The Design Of The Connecting Link
Martin Cecil May 16, 1964 pm
“It seems that it becomes my responsibility to draw attention, from time to time, to that which is emerging.
It is quite possible for others to be sufficiently alert to see some of these things which are emerging.”
Those who are concerned with serving the Lord are not playing children's games; those who are not so concerned are playing children's games. So much of that which passes for adult function in the world is not really mature in any sense. In order to emerge out of the childish games there must be an awareness of mature purpose. There is of course a mature purpose for all people if they will recognize it and accept it. Without that purpose, without an understanding of what it is, without intelligent function with respect to it, there cannot be mature living. It is bound to be a continuing pattern of children's games. We began to bring to point an awareness of mature purpose, defined in the words: to represent God to the people, and to represent the people to God. Man was created to provide this connecting link between Creator and creation but he went adrift; consequently he is not providing that link. Before he can be returned to the position where he might do so there is the necessity of providing a link for man, a connecting link between the Creator and the creation in the sense of mankind. So this is mature purpose now, and will remain mature purpose even when man is restored to the position of being that connecting link between the Creator and the rest of creation. It is a matter of representing God to creation, primarily at the moment to other human beings, and of representing creation—primarily at the moment that which is true of the Divine creation in man—to God.
This dual representation is based in the working of the Law. If we examine into the matter we will discover that it relates directly to the two great commandments. What is it that we represent to the Lord? We say we represent response. But what is it really? Is it not the fulfilment of the first great commandment? We bring love to the Lord. This is what we represent to Him—love. We represent that love which is in all people as it centers toward that which is Divine, and by reason of this phase of love there begins to be the experience of God's love for His creation. It is not that we rightly should concern ourselves immediately with trying to love His creation. We have noted this before. It is not a matter of trying to love each other, as though that were the first order of business. It isn't. The first order, insofar as we are concerned, is to represent such love as there is present in human beings, to God. We re-present it to Him; in other words we return it to Him. This is the opening of the door, so that there may be the beginning experience of representing God—representing love to God's creation all around us—and that is re-presenting it, giving God's love to the people. So we see these two phases of love working here in a manner which establishes purpose. Of course the mere statement of this purpose doesn't necessarily make it have meaning to human beings. There must be some experience with respect to it, the experience of representing others to God, representing only that which is of the true nature and character of love to God; and when we do that, immediately we find that the true nature and character of love is our own experience in expression to others.
When I said that the first order of business was the first great commandment I did not mean to indicate that this separated the first commandment from the second, because it doesn't. You can't open the door in representation of that which is of love in man toward God without in that very instant experiencing God's love in representation to others. There have been those who have made claims as to loving God, but the evidence of that love for God, the right representation in that respect, is the experience of love for one's fellows. All too many of those who claim to love God disprove their words because of their attitudes toward their fellows. If there is not love for others there is not love for God. Nevertheless, loving God, representing that which is of love in man to God, is the first order of business. We find it doesn't work at all to try to apply it the other way around, to say, “Well I'm going to love my fellows, and when I do I'll be loving God.” No, love God first. Love in the Divine sense is always characterized by Truth. This means that it operates on the basis of a design divinely established. We have taken note of something of this design in our consideration thus far. The design requires that we represent man's love to God, and doing so we represent God's love, or God Himself, to man. This is part of the design, and there is also the matter of control.
We might concern ourselves with the dominion of God: control—this word which is such a bad word in the human vocabulary. Control! It is strange how human beings rebel against the idea of control while constantly accepting control of one sort or another, and the nature of the control which is usually accepted is such a destructive thing. It is absolutely impossible for a human being to function without control of some kind. How wise to consider the nature of the control which we accept. Because much of the control which human beings accept is accepted automatically it is assumed that there isn't any. But it is there, and it raises hell; it wrecks human lives. So if we are considering love we cannot help but consider control, because truth characterizes love, and control is one of the elements of truth—control and design.
I wonder if I could consider something with you this evening, something which is of concern and interest, or should be, to all those who are associated with this ministry, to the extent that they have become aware of the real nature of it. We have noted that there is a design. If the truth is to be known the design must be known, because design is an element of truth. You can't know the truth without knowing the design, and you can't know the truth without knowing the Divine control either, because these are the two basic elements of truth. There is a design related to that which must take form to make possible a connecting link between Creator and creation, at the present time in the sense of mankind. That design cannot be ignored. So many human beings have sought to find a relationship with God just as individuals, and something has been achieved along those lines by people in every generation. Some measure of attunement with God has been established, but thus far it is quite obvious from an examination of the situation in the world that there has been no adequate connecting link established between man and God—nothing that is effective anyway. The reason is not far to seek, because it relates to this matter of design, and control of course. There is a design which must take form if this provision of a connecting link is to appear, and the design takes form of course through human beings. The connecting link only becomes a reality to the extent that this design for it is allowed to appear in form through those who are responding—those who are representing the response and love which is present in man toward God. The design may then begin to emerge.
Looking back into the historical record, there are some evidences of the nature of that design, because we know that an opportunity for the development of this connecting link was offered through the children of Israel long ago, and later through our Master's ministry on earth. In each case there was this mysterious number Twelve. There were twelve tribes and there were twelve disciples. These twelves indicate something of a design, a design which fundamentally relates to man's representation to God. This is the first thing which is necessary, isn't it?—the keeping of the first great commandment. It must come to point somehow. We have noted in various ways that everything comes to focus somewhere—there is a point of representation with respect to all things—a focus point.
While the representation of the creation to the Creator is the first requirement, we have already noted that the moment this is done, instantly there is the representation of the Creator to the creation. You can't separate the two aspects actually, even though the approach must come, insofar as man is concerned, from the standpoint of that representation which offers something to God—re-presents—presents again something to God. Man has not been presenting anything to God for a long time, at least anything that was worth very much. This relates to the twelve. There were twelve tribes of Israel, and the Priesthood, which was the Thirteenth, but reference is usually made to the twelve tribes. Then there were the twelve disciples, and our Master Himself who was the Thirteenth; but reference is usually made to the twelve disciples. Here we have the Pattern of Representation, as we have noted before: the Twelve representing that which is coming out of the world to be offered to God, and the One representing God to the world—the One, whether it is seen as relating to our Master when He was on earth or as relating to the Priesthood, the tribe of Levi in the pattern of the children of Israel. So we see here that the twelve does have a direct relatedness to that which is emerging out of the world. The twelve tribes of Israel were supposed to represent all mankind to God. We can say that there are twelve tribes of mankind actually. Now it is not our purpose to try to figure out what those twelve tribes are—how mankind could be divided up into twelve. That is not the point at the moment. There are twelve tribes of mankind. These twelve tribes, which include the whole of mankind, must come to point somehow. There is a Focus of Representation, and it is through this Focus of Representation that the design for the connecting link between Creator and creation takes form. So we have this aspect of the matter—Twelve. We can use the number twelve to symbolize this; not necessarily to symbolize twelve people, or twelve groups, or twelve tribes—there are these things—but the number 12 itself we could say represents man's representation of creation to God. There must be, then, a Twelve aspect to this ministry if it is recognized that the sole purpose for this ministry is to permit this connecting link to take form. This is the mature purpose. It is the only real purpose there is on earth for anyone. Most people don't recognize it; perhaps some of you have begun to emerge into an awareness of it—to represent the people to the Lord. This is one aspect of the design which must emerge through those who compose this ministry.
There is of course the other aspect, relating to the representation of God to the people. Now there is another magic number which is constantly repeated in the Biblical record, and in many other ways all around us actually—the number Seven. The number 7 represents the representation of God to the people. The number Seven therefore can be seen as relating to the tribe of Levi in the Old Testament pattern, or to our Master Himself in the New Testament pattern. Again we can say there must be, then, Seven Points of Focus, seven people, or seven groups, or seven something—which is true. But my concern at the moment is that we should recognize that the number seven itself is the symbol representing that which represents God to the people, whether we look upon it as a tribe or whether we look upon it as a single person. Everything comes to focus in a person somewhere, somehow, in all these things. But we need to see these two aspects brought to focus in the design of that which provides the connecting link between God and His creation. There must be that which represents that which is emerging out of God's creation to be offered to God, and there must be that which is of God to be offered to that which is emerging, so that there may be a point of blending, a point of union, which then establishes the connecting link. But it isn't a haphazard thing. It isn't something that human beings say, “Oh well, I'm going to serve God now, and everything's going to be wonderful. I'm going to be able to do marvelous things, and probably preach marvelous sermons and convert many people to marvelous beliefs.” No, it is not that at all. It is an actual function. It is an actual experience of something.
It is only reaching the point now where there is something emerging sufficiently in the design, taking form through those who are associated with this ministry, to begin to reveal what I am talking about. Otherwise it is bound to be just words, more or less meaningless. Human beings of course like words. They fasten on them very quickly and build up something in their own imagination, which then of course isn't the thing at all—it is just imagination. I am rather careful about not being too specific at the moment, because immediately specific aspects begin to appear human beings try to grab on to them, try to make something out of it. We don't need to make anything out of anything. All we are concerned with is to let something emerge so that it can be seen and understood because it has emerged, not because we try to figure it out and exercise our vain imaginations. So, contained within the scope of this ministry there are then, properly, these two aspects—a great deal more of course, but we are concerned at the moment with these two aspects: that which brings to focus representation of the creation to God, and that which brings to focus representation of God to the creation.
Now we can use various terms to describe these things. Of course we have here the negative and the positive aspects of something. The representation of God to the people is the positive aspect, and the representation of the people to God is the negative aspect; or we could say male and female, the dual pattern of representation which comes together in what is called “one flesh.” This has always been assumed to relate merely to what human beings call marriage. Well maybe it relates to that, or can, but it is far more than that, and marriage is virtually meaningless in the world of man until this more begins to emerge and take form so that the real purpose of the male and female pattern can begin to be understood. It is not merely procreation, although this seems to be the theme in the world nowadays. These two aspects, the Positive Seven and the Negative Twelve, must be contained within the form of that which is emerging through this ministry if this ministry has any meaning.
We can perhaps perceive something here, so that we can recognize a certain application. There has to be intelligent function and movement with respect to that which is emerging, and it seems that it becomes my responsibility to draw attention, from time to time, to that which is emerging. It is quite possible for others to be sufficiently alert to see some of these things which are emerging. We have this dual pattern of representation within the scope of this ministry. Of course we can take it to any level and see the same principles at work. We can see these principles at work, for instance, within the Unit as such, or we can see the principles at work from the standpoint of this Ministry as a whole as it relates to the response which is being represented to the Lord out of the world. This Ministry as a whole, in this pattern, would be the Positive Seven aspect of representation, and the Negative Twelve would relate to the twelve tribes of mankind as such. This design of the connecting link between Creator and creation must take form if there is to be a connecting link.
We have seen how things were worked out in the past in order to begin to develop something which would allow this connecting link to appear, and on every occasion thus far it has failed. The most recent example, of course, was nineteen centuries ago, at the time when our Master was on earth. He didn't fail of course, but that which He brought failed because those who were to give it form failed. It has been noted that when the disciples were gathered together after our Master's ascension they wanted to appoint another to take the place of Judas, and they found two men, which was the way it should have been—two men—because our Master was gone. Of course they did not have a clear awareness of the design. They wanted just Twelve disciples, but they forgot about the Thirteenth. The Thirteenth, we recognize, actually centered in the beloved disciple John at that time. However he was ignored, not acknowledged in that point, so it seemed to all concerned that there should just be one more disciple; so they cast lots and the lot fell on one and he was appointed so that they had twelve. But it didn't work, because it wasn't the design. There was only part of the design. If they had allowed the two to come in they would have had Twelve, and the Thirteenth, and they would have had the basic foundation for the development of this connecting link which makes possible the fulfilment of the purpose for which our Master came into the world. It certainly has not been fulfilled yet. It only comes on the basis of the design, and this is not a design that man can make. It isn't a matter of looking around and appointing twelve people and finding someone else for the thirteenth, and saying, “Now we've got the design.” It must emerge from inside. It must be something which comes down from God out of heaven, to take form through those who are willing to give it form.
There has been very little said concerning this design because of the tendencies of the human mind to get all distracted. In speaking of this now I am trusting you and others, that you will rejoice in a recognition of principle, see a little something of the application as it relates to our ministry, without attempting to fit yourself into it somehow. We can't fit ourselves into it. This is beyond the human ability. We can discover where we already fit, and that is a wonderful thing, but it is not based in human choice—“I want to fit there. I want to be near so-and-so in the design.” No, it has nothing to do with the human being as such. It is the Divine Design, and we have the opportunity of giving it form. And as it begins to take form, we find the detail emerging. It is all there but we can't see it now. Our Master said, “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” It needs to be that we can see, and we only see that which actually begins to take form. We are not trying to delve into some mysterious heavenly realm and find out all these secrets. We are not needed in some mysterious heavenly realm. We are needed right here on earth, that that which is in the heavenly realm may take form here on earth. And it does so as we fulfil our purpose, and individually speaking we are required to represent the people to God and God to the people, represent love to God and to the people, but because we do love God first we have something to offer to others. And as we are faithful in this, individually speaking, we begin to find that the larger form of the collective organism, living organism, begins to appear, and if it appears because of us then obviously we have a place in it and we discover what it is.
© emissaries of divine light
Body of the Intercessor
The Connecting Link
Martin Cecil May 13, 1964 am
We are aware that man, male and female, is supposed to be the connecting link between Creator and creation. As we bring this principle to a point of application with respect to ourselves we see that the immediate requirement is that a connecting link should be established between God and man. Long ago mankind stepped out of its true position; before it can come again into that position there must be a connection established between mankind and God. Looking back we may recognize that the Lord Himself came on earth specifically to refocalize this point of connection. At the time He came the children of men were adrift, without any adequate experienced connection with God. This is not to say that there were not in those days many sincere people who were seeking to worship God according to their highest vision. This is not to say that some of them did not find a relationship with God that brought many blessings; we have come to recognize, however, that God does not work on a haphazard basis. There is something very exact about the ways of the Lord. This exactness is evident in many different fields where human beings have the ability to analyze, examine and observe.
The connection, having been lost by mankind, needed to be restored. Our Master came into the world to initiate this means of restoring the connection, and it works according to specific laws and principles and according to a very definite design. The design which permits it to work is God-made, not man-made, and no matter how earnest and sincere human beings may be in their desire to serve God, they still cannot achieve what needs to be done except on the basis of the essential design which is divinely established.
Coming to this day and age, we have recognized something of these principles as they apply to our present field of ministry. Regardless of the sincerity and earnestness of human beings in many places, there is in fact only one way by which this connection with God can be established so that it might provide the means by which mankind could be restored, step by step, back into position so as to provide the complete connection between Creator and creation. The first step is to provide the connection between Creator and man. Until that is done man must remain out of place and there is no connection divinely established between Creator and creation here in the world. So we are very particularly concerned with this connecting point by which Creator and creation, in the sense of man, are connected together again.
Going back before our Master's time we have seen how a previous opportunity in this regard was worked out, coming to focus through the children of Israel. We have noted that this was a physical approach, which did not immediately provide the essential connection, because the essential connection between Creator and creation is at the level of the spiritual expression plane of being, or the highest level in this outer world. If therefore the need is, in any given cycle, to start at the lowest level—the physical—obviously there has to be a movement from level to level until the point is reached where the door can be opened and the connection made. The door is not opened simply from the standpoint of the physical plane of being. Neither is it opened simply from the standpoint of the mental plane of being. It only opens as we move to the apex of the spiritual expression plane of being. Then the connection can be made.
When our Master was on earth of course the approach at that time was from the level of the mental plane, under His direction; but even so, it had to move up to the spiritual expression plane level before the door could be opened. At this present time we proceed from the standpoint of the spiritual expression plane of being. In these previous two approaches we may be able to see that it was in some respects easier, because there was a consideration from the standpoint, first of all, of the physical level, where man has most of his experience, and the movement was then gradually, step by step, from the physical through the mental to the spiritual expression. At this present time we necessarily have to make the spiritual expression plane approach without regard to the mental and the physical, in the sense of our approach. The mental and the physical begin to come into the picture to the extent that we have made the spiritual expression plane approach. To the extent that we permit the door to be opened, then something comes through the door into the mental and into the physical. It is not a matter of clambering up the mountain, so to speak; it is a matter of standing on top of the mountain and letting that which comes down from God out of heaven flow down the mountainside. Once the connection has been made the process is easy. The difficulty, if there is one, is to make the connection from the standpoint of the direct approach from the spiritual expression plane of being. It is far less laborious, incidentally, than the physical plane approach or the mental plane approach, because we do not have to pass through these levels to get to the peak. We can move directly to the peak, to the apex, in order to let the connection be made.
Now in the physical plane approach a physical people was established, taken out of the peoples of the world to compose a nation, and they were supposed to keep moving forward and upward until they could be in position to represent all mankind to God and to represent God to all mankind. Of course they never reached that point. Within the scope of the body of the children of Israel there were thirteen tribes. Usually reference is made to the twelve tribes, but there was a thirteenth—the Levites—who were the Priesthood, and the Priesthood permeated all the other twelve tribes. They had no specific possession in the promised land in the sense of an area but they were present in relationship to all twelve tribes, and the Levites, or the Priesthood, were supposed to represent the twelve tribes to God and God to the twelve tribes. It is apparent that they did not succeed too well in this responsibility. We could carry it still further and recognize that there was a High Priest who was supposed to represent the Levites to God and God to the Levites. It would seem that this didn't work too well either. In any case, while there was failure nevertheless we can observe the principles involved.
There must be that which represents man to God and that which represents God to man if there is to be the connection established between man and God. Human beings have been inclined to take the attitude that somehow they could make the connection directly, as individuals. Something can be achieved along those lines, and has been, but it is never adequate to restore man to the position of being the connecting link in the overall sense. Now this was the concern of the children of Israel, although they didn't adequately realize it. It was the concern of the disciples in our Master's time, although it is evident that they didn't adequately realize it. It is our concern at this time. The question is as to whether we adequately realize it. We are here to make that provision of connection, and the only way it can be done is from the standpoint of this matter of representation—representing mankind to God and God to mankind. Now perhaps we had better narrow the field down a little. Fundamentally, in the initial stages of the development, if it is the spiritual expression plane approach, we are concerned with the apex pattern of connection and that relates to what might be described as the Priesthood. We have referred to this as the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek.
There are those who have tried to follow out a pattern of this nature, at least using the name, but it is more than using a name. It requires an actual function, an actual experience. It requires that we actually be what is required, that we actually provide the necessary representation.Now the representation, while it ultimately includes all of mankind, may be presently seen as it relates to those whom we speak of as responding ones. Of course, if mankind is to be restored, it will be because of response, but we are concerned with those who are responding, and particularly with those who are reaching a level where they can begin to participate in conscious awareness. There are countless thousands of responding ones on earth who certainly have not reached a level where they could participate in a conscious awareness as yet, but there are others who are emerging, and we may recognize that there is more to it than what appears on the surface. In other words it is not just a matter of what we would call response in a general sense. Let us see if we can begin to bring something to point here. Supposing there are a hundred people responding at the same level, approximately, to God. Each of those hundred people is the form of manifestation of a God Being. Each of those God Beings has a particular place and part to play in the Divine Design. Now the individual who is to participate, from the standpoint of the God Being involved, in the initial development of the emerging design will be the responding one who has the opportunity, at least, to experience a conscious awareness first. It is true that contact has been made by this ministry with many thousands of people who did not carry through. Some of these no doubt could have played a very valuable part in the development of our program, because of the God Beings involved. The fact that some particular God Being does have a specific place in the initial stages of the emerging design does not necessarily mean that the human being will let that Divine expression come through adequately so that there may be a filling of the part and place, but the opportunity is provided.
I emphasize this point simply because there needs to be a recognition that that which makes possible a connecting link between God and man, His crowning creation, is very specific and exact; it is not a haphazard thing. It is not a matter of extending something into the world which would somehow enlighten all responding ones, so that all of them would immediately become consciously aware of this program. On that basis there would tend to be a situation which would overwhelm that which was rightly emerging. The emergence must be on the basis of that which makes possible the filling out of the Divine Design, so that the initial formation of this connecting link, which is the Priesthood, or the Body of the Intercessor, may be adequately established. So, from the standpoint of those who have come to a point of conscious awareness, the representation to God is of the responding ones—those who are first of all emerging into conscious awareness, and also responding ones in general. I would make a distinction here also. There are those who have a conscious awareness of this ministry who do not have a conscious awareness of what this ministry is. The fact that some person is associated with this ministry—on the mailing list, we will say, or even in a closer association—does not necessarily mean that that person has a conscious awareness, actually, of what this ministry is. We might ask the question of you here: To what extent do you actually have a conscious awareness of what this ministry is? I have no doubt that all of you would say you think you do, but to what extent is it an awareness of the truth, or to what extent is it an awareness of your own ideas with respect to such truth as you have seen? There is a difference.
We are here, then, to the extent that we do have this awareness of the truth in fact, to provide this dual pattern of representation: representing what we might call the twelve tribes to God, and God to the twelve tribes—the twelve tribes of the responding ones of the earth. This establishes the nature of the proper attitude which we should hold toward the Lord and toward the twelve tribes. In our attitude toward the Lord we are, rightly, representing the twelve tribes of responding ones; we are representing, in other words, response; we are representing that which is right in attitude, wherever it may be present in human beings, toward the Lord. Now this relates to attitude within the design itself, of which we begin to have a conscious awareness. We can recognize something in this regard with respect to your attitude toward me, and incidentally my attitude toward you. It is my responsibility to represent the Lord to you, and to represent you to the Lord. It is your responsibility to represent responding ones to me, and me to responding ones.
Now in speaking of you and me I have reference to that which is of the Divine Pattern, not simply to the human beings concerned. There are those who have looked at me as a human being—pretty well all they have seen—and perhaps I reminded them of someone they had known back along the way somewhere whom they had either liked or disliked, and their attitude toward me was accordingly. We have noted this tendency on the part of human beings to react on the basis of feeling memory patterns with respect to each other. It has nothing at all to do with the facts, or the truth of the moment, but is something dredged up out of the past. And so there are those who simply consider the outer form, the manifest form, and fail to recognize that it is not that, but that which finds release in expression through the outer form, that is the factor of importance, and it is this which provides the possibility of representation of the Lord to responding ones. It is this in me which makes it possible for me to represent the Lord to you, and your attitude toward me should be based in the fact that you recognize yourselves as representing responding ones, so you represent to me only that which is of the response pattern. You do not represent to me those things which certainly are present in the body of mankind which are of the adversary pattern, or the rebellious pattern, or the rejection pattern. There must be a clear pattern of right representation, and it is this clear pattern of right representation between us that keeps the vibration clear and that makes it possible for you in turn to represent the Lord to each other, and to those who are the responding ones beyond you; and you remember, therefore, in your dealings with each other and in your dealings with other human beings, that you are representing the Lord.
No doubt you have had a recognition of these principles, but this evening I am seeking to bring it down to a point where you begin to accept the principles in relationship to yourselves to a greater degree than heretofore. In other words, that you may recognize that you are in actual fact now, in this present moment, representatives of the Lord to the responding ones, and representatives of the responding ones to the Lord. This is the conscious awareness which you must have if you are to know the truth with respect to this ministry. If you do not have this conscious awareness, only an intellectual recognition of it, you do not know the truth of this ministry. It must be something which you actually experience in your daily function, so that you have an awareness of your own position in this regard, your own place.
Now there are those who have been concerned about place. Well here perhaps you can see something with respect to place that carries a true vibration. It is the conscious awareness of the individual, in his particular position in the pattern of life, of his or her representation of the Lord to the responding ones and of the responding ones to the Lord that causes a person to be in place. In your attitude toward one another, and toward all those with whom you come in contact in the direct sense day by day, it is your responsibility to represent the Lord. Your attitude must be such that it is a conscious representation of the Lord in your dealings with others. To what extent would you at this present time consider this to be true of yourself? It is to some degree. Perhaps there are moments when it is emphasized in your consciousness and other moments when you forget all about it and you behave like a fallen human being.
There is a service to be rendered by the Priesthood, and this is it. It is only as we begin to have a conscious awareness of it in our function that we begin to understand the nature of the service which is to be rendered. If we forget, lose all consciousness of representing responding ones to the Lord, and the Lord to responding ones, we are at least in a coma, aren't we, from the Divine standpoint—in the tomb, in a coma! Of course this is true of the body of mankind as a whole. They have forgotten all this. This is being called to your remembrance by the spirit of truth, and to the degree that you do remember and consequently function accordingly, you are to that extent experiencing the resurrection from the tomb and you are beginning to move into place. It must be a conscious thing. We must emerge out of the coma, and it must become a constant thing so that at no moment could we be caught sleeping, caught in the state of unconsciousness with respect to this truth as it relates to ourselves, as it relates to actual living, as it relates to what we do and say, what we think and feel. And here is the key point with respect to the reestablishment of the connecting link between Creator and creation at this present time.
Obviously, in order to develop a state of wakefulness there is the necessity of some deliberate action. Did you ever wake up in the morning and you were between sleeping and waking? Perhaps it was rather a pleasant condition, and you were quite content to lie there in that condition, and if you lay there very long you lost consciousness again, didn't you? You went back to sleep. If you were to wake up you had to take some deliberate steps. So it is, also, in emergence from this coma. Sometimes human beings get themselves into states of coma, in the medical sense, and happily stay there, because the individual wants to stay there. It takes some deliberate action in such case for a person to come out of that coma. Now I am not saying there are not occasions when a coma is necessary from the standpoint of physical restoration. The individual may be rightly unconscious for a period of time in order to permit some restoration to take place. I am not speaking of that particularly. I am speaking of those comas into which human beings go sometimes when they are seeking to escape—escape from life. It is very convenient to be able to lie unconscious in a bed and have no responsibility. In such case it takes some deliberate action on the part of the individual to come out of that coma, and it takes deliberate action on our part to come out of this spiritual coma in which fallen man has been existing for so long.
We have to do something, and there is a need then for this awareness of what it is that needs to be done: deliberately to accept the responsibility now, in this moment and in each succeeding moment, for representing responding ones to God and representing God to the responding ones. Of course in fact we represent God to all people; we just simply represent God; but the responding ones are the only ones who will be influenced by our representation. It takes some thought, it takes a deliberate assumption of the right attitude, because no doubt there are many things in the world of man which are clamoring to be represented in us, many things that are wrong, many things that are certainly not of the response pattern. Our responsibility is to represent the response pattern to God, represent only that which is true of that pattern to the Lord, and we have to watch because no doubt there are those things seeking to be represented by us; the adversary is always on hand to try to gain a representative. The mass consciousness of humanity is present. The question is: What are we going to represent out of it? There are elements of response in the mass consciousness of humanity, and it is these that we select to represent, and we ignore the others because we recognize there is no need to bring those before the Lord. There is nothing gained by it. The Lord works through response. We represent response, then, to the Lord; and in our dealings one with another and in our dealings with people and circumstances in general, including everything, we represent the Lord.
We represent the Divine character in what we do, and what we say, and how we act. This is true whether we are alone or whether we are in company with others. We have a constant, conscious awareness of who we are: the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek, representing man to God and God to man. Let us allow this truth to be emphasized in us tonight, that we may deliberately let it be so in us.
© emissaries of divine light
Which Of You Convinceth Me Of Sin?
"This Is The Way It Works"
Martin Cecil August 26, 1984
It has often been said, “It all works the way it works; it doesn’t work any other way.” Other ways have been imposed upon the way it works by the strenuous efforts of human beings, and it has been discovered, although not thoroughly admitted yet, that it hasn’t worked. From the standpoint of our own awareness, to the extent of our radiant vision, we know something of the way it works. The way it works requires a spiritual body. To the extent that we have been willing to agree, a spiritual body has been forming, composed of the substance which we ourselves have provided through our own living. There is an evidence of failure on the part of many, who have the opportunity of knowing the way it really works, to participate in the way it works.
I’m sure all of you have had some experience of reading some services that were given even years ago that you had read before, and you suddenly discover that you hadn't really heard what was being offered through that particular service; it seems fresh to you. I have frequently pointed out that the mailings themselves are my personal letters to all concerned. There is some purpose to being a part of the process that works through the mailings. Unless there is true vision there cannot be true understanding.
There are two main factors that make observation very unreliable. One of them is that one cannot observe anything except through one’s own state of consciousness, and if the human ego persists at all one's state of consciousness will be distorted. We have been advised that it is unwise to judge. Well it is unwise anyway, but one can postulate a reason as to why it is unwise: because your observation will be distorted, so you will be judging something that you yourself have distorted. That is one aspect of it; you can’t see anything, observe anything, in this way except through your own, conditioned state of consciousness. Then, having done that, the impact of your distorted observation comes upon you and there is a mental and emotional reaction of some kind relative to this distorted observation; so that adds another layer of distortion on the whole thing.
This proclaims the importance of radiant vision, the vision which allows a person to live rather than perish. Radiant vision is aware of the forming of the spiritual body. This formation has appeared in the experience of those concerned to the extent that there has been alignment with the way it works. If there is radiant vision there is understanding of why the mailings themselves have significance and importance, for instance. True doing is never a duty or obligation. It is the natural and unavoidable expression of oneself in concert with the whole. Consider your correspondence with me in this light. Correspondence is the conveyance of spiritual substance into the core. The conveyance of that substance enables this spiritual body to live; without it it will very quickly perish, and perishing comes by reason of no vision. So if there are those who feel that it is sufficient for them to dispense with the mailings, there is evidence of no vision, and such people are not only not contributing their substance but they are unwittingly a parasitic drain upon this forming spiritual body. I’m saying these things because it is indeed a vital matter. I’m sure we’re all very much concerned to allow the increase of life rather than the decrease of life; therefore we will function in a way that allows this to happen.
Radiant vision allows what may be observed to be seen as it truly is, and there will consequently be no inclination whatsoever to judge it. After all, it is already in the past; what’s the point of judging it? It’s a waste of life-force. We see clearly how things work. It may be that I have seen fairly clearly how things work for a long time. I suppose it could be said that, from the human standpoint, it is rather frustrating to be able to see the way things work and then to observe how so many people refuse to let it work that way. Now it seems that there are more who are coming into alignment and exhibiting a willingness to let it work the way it works, so that the creative process may be differentiated effectively through a growing spiritual body. The growing spiritual body through which this differentiation is occurring builds its own form. It builds its own form in the sense of physical flesh; the flesh body puts in an appearance, increasingly coordinated, composed of individual human bodies. So there is that much of a body, a spiritual body and a material body, but of course the purpose is not merely to produce a material body of flesh.
This whole process relates to the assumption of proper responsibility vested in man. All these things are not happening merely for the benefit of man. We are aware that man has a purpose, a reason for being, so there is form to appear beyond man. There is form which has appeared beyond human beings the way they now are, which we are inclined to call the world: the state of affairs on earth, which includes everything that is happening on the earth and some things that are happening beyond the face of the earth too. Our commission, our responsibility, is rather large, is it not?—to create a world.
I have asked the question as to how big we are, in our own sense of awareness and our own sense of destiny, because we certainly cannot create anything bigger than we are in the acceptance of ourselves. If there is an insistence upon being a little person who can’t do very much, well not very much will be done, obviously. But if one begins to have vision, radiant vision, you become aware of the immensity of the creative power by which a world is brought forth. Because all this is so unknown in human experience, completely unknown, it has seemed to many as though it was fantastic. But what is really fantastic is the human ego experience, polarized in past and future. That is the fantastic thing. Now we are emerging into the experience of reality. We find this fantastic state to be with us at the same time. We can’t leap out of the fantastic state into the real state; we’re fastened, still, quite extensively to the fantastic state. If we tried to leap we’d probably tear ourselves apart. So, rightly, because it’s the practical thing, it is a gradual process, and we have known it to be a gradual process, but there is no reason why we shouldn’t let it pick up speed—there’s no reason to drag our feet unnecessarily.
We have these fantastic connections with people, and we do not wish to shut them off so as to leave people without any connection to the reality. We experience within ourselves many of the factors that are present in human nature. It has always been assumed that this wasn’t true of the one called Jesus, but it was; He would have been useless if it hadn’t been. It is so for all of us. And sometimes people are rather surprised by the fact that these elements of human nature may still be hanging around. After all, we have been seeking to let our lives be transformed by the truth, and yet we’re still aware that there are elements of human nature in ourselves of which we may at times be quite ashamed.
We might recall a statement made by the Master long ago: “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” Which of you can make me ashamed, which of you can make me fearful? He wasn’t saying that there was no connection with these things in Himself but that He simply was not ruled by His awareness of these things from within Himself. We have these connections. That’s part of the commission, that we may have these connections and be aware of shame, be aware of fear, be aware of these elements of human nature, without being brought into subjection to them. It’s interesting: in the human nature state most people seem to imagine that they are unique, that they have things in themselves that are not shared, really, by anybody else. But when you begin to have vision you begin to become aware of the boring sameness of human nature anywhere in anyone! And while some aspects of human nature may be emphasized more in one person than in another, there is emphasis in everyone somewhere. And there is human nature present with everyone. We know these things.
But we are becoming aware, because of radiant vision, that there is no necessity to in any way be subject to such experiences as may still remain in us. We thank God for those experiences, because they connect us with other boring human beings too. And so, in allowing our own experience to be uncontrolled, uninfluenced, by these human nature elements that remain, we are opening the door for the same thing to happen to everybody else. If all are uninfluenced and uncontrolled by these factors of human nature, the factors of human nature would cease to exist. But you can’t expect to be picked out as a special person in whom these factors of human nature are going to be dissolved all on your own! Wouldn’t that be nice? “Now I’m free!”—and useless. While any are bound none are free. So this is to be expected; there is nothing strange about it; but we have the authority, we have the electromagnetic force [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2014/08/transcendentsignificance-martin-exeter.html] to be unmoved by these puny little human nature elements. People sometimes look at some emissaries and think of them as cold fish who are never moved by the usual gamut of human emotion. Well they may not be moved by that but they certainly know what it is. That’s true of each of us. We all know the particular gamut of human emotion that is our own, and it is very little different from what is true of somebody else.
But we have vision. We stand in the present moment. We may observe these elements of human nature. Because we observe them they are already in the past. They no longer influence. “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” That’s a rhetorical question, but each one may ask it of everybody else: Can you make me feel ashamed or guilty because there are elements of human nature still present within the range of my experience? Of course there are, but why be ashamed or guilty about it when it is recognized that here is the salvation of other people, in whom these same elements of human nature are present? They don’t know what to do about it. They’re pushed around by their emotions, by their intellectual beliefs and all this; they don’t know how to come clear. But we do, we know. And we cannot be brought into subjection by the accuser.
The accuser is sometimes oneself, accusing oneself and saying in effect, “Well I shouldn’t feel these things.” That’s not true at all; you should feel them, you should be aware of them. That’s what makes you valuable. That’s what maintains a connection with other people, so that because you know how to handle a situation without becoming subject to the accuser, others may come clear also. They couldn’t except for those who let this happen in themselves. Then that electromagnetic force is extended to others, and others may find themselves hooked to it and begin to come clear too. They hear the word, “Come near unto me.” We say, in effect, “I know how to deal with this; come near and you will know how to deal with it too.” We invite people to associate with us, not because we are fulfilling some concept of perfection but because we are what we are, and we are in the present moment. I am. I have these elements in my form of manifestation. I don’t object, because I know if they were removed I might as well be removed. So we share this privilege of participating in the creative process with others, because we ourselves have vision, vision which makes our observations at least somewhat more accurate than they have been in times past.
I don’t suppose there is anyone sitting here who hasn’t at times felt weak and futile and inadequate and all these things, and we may have judged ourselves and said, “Well I shouldn’t be feeling that way." Oh yes, you should! But that need not be the element which determines how you act, how you behave. Your behavior is in line with your vision—it’s radiant. There is sufficient radiation so that all these other things can’t penetrate that radiation; and no one can convince you of sin then, even though there may be these things present within the range of your experience. Let us rejoice that we are capable of handling what comes to us effectively in the radiant power of spirit.
© emissaries of divine light
