The Holy Earth

The  Holy  Earth

Martin Exeter   April 7, 1985

We stand on holy ground. In the physical sense we can't move anywhere, walk anywhere, without walking on holy ground. We can see this in terms of the earth itself, the planet where we dwell. This earth is holy. When there is that recognition because we do take our shoes from off our feet, so that we may begin to understand the way things really are, at the same time we see how this earth has been desecrated by human beings for their own purposes. This is, even now, in spite of that desecration, a beautiful planet, upon the surface of which we are privileged to walk.

How many people on the face of the earth know that it is a privilege to walk on the surface of this planet? What is present is deemed by human beings to be for their benefit, to do with as they please. We have noted in times past how the earth, the Mother, has been raped. The surface of the planet has changed over the millennia. We have some awareness of the nature of those changes, or some of them at least, in the sense of cataclysms of various sorts. Actually it is only in rather recent centuries that things have calmed down to the extent that they have, which allowed human speculation to assume that the earth has always been a more or less peaceful place underfoot. It comes as a shock sometimes for those who have been in earthquakes to find out that the earth isn't all that stable on occasion. This is one of the experiences which tends to bring panic. It both gives indication that what was considered to be a stable foundation may not be so, and also it triggers memories—maybe not personal memories, but what might be called race memories—relative to prior cataclysms. And fear, of course, is generated. The fact that all these things that have occurred on the surface of this planet were brought to pass by human failure emphasizes the factor of fear, as well as guilt and shame. We all have deep-down memories of that failure, and therefore there is a fear of the consequences.

It is interesting that the surface of this planet has been more or less calm for the last two thousand years. There have been various occasions of earthquake and volcanic eruption, which at the time seemed rather horrendous, but compared to what has occurred before the presence of our Master on earth, what has happened since has been very stable. There might be some recognition that there is a connection between the presence of the Master on earth and the stability that ensued in the planetary sense. Of course there hasn't been that much stability insofar as human behavior is concerned, and advantage has been taken of the stable planetary condition to wreak considerable havoc on the surface of the planet. It doesn't seem that there is any need for cataclysmic events anymore; human beings are going to cause them anyway with their advanced technology.

Awakening from the dream, we become aware that we stand on holy ground. The earth is indeed a sacred place, created so that God—and I use that word quite aware that there is no way by which anyone may know what the word means in the human nature state—could be present in this planet and walk on the surface of it. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” This accurately refers to the reason for this planet: the Word relating to man who was with God, not separate from God. And so the Word was God, walking on the surface of the planet. This is inconceivable, I suppose, to human nature. It seems to be blasphemy to human nature. Well, of course, human nature and God don't mix. But this wasn't human nature; this was the true nature of man.

The true nature of man is God. God is a word which in a very specific sense describes the character, the nature, of man. This certainly does not indicate that all that God is is man, but all that man is is God, rightly. Awakening to this awareness, then the setting in which we find ourselves, the earth itself, is seen to be a sacred place, a holy place. Mention is made in the Old Testament of God communing with man; but of course the state at that time was a state of separation, so it was apparent in human consciousness that God was someplace else—maybe in the tabernacle—and it was possible through the hierarchy of the priesthood to commune with God. This was a way of introducing those concerned to a dawning awareness of the closeness of God and man. There was still a separation at that point. An understanding of the oneness was not possible beyond the idea of one God.

Carrying the implications of that idea further, it may be seen that there is one way by which God can walk on this planet, and the facility is man. That facility has been removed from God. We are quite aware of that; we are quite aware of the experience of human nature, a state of separation. If we have in times past thought about God, our view has tended to be of someone, or a figure, whatever, a spirit, separate from oneself. If you've ever been in a tight spot and your sophistication was ruptured, you may under that circumstance have cried unto the Lord in your troubles, anticipating that you would be delivered out of your distresses. And that may have happened. In such a stress circumstance human beings do cry unto the Lord. They don't know where He is or who He is or how He could help, but coming to a crisis point the inclination is to say, “I can't do any more, now it's up to God,” as though human beings were created to have the first crack at it. All this, of course, emphasizes a state of separation and the evidence of that state of separation is the state of separation that exists between individual human beings.

There are those with whom we would like to be close, and we try in various ways to nudge up against them; but no matter what we do we still find ourselves in a state of separation. And there is no way to dissolve that state of separation without experiencing the truth of oneness with God, the truth of being God in expression on earth. If all experience that truth, all are one. It should not be difficult to understand that the expression of God would require more than one person. It would be very limiting to the expression of God, would it not, if there was only one person to do it. This has tended to be the attitude taken toward Jesus Christ: “He's the one who's going to do it.” And we can gaze with rapt attention and adoration at the revelation, but obviously, when one person does it, as He did in that circumstance, it is incomprehensible. It becomes comprehensible when it is differentiated. And that takes everyone.

I would not suggest that we should judge in the matter, but it could be that there are indeed too many people on earth to allow for the clear-cut revelation of God. What number of people are needful to let this happen is something that is none of our business, we might say. Our business is: “What's going to happen because of me?” Fussing about the revelation through somebody else would simply detract from the revelation through ourselves. There is no need for it. We have a very specific responsibility, and it can be carried because we do indeed walk on holy ground.

This earth is designed to support, to reveal, the beauty of God in action, and that action comes because of man. A statement that man was originally created in the image and likeness of God is just a faint effort to describe the truth of oneness. And so we return to oneness. But we can't return to oneness without having respect for the holiness of the ground upon which we walk, respect for how we tread upon this ground and what we do with it. In human nature it is used for human purposes. Human beings imagine they have a right to it; they try to possess it in their own names. Anyone here own any property? Who recognizes that ownership? Human nature. There are records which may tell us that we own this piece of property, apart from the mortgage of course. But it's not true, is it? unless we ourselves are one with God.

“The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” This is a very accurate statement, disputed by human beings constantly. But coming back to stand upon the earth in an awareness of the holiness of this planet, we know that it is for this divine purpose that the planet exists: that God may walk upon the earth and do what is made possible by reason of the fact that He does walk on the surface of the planet. Obviously there is an infinite variety of possibilities throughout the universe, but there is a very particular and specific one related to this planet.

This planet is not something all on its own. It's part of a larger body; we could call it the solar body. And we are aware that the solar body itself is a part of something greater still. But there is a reason for this planet, a reason for man to be living on the surface of it. Of course it might be said that he isn't now living on the surface of it; there is another peculiar creature, an interloper, a usurper, who's come in and tried to take possession of the land in his own name. The result is an absolutely insoluble dilemma. I'm sure, as we look around in the world, we are aware that virtually anything that is done will only make matters worse, even though it is done by someone with the best of intentions. Human action constantly and consistently makes matters worse. Good intentions have no bearing at all.

These worsening conditions, the worsening state, is indication of the passing of human nature. It is passing in a painful way, in a way which involves great tribulation. Perhaps we haven't seen anything yet in that regard, because things necessarily get worse, until there are those who do awaken and begin to allow the truth of man, the Word made flesh, to be brought into expression once again upon this planet. There is no answer otherwise. Human nature must go. It was said long ago that the prince of this world is lost. The prince of this world is human nature. Human nature is lost. As we noted, in every generation it's lost, but it reaches a point where it is totally lost. And if we have any vision, because we have awakened, we welcome that loss. The loss of human nature is in process.

We have a responsibility in this to allow this loss to be as easy as possible. I don't think it is likely to be very easy, but with the least tribulation, shall we say, because the opportunity for creative integration is made freely available. There is a shining light. And so we walk with care, with understanding, with a sense of the sacredness of being privileged to do so, on the surface of this planet. We don't look upon our presence here as being a burden or a labor. It is a delight that, once again, because we walk upon the surface of this planet, this planet may reflect the fact of being a holy place. We don't make it into a holy place, any more than we made the sun rise this morning. We let it be what it is: a holy place. We don't try to make it so by ecological efforts.

In our own fields of operations we do what is right on the basis of the action of the truth of our own being. This may include cultivating the garden; it may include putting manure on the fields; it may include milking the cows and the goats. It may include many things, but these things are all done not on the basis of some big deal but because it is the natural thing to do in the moment. We do what needs to be done in the moment, and we do not have great visions of how we are going to organize the surface of this planet so that it beams ecologically perfect according to some human concept. That would never happen. For one thing, human beings never agree. Human beings are unlikely to agree, because the spirit of agreement is in God, and if God is rejected in favor of human endeavor, then there can't be any agreement. And the state of disagreement in the world is a natural thing consequent upon the way human beings behave, the way they maintain the state of separation.

There is only one way by which this insoluble dilemma on earth may be resolved and that is by the passing of human nature. The passing of human nature may bring nothing. In other words human nature passes, there's nothing left. It will pass. We are concerned that this sacred, holy planet should remain for the use of God. For this to occur there must be those present on this planet with the true nature of man. Let human nature pass away because the true nature of man comes forth. This factually is our sole concern—the Word made flesh—not just one man this time but a body composed of many letting the light shine. On that basis human nature can pass away without leaving the earth a desert, but that is the only way it can happen.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. This is the Word made flesh, is it not? We each assume that responsibility individually, and on that basis we know oneness WITH God; we are WITH God once again. And being WITH God, we ARE God in expression, in action, on earth. Is that too much? Who knows really what it is? Let's find out.

© Emissaries of Divine Light 

The Body Within The Body

from

The  Body  Within  The  Body

Grace Van Duzen   June 20, 1964

We have the greatest opportunity in the world,

but wherever on the face of the earth anyone has that feeling of belonging with the Lord, with righteousness,

with all things right, and pure, and holy, there is a part of the Body of God.

I was recalling a few words of the service we shared with respect to belonging—a sense of belonging, a sense of oneness. I wonder if anything could be more vital to our consideration at this time than this sense of belonging, the actuality of the oneness of the Body of God on earth. What does the Body of God mean to us? Some words, or is it something living? Are we it? Wherever there is the awareness of this oneness, this sense of belonging, there it is, and it doesn't necessarily mean a certain number of human beings in one place; it can, if that awareness is within each one; but wherever the one is, if that awareness is present, there is a part of the Body of God on earth. 

All this took me back to the beginning of things. "In the beginning God created" this wonderful world, and there was a Body of God, and it was perfect and beautiful, and it was one thing—one thing, without any exception. That means that the whole Body was beautiful and perfect, and everyone a child of God. This was in the beginning. A lot has happened since then. And there was a design, and we know something of that design. There was a pattern of twelve, and there was a pattern of seven; not some mystical numerology, but the fact. We don't know much, in an intellectual sense, of what happened in those days of perfection, because the mind of itself cannot know it. It is an awareness that recalls it, an awareness which utilizes every aspect of our consciousness, of our beings: feeling, emotion, mind, body. It is not knowing about; it is coming into an awareness of.

So this wonderful Body was created, a beautiful design, a perfect one, with dominion over all the earth and all the kingdoms of the earth, whether animal, mineral, whatever; and everything was lovely. The Lord created His Temple—this whole earth, and each individual body—for His pleasure. That which man knows something about, started a little later, in history as we know it today. We can go back to a time in the record where man began to do something on earth, come together. There was an awareness of a need for oneness. There was a recognition that unless something came together, there was nothing on earth. There were great leaders back in those days, and with respect to twelve we naturally think of the twelve sons of a patriarch, the twelve sons of Jacob. This is a very interesting story, but it is also symbolic in nature. It is the bringing together of the twelve aspects of mankind under one Father—by name Jacob in the story, a Nameless One in actuality, in reality—the twelve aspects of the Body of God brought together. This was away back there, and this was accomplished. It is spoken of as one family, but they were twelve different, distinct aspects—it was a coming together of the twelve aspects of humanity into one body. 

We have this coming together, and then we have the people formed called the Children of Israel. And this was not a racial thing; there was marriage into the people of Egypt, the people of Midian, which is fundamentally an Arabian people, despised in a sense by many in those days as barbarians. They were all integrated, because it was comprised of all the aspects of humanity. And there was formed a people, the beginnings of the Body of God again on earth—one thing, one family. But there is something very interesting about this family, about this nation which was moving toward the restored design of God for His people on earth. There was something which integrated them all. You see, there were thirteen, and the thirteenth was called the priesthood. 

Now, the priesthood has corrupted the way of man through at least five thousand years, and beyond that: those who sought to make of the things of God purely a religion, a self-centered thing for self-centered purposes. But here was the true priesthood beginning to take form. Here was something that was integrated into each of these twelve aspects. It was something which could manifest in each of the twelve and still be one thing. The Levites was the name of the priesthood. Each of the twelve inherited, so to speak, property, possessions in the Promised Land; rightly so. There was an aspect of this creation, of this earth, which was under their dominion, each one specifically. The Levites had no inheritance; they had no property. The Levites did not go to war. They were different. They had no particular portion of land on which to dwell. They were in each of the twelve tribes. Each tribe had its Levites within it. They lived in that particular portion. Their substance, their material goods, was provided by that particular aspect of the twelve in which they had their domain. It was said, of the Levites, that their inheritance was the Lord; their substance came from that inner place of Being. They represented God to man, and there was that in each of the twelve, or there would be no One Body; it would still be twelve. There has to be that which is of the Lord, and which can manifest in the twelve without taking on subjection to the twelve, that remains in the world but not of it. This is the true priesthood, and there must be that in all the twelve to connect it, to merge it, to meld it into one body. 

That pattern was perfect; it was beautiful. So, one could say there must be a body within a body, and every aspect of humanity is a part of the Body of God. If we look at ourselves, surely we are part of that Body. Are we not all different? The very fact that the priesthood is in each of those twelve means, in that sense, that the priesthood is different, and yet it is not. It is because it is in one of the twelve aspects, but it is above and beyond it. It is in the world, but it is not of it. 

If we carry this story along we find that they did get to the Promised Land. They did move in, they were established—something which overcame the boundaries of country, nationality, patriotism. We read that they were very faithful, dedicated. But to whom? To the Lord. And they were constantly warned that all the world was to be included in this pattern—never to let it be a segregated thing. When something comes together to form the Body of God, there is a oneness, there is a coming together. When the Lord is forgotten it is dispersed, it dissipates, it falls part. There is the very opposite of the working of the Law—which draws together all things—and it is scattered abroad. 

So, going along with our story we found that the twelve began a wonderful movement toward the forming of a body, a temple for the Lord on earth. In Revelation we read that God said, "And I will be with them, and I will be their God; they will be my people. The Temple of God is with men. And in this wonderful beginning—for that's all it turned out to be, a beginning—there began to be the differences—something happened which really spoiled the whole thing. As long as the different tribes began to quarrel, it wasn't too serious as long as the priesthood was intact. But at one point along the way we find a very graphic story, symbolic of what took place in the whole: the corrupt priesthood. The priesthood became corrupt. It began to drift away from that firm dedication, that dedication whereby there was no partaking of anything except what came from the Lord. There was a drifting, and the material aspect entered it—they began to pay certain ones to be priests, and the very minute that the priesthood became corrupt there was nothing to cement the body together. It is that body within the body which is so vitally important. Then the twelve began to fall apart, because twelve aspects don't make the body. The priesthood is that which cements it together, and when that became corrupt, everything fell apart. 

We go along, and we see that the minute there was division within the body, there were predatory excursions from outside, and these took place from all directions—all around their enemies began to take over. But this was after the failure of what was inside. Up until this time it couldn't do a thing, and it never can from the outside; but when it happens from the inside, it can all come rushing in—and that is what happened. And we find that first the kingdom, the one solid kingdom, was divided into two. Then there were two kingdoms, and then they were taken away captive into foreign lands. First the kingdom of the ten—the ten tribes were taken away captive. What happened to the ten? The dispersed tribes of the Children of Israel—we could say the second fall of man. 

In this great land in which we live—isn't it a melting pot of all these twelve tribes? Don't we lose our identification with those old countries? It's interesting that it's called the "old country." And the "new country." Here, just as surely as those twelve came together, is something new. Perhaps we can say, "Yes, but it's getting kind of old." All right, that's where the priesthood comes in, because without the priesthood we don't have anything. 

Something has been brought to point on earth in this day, which is taken for granted, and which is absolutely priceless, just in an outer sense, that which the world can see. In this great land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, where once were two great continents, here in this great land have come together peoples from all nations on the face of the earth, lost their individual identity, taken new names, speaking one language. It is a wonderful thing. We've noted in our conferences, our classes, when we all come together, the variations, the coming together of the dispersed tribes of the Children of Israel. And it's the body within the body that is so vitally important. It is in the priesthood that the Lord is the inheritance.

There must be that body, within the body, that is trained for that deep dedication to the Lord, with a constant awareness of belonging. And if, in that body, if in the priesthood, there is not that deep sense of belonging, how can there ever be throughout the tribes of Israel? It is right that there are twelve aspects, but it must be one body. And we'd better be doing something, in that inner place, to bring about a sense of belonging for all people, not just privileged me—everyone on the face of the earth, no matter the color, no matter the tongue. We are here to provide that essence which will cause them all to be one. We have something to take care of, a place close to the Lord where we inherit Him—I am thine inheritance—His very being. We don't receive something from Him; it is what He IS that is our inheritance. And where do we find that? Right here, within, the Temple of the Living God. I am thine inheritance. We say, I AM, and when I and the Father are One, then He is my inheritance. This is that which must be done by the body within the body, and then all that has been done through the years, heroically, beautifully, by dedicated men and women in their places, will have meaning, will not have been in vain. 

We see the so-called underprivileged classes in the world. Can we ever look at any of them without something inside saying, "This is wrong"? Every single one belongs to the Body of God, and that feeling of insecurity in those who have been downtrodden certainly puts a responsibility on all of us who know better. Maybe we're not in position to do something in an outer sense about that sort of thing, but what about our own sense of belonging? Is there still a feeling of, I get something from the body? What is the body if everyone says that? It's an imaginary thing and everyone's outside. Each of us is the body, if there is one—and I know there is one.

When we look out at the world today, perhaps it's hard to believe that God made a body, utterly beautiful in all its parts, for His pleasure; and He can't have pleasure in His Body unless the body is having pleasure. How else could it possibly be known? And when we realize that this was His only intent for man, and that when that body is restored it will be, as He said, without the crying, without the suffering, without the sorrow, we can see how man has fallen—and for one reason only: he has separated himself. There is a design in the divine state. It would not be something hodgepodge, just a mixing; there is a perfect design. 

The races were formed, in the first place, as we know them today—we won't say what went before; certainly there was a design; it wasn't just monotonous—but the extremes came about because man functioned incorrectly. And when those days of great cataclysm were over, and it looked like nothing was left on earth, here and there were people, just remnants of people, all the same people, but they were isolated and each probably thought they were the sole survivors on the face of the earth. And to perpetuate the human race they intermingled, there was intermarriage, of course, within themselves. This we have symbolically portrayed in the story—symbolic of people, all the way back, and the farther back you get, the more true this is. We're talking about remnants of people from something in those far, far days. And here we see something of the way they were formed. Here was the reversal of God's Law for His children. 

We are all God's children, and something glorious has taken place in our day, which is completely without any meaning whatsoever unless there is a body within that body—a body that is close to the Lord, and which lets the things of God come through in meaningful living, not in fancy, not saying, "Oh, I'm the positive priesthood, how nice!" No, but in humility, really practicing letting the things of God take form through us. More and more one is surprised, perhaps, in walking the way, at the beautiful evidences, the rewards, we could say, of learning to let the Lord fill our days and our lives. Are you sometimes overwhelmed and say, "Thank you, Father, for showing me that"? Do you just sit down sometimes and say, "Thank you"? You can't help it! It happens so many, many times. I suppose one learns to take it for granted—but I hope not. It is good to have that welling up of thanksgiving for the wonder of the way of the Lord. I am thine inheritance. That means I AM, the wonderful body within a wonderful body—in the commonplace things; this wonderful land, a melting pot, a melting away of the things that don't belong, of the differences. Isn't that what it is? Each one of us needs to be that melting pot where the Fire of God's Love burns away all that does not belong, purifies the dross, so that the divine Alchemist can bring forth the gold. It is all here. And let us never be fooled by the appearances, look out and say, "Oh, there's nothing right." Where there is that which will bind the body close, it works. 

It is time for the divine priesthood. We have called it, after the order of Melchizedek, meaning simply the divine design, the design ordained by God for His creation. In the Psalms it says you are a priest forever after that order. Man's order isn't very lovely. It takes everything apart; everything is dissected. If you want to learn about something, you dissect it, take it to pieces. Of course, you can't put it together again. There is something so unutterably filthy and degrading about the whole thing—taking apart the beautiful creation of the Lord. It is indecent, isn't it? Trying to be as God—that is what the Body of God has done on earth, turned into a mess, segregated, separated. Every part of this body, every people on the face of the earth, belongs in One Body. Is there any part, any people, you can think of that you'd like to exclude? It all belongs together. 

Isolation—that is the order of fallen man. It is exactly the opposite to the order of Melchizedek, which draws everything together into the One Body it was created to be. As that Holy Priesthood, we surely, with each day, have a deeper, more vibrant, more thrilling awareness of the perfection of God's creation. And we have one place to start—this temple, oneself. And we become, surely, less convinced of this wrong pattern of man's. The divine order is really order. It is perfect, and it partakes of none of this filthy thing that man calls design. He has names for it. There's a certain design, all kinds of names, for diseases, mental disturbances. They are all categorized, a certain design, they say, an order. But it is not order. It is disorder. It is chaos. It takes everything apart, and you have nothing. 

So let us, remembering the one who draws us all together, cherish his words with respect to that belonging. Then we find that, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all things are added. We don't have to get anything from the body. All things are added to the body; they're all here; and what a joy when we realize it. It's all here; it's all one thing; and we needn't look to any pattern that we thought was there before, even yesterday, even this morning, because you're not the only one who is changing: your neighbor is too. This is something we tend to forget. You're different, but no one else can change? That's not a pattern of belonging. Give your fellow as much credit as you give yourself. It's one of the greatest lessons we can ever learn, to really believe that the one next to me can change, and that I'm not so self-righteous, after all. It's a body. We're all moving. 

That wonderful movement through the air of the spirit has been uppermost in my mind—constant movement. Constant movement is flying, isn't it? You don't dare stop. It's a wonderful feeling. There's no stopping. As we move along, and there's a little slip, and you almost go down, just keep on going. Maybe you have to take a look at something, but it is never stopping. You'd be engulfed in the thing. Keeping on going—and that smile of the one we follow is always there. When we really learn that, we have something utterly priceless—look up and see that smile. It says, "It's all right. Keep on going.” I surely rejoice, in our togetherness, to keep aloft the Body of the Lord. The Body within the body we are.

It's the way it is now, isn't it? exactly the way it is now that is our starting point; the way people are now, not maybe the way they were, how we might think God created them to be in the beginning, but what are they now, right now? And do we have this feeling of oneness and belonging with respect to all people? because if it isn't in us, how do we expect them to have it? Never let us think that we in this room form that Body of which I was speaking. We have the greatest opportunity in the world, but wherever on the face of the earth anyone has that feeling of belonging with the Lord, with righteousness, with all things right, and pure, and holy, there is a part of the Body of God. It doesn't matter who he is, or where he is. But it is far easier in a body, and absolutely essential for a body to come together; and anyway, it will come together. Wherever those parts of the Body of God are, they will not remain isolated. They must come together. It is a magnet drawing unto itself its parts.

But let's never think that there aren't those parts all over the world; not just in this wonderful land, not just in this wonderful room, but all over the face of the earth. They are being drawn to form that Body, but it has to have a place. It has to start. It must come together in actuality, not just in theory. And of course we know it can't be done in isolation. It can be begun; it must be begun that way, or there won't be any drawing together. But those parts are now, in all countries on the face of the earth, and we rejoice that it is so. And it isn't easy to do it out there all alone. So let's be sure we have that feeling of true belonging, and then there is the drawing, and the time is shortened. 

Man has been prone for so many centuries, millennia, to say, "I trust the Lord," without ever realizing that the Lord needs to trust somebody on earth, and it is wonderful when we really know what it means to be trusted, to know the importance of being trusted, so that if ever we tend to slip we get moving. We all know that feeling, "I've betrayed the Lord," don't we? And there isn't anything like it. No wonder Judas hanged himself! But how good to know that there isn't anything worth it, to know that there is nothing on the face of the earth so priceless as to be trustworthy. This is why we are here. Praise the Lord.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

 

The Unquenchable Fire

The  Unquenchable  Fire

from   Sunrise  Service  #197

Uranda   February 11, 1951

 

The patterns that human beings tend to accept as being fixed and more or less permanent are changed. If it were not for the reality of change we would have little hope. The conditions that now are in the world would not be satisfactory to anyone if they were to be made permanent. Man is making tremendous efforts to bring change about, with all kinds of plans and ideas, but we know that man cannot successfully change himself. We know that those improvements which are undertaken on the basis of high ideals but in human strength are not successful. There is, then, the evident need of change, and yet the fact is that man of himself cannot produce the essential change.

I would like to read to you a few words from the third chapter of Matthew, that they may help focalize meditation and realization. One cannot read or hear these words without recognizing and feeling the fire, the earnestness, the zeal, with which they were first spoken. They are the words of John, the Baptist, introducing the Master’s Ministry:

"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins… I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Let us meditate for a little time on this introduction to our Master's Ministry on earth—the concluding words: "But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." We know that fire to be the Fire of God's Love; we rejoice in the assurance that the chaff, that which is not of God's perfect Plan, shall be burned away; but there is one word here that is of particular significance, something that brings our hearts great joy, a feeling of assurance, confidence in the outworking of God's Plan—that word, unquenchable. We recognize that many human beings have been inclined to conjure up frightful imaginings in relationship to "unquenchable fire," but to us it is a delightful word, a word in which we rejoice.

Looking back a little in history, we note that there was a great effort, even while our Master walked on earth, to quench that Fire. Those who were attempting to quench the Fire thought they had done so when they sent our LORD and KING to the ignominy of the cross, but it was an unquenchable Fire which He released on earth. As soon as His followers began, according to their highest understanding at the time, to preach the Gospel, and there was response thereto, there was a tremendous effort made to quench that Fire. The efforts to quench the Fire became so violent that the world was ushered into what is historically called, "The dark ages." But the Fire was not quenched. No matter how many suffered martyrdom, no matter how many were thrown to the lions, no matter if two thousand Huguenots were put to the sword in one day, no matter what was done by human beings in their efforts to quench that Fire, it still remained.

Sometimes it appeared that only a spark here and there remained, but the Fire of God's Love would burst out again. In the face of all human efforts to quench that Fire, in the face of all the godlessness, in the face of all the lawlessness, in the face of all the darkness, the Fire would again and again reveal itself—and it was not quenched. We see how there was a great resurgence of that Fire made manifest in Europe, and the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries began to see it manifesting more vigorously, and something of that Fire has spread around the world, reaching into the hearts and lives of all people in some manner. There has not lived on earth for some little time—a century or two perhaps we could say—a man or woman or child whose life has not in some manner been affected or influenced by that Fire as it was released and made manifest by our LORD, Jesus Christ. No matter how godless the individual may have been, no matter how remote from so-called religious or church activities, that life was influenced; it was different because that Fire was in the hearts and lives of others who lived at the same time.

As we noted, change is most essential. When we look at the world as it is, we know that change must come, and we should recognize our individual responsibilities and privileges in helping to promote that change in the right direction. We cannot just sit and trust that the change will come. We must do our part, but if we attempt to do that part which we conceive to be ours, in human strength and human wisdom, we will fail and be no better than those who seek to change the world into a vast camp of tyranny. Man of himself cannot achieve these things. That unquenchable Fire of God's Love is absolutely essential if we are, ourselves, to be changed, and if we are to let God’s Will be done in us so that we may promote that change in the world.

We cannot be successful in promoting this change in other places if we spend our days resisting that change that is essential in ourselves. We can find a multitude of people who would be happy to see things change far away—but while they would like to support that change over there, there is no fire burning in heart and soul which promotes a change in themselves. Only to the degree that we let ourselves be changed can we be successful in helping others change in the right direction. This Unquenchable Fire which has withstood every onslaught down through the centuries, is alive—it is here, it is available to anyone anywhere in all the world, and all over our fair land there are those who, to their highest understanding, are dedicated to God's Service.

What is wrong? Why the feeble, stumbling efforts in the United Nations Assembly? Why the hesitancy and uncertainty in the Capitol of our own Country? Why the confusion in high places? Because those to whom responsibility has been given are to be condemned? Because they are not doing their jobs properly? Oh, no doubt they make mistakes. Is that where the blame should rest?—that we should condemn our high officials and find fault with them? Such an attitude is blindness of the worst sort, an attitude wherein the individual wants change over there but is refusing to accept it in himself.

If this Fire which is unquenchable were allowed to burn in the hearts and lives of all the mass of our citizenry here in the United States of America, would there be fumbling in Washington? Would there be uncertainty in the U.N.? No, it is not our President who is at fault, or our Secretary of State, or our Ambassador to the United Nations Assembly. It is the American people that are at fault, because they are not letting that unquenchable Fire burn so freely and so fully, so vibrantly, that there is a spirit of support back of those who carry official responsibility. There needs to be a Light flaming from the hearts of the people that dispels the darkness and lights the Way for those who carry that official responsibility. Is there confusion in Washington? If it is so, then there is confusion in the people of all our states, of all our communities. We cannot have something better in Washington than we have in ourselves.

The Spirit of the Resurrection needs to begin to work as never before in our lives and in the lives of all those around us. The Spirit of that Resurrection must be allowed to have force in the world now. I praise God for the privilege we have of being Citizens of the United States of America, but we cannot complain, properly, about confusion in high places when we allow confusion to reign in our own hearts and lives, when we allow self-centeredness to breed all forms of ill attitude and selfishness in ourselves. No, indeed. This Fire IS unquenchable, and it shall burn with ever increasing force, but it will burn up the chaff only. Each one must determine whether he shall be wheat or chaff. The wheat has no need to fear the unquenchable Fire. It is an Unquenchable Fire and it has faced successfully every effort to put it out, but are we to wait in order to prove by our lethargies that it is an unquenchable Fire? Are we to let that wave roll over us and see if the Fire can be extinguished? That is no good. There is a crying need in all parts of our land—and right here—for that response which will allow that unquenchable Fire to burn as never before, that the essential changes may be wrought and that, letting change come and allowing that Fire to burn, we may be in position to render service to others.

Let the Fire burn. It is an unquenchable Fire, and being so, how foolish it is for human beings to struggle against it. What a despicable thing it is for human beings to try to put that Fire out in their own hearts and lives. It is an unquenchable Fire, and yet so much time and energy is used trying to put it out in heart and mind. All kinds of excuses and ideas develop to salve the conscience. Time? Oh, we do not have time. Or some other excuse. There are multitudes of them—human beings drifting, wallowing in a state of confusion within themselves, trying to put out an unquenchable Fire. If it is put out in the human being, or if it seems to be put out, then that human being, that human form, is dead. There is nothing left.

How foolish to try to extinguish the unquenchable Fire! How wise it is, on the other hand, to devote ourselves to pure devotion and allow that unquenchable Fire to have full sway in our lives. How wise it is to give ourselves in heart and mind, body and soul, to the purposes of the unquenchable Fire of God’s Love, allowing the Patterns of His Truth to bring beauty and symmetry into all the forms of life for which we are responsible.

The Fire of God's Love is an unquenchable Fire. So, in that Word which was used to introduce our Master's Ministry on earth, we find great cause for rejoicing, great cause for thanksgiving—the unquenchable Fire. But it is not enough merely to believe it is unquenchable. If we do not appreciate our responsibilities and privileges, if we do not truly thank God, for the opportunity we have of gathering in peace to consider the Word of God, those who drift and say, "It cannot happen here," will find that miseries are increased because, like the legend about Nero, they fiddled while Rome burned. Unless we are truly thankful to God for these privileges, we will not do that which is necessary to maintain them, and they will be lost.

If we salve our conscience by attitudes of condemnation toward those who are in places of official responsibility, the battle will be lost. No American has any right to complain about confusion in Washington. If all Americans will let the Fire burn, the darkness will be dispelled, the direction in which we should go will be clearly revealed, and it is an unquenchable Fire which, if allowed to work in our lives, will remove any official who refuses to walk in that revealed Path, or make it possible for him to walk therein effectively if that is his desire. Condemning the officials is such a ridiculous thing, so childish, so miserably contemptible. It is not the officials who need condemnation; it is the American people who are not awake, and if we do our part and let the change come and the Fire burn, the officials will move in the right direction, and if they do not, some other official will appear. We do not have to condemn them, and who are we to say, "They do not want to move in the right direction?"

To my mind there is not a place in officialdom in all the world that is more difficult to fill than that which our President at the present time is called upon to fill. There are many critics who are ready to condemn our President, to say ill things about him. Could they do any better placed in such a position? I doubt it. I have not heard one single critic of our President about whom I felt, "I wish he were in the presidential chair." Not one! It is not a matter of finding fault with our President or our Secretary of State, or any other. It is a matter of letting this unquenchable Fire have meaning in our lives, so that they will not be faced with an impossible task. If they fail it will not go down in the records of God as their fault, but the fault of those who should have been supporting, through whom the Fire should have been burning to dispel the darkness and light the Way and give support so that the Power of God could have meaning.

So, changes come, changes will come, and those changes will be shaped by the attitudes of the people. If the change is for the worse, then we will have to admit it is what we asked for, by our attitudes, by our own failures; but if we let God work these changes through that unquenchable Fire the changes will not be for the worse. We will be moving onward and upward toward Victory.

In this season we, as a Nation, have a glorious opportunity of letting the unquenchable Fire so work in and through us that we may partake of the Spirit of the Resurrection and allow changes to come which will dispel darkness in the world and open the Way toward the true realization of peace, not a peace that is merely a cessation of armed conflict but a peace that is the Gift of God's Love dwelling in the hearts and lives of men and women everywhere. Changes are coming. In what direction will those changes appear? In what form? It depends on us. It depends upon all of us, and now is the time to stop trying to extinguish the unquenchable Fire in our own hearts, but, rather, to nurture it, to give heed to it, and let that Fire burn; for it is that Fire shining, burning, in you that allows you to comply with the injunction: "Let your Light so shine."

If that unquenchable Fire is not aflame in you, you cannot let the Light shine, no matter how hard you may try. Trying to let the Light shine is a futile thing. Until that Fire is unquenchable in your heart and it burns in your words and deeds, you cannot let the Light shine; but once you let the Fire have full sway, your Light shines. And what happens? Others see your good works, the life you live, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

As we have shared this hour together, resting in that unquenchable Fire, let us remember that Peace is the Gift of God’s Love. Without that unquenchable Fire there is no Peace. Peace be unto you and God Bless you.

© Emissaries of Divine Light