very lowly place. Born in a manger, He grew and ministered until He could say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.” He accomplished His task. What does the record say for those who followed after? Where are those who have followed Him to the point of completing the task? If all those who follow Him according to their idea of following Him actually finished the work, how could evil withstand such Divine expression on earth? How could there be millions enslaved? Hew could there be dictatorships? How could there be such poverty and suffering as there is in so many places in our own land?
Did you ever walk through the slum districts of Chicago or Boston or New York, or the poor sections of the cities in the south, and say to yourself, “Here we have wonderful evidence of the fact that we are Christians following our LORD and KING, completing the work which He gave us to do?” I remember a few years ago I rode on the elevated train out through the slum districts through Chicago. For more than a mile in perhaps the most congested area in the United States, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of shame that this so-called Christian nation should have in its very center such a condition, in the very center of a city that is called great.
We wisely celebrate the glorious beginning our Master made, the glorious accomplishment which He achieved, but if that beginning, if that which He did on earth, is to have true meaning there must be an enlarged vision, a deeper realization of what His coming meant to the world. There must be a deeper recognition of the preparation which He made whereby we can enjoy achievements far beyond that which has satisfied too many of those who have called themselves Christians.
The Christmas season, dedicated to our LORD and KING, is celebrated largely by commercialism. “How were your Christmas sales?” Yes, we buy and give gifts, and it is well, if we act wisely, but does all of this once a year in the Christmas season, as human beings make it manifest, satisfy the longing in the heart of our LORD and KING that human beings should follow Him and let His life have true meaning? If we are to truly follow Him, surely we must let that which He prepared have greater meaning in our lives than it ever has before. He began His work and He left it in the hands of those who should follow Him to carry it on and to finish it. Can we be proud of what we have done to that end? I rejoice in that which has been done, but we must face the fact that it is not enough. His birth and His life must be allowed to have such vibrant meaning in our lives that the Spirit, the atmosphere of Heaven, may find expression on earth, that those who are fair, those who are honest and sincere, of whatsoever land or clime or creed, of whatsoever race, must be compelled to recognize that the Spirit of the Living God is moving and working in the world. We must do our part to inspire a greater vision, a deeper realization that we are not truly following Him when we simply drift along the paths which have been worn so deeply in the passing generations of these nineteen centuries.
It is time, surely, that that which He began, that for which He prepared, should begin to manifest truly and effectively on earth, and every blessed, earnest one on the face of the earth has the blessed privilege of sharing therein—but none can afford to wait for someone else to do it. We ourselves must refuse to be self-satisfied. We must refuse to be content with that which is less than the outworking for which He prepared. So, let us let His preparation bring a still greater fulfillment in and through us in the year that is at hand, for soon another year shall have passed into the eternity behind us and we shall face a New Year in the eternity before us.
The Angels' Song—“Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, good will toward men”—must have a deeper, more vibrant meaning in the everyday life of all who follow Him if we are to let the birth of our LORD Jesus Christ find fulfillment in that for which He prepared. [Glory To God In The Highest greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2020/12/glory-to-god-in-highest.html] Are you, each one, are we all as One, ready to do our part in letting His Kingdom come, in letting His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Is not this that for which the Christmas season stands?
Our Gracious LORD, we thank Thee for Thy Love and Thy Patience, Thy long-suffering Mercy, that we are privileged even yet to have a part in letting Thy Plan, Thy Preparation, find meaning and fulfillment on earth. We thank Thee for the Holy Privilege of following Thee truly, that Thy Kingdom and Thy Power and Thy Glory may be made evident in all the earth in Blessing to all who will receive, IN the Christ. The Peace, Purity and Perfection of the Living Christ be unto you and find expression through you in body and mind and heart and soul now and forever.
