When Jesus gave us a promised helper, the Spirit of Truth, he made it possible for us to enjoy his presence continuously. This gift, from the Way, the Truth, and the Life is fully capable of leading us; along the Way, into all Truth, so that we may enjoy the most abundant Life possible; just as the Master said. Those who put Jesus on the cross to die thought that his influential presence would somehow be diminished when, in fact, his ministry has been augmented by the spirit complement that indwells and also envelopes us.

There are those who would usurp the authority of the Spirit. They are the great pretenders, that habitually elevate their personal evaluations, to the level of absolutes. They may think they’re justified while attacking the underpinnings of another person’s faith. They might feel as though they are qualified to perform the equivalent of psychological or theological surgery on the souls of others. And they might presume to impose their individually circumscribed and personalized science, philosophy and religion on our brothers and sisters.

Jesus did not call us to remove anything from the hearts and minds of our siblings. He instead demonstrated how we may put ennobling truths into the minds and hearts of humankind. These truths are usually found, in a highly concentrated form, within the parables Jesus shared with his disciples and the Apostles. Today, I offer for your consideration, a contemporary parable that focuses on the quality of such concentration.

If you have ever known someone that suffers from depression, or if you have experienced it personally, you probably know something of what is sometimes called the binocular trick. This analogy is used to describe habit where the individual magnifies or exaggerates problems, while they demagnify, disqualify, or minimize their blessings. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, perceived blessings and curses may be as well.

A lens is a concentrator. In the case of telescopes it also serves as a light gathering device. The first person to apply for a patent for a telescope was Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. In 1608, he laid claim to a device that could magnify objects three times. His telescope had a concave eyepiece aligned with a convex objective lens. One story goes that he got the idea for his design after observing two children in his shop holding up two lenses that made a distant weather vane appear close. Others claimed at the time that he stole the design from another eyeglass maker, Zacharias Jansen.

Jansen and Lippershey lived in the same town and both worked on making optical instruments. Scholars generally argue, however, that there is no real evidence that Lippershey did not develop his telescope independently. Lippershey, therefore, gets the credit for the telescope, because of the patent application, while Jansen is credited with inventing the compound microscope. Both appear to have contributed to the development of both instruments.

Adding to the confusion, yet another Dutchman, Jacob Metius, applied for a patent for a telescope a few weeks after Lippershey. The government of the Netherlands turned down both applications because of the counterclaims. Also, officials said the device was easy to reproduce, making it difficult to patent. In the end, Metius got a small reward, but the government paid Lippershey a handsome fee to make copies of his telescope.

In 1609, Galileo Galilei heard about the “Dutch perspective glasses” and within days had designed a scope of his own — without ever seeing one. He made some improvements — his creation could magnify objects 20 times — and presented his device to the Venetian Senate. The Senate, in turn, set him up for life as a lecturer at the University of Padua and doubled his salary, according to Stillman Drake in his book “Galileo at Work. Legend has it that Galileo was the first to point a telescope skyward. He was able to make out mountains and craters on the moon, as well as a ribbon of diffuse light arching across the sky — the Milky Way. He also discovered the rings of Saturn, sunspots and four of Jupiter’s moons.

A parable is, in essence, the means to convey truth to people with a wide variety of capacities to comprehend. In substance a parable is also known as a parabolic analogy. It is called that because it is analogous to the way a lens, an acoustically tuned amphitheater, or a satellite dish makes use of curvature and forms a directing arc to concentrate the light, the sound, or the radio waves on some target.

There are three kinds of light: physical light, intellectual insight, and spirit luminosity. Jesus, the master story teller, made use of the narrative’s directing arc to focus us on the truth of the matter. When we read these stories we make use of physical light to enhance our intellectual insight. When we are responsive to the Spirit of Truth’s divine leading, our spirit luminosity brings the components of truth: the facts, meanings, and values into precise focus.

Obie-Wan Kenobi once described the Light Sabre as an elegant weapon. We might add: Especially when it is energized by just the right combination of physical light, intellectual insight, and Spirit luminosity. In the Gospel According to Matthew, the author wrote: If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! I’ve come to believe the triune energy complement of the high precision metaphorical Light Sabre is the best way to pierce the darkness within the minds and hearts of those in perpetual slumber. 

Most of us thrive in light. We lay on the beach absorbing it. Those of us with a true love of learning, search continuously for more forms of enlightenment. And then there are some of us who habitually avoid the light. I was one of those. In 1969 I was scanning the FM radio dial and heard a sound that resonated with me. It was like electric bagpipes but somehow more pleasing. The band was singing “Darkness, darkness, be my blanket – Cover me with the endless night – Take away, take away the pain of knowing – Fill the emptiness of right now.” Within weeks I had an after school job at that radio station.

I am convinced that every step along the way in this little journey was guided by the choreography of the Spirit. I went from scanning the FM dial, through the appealing music, to a job at that very radio station. After finishing my all night show one morning, my boss walked into the studio and told me “The Youngbloods are coming into town tonight and we’re going to broadcast them live. It’s going to be Washington DC’s first live quad-cast. And oh, by the way, because we don’t have a quadraphonic audio board, you will have to build it.”

Now if you think I was going to build it,and then let somebody else run it, think again. Especially when no one at the station had a greater affinity for the sound of that particular band than me. Twenty-four hours without sleep, no problem. A steady diet of meatball subs and caffeine, no problem. Being eighteen years old, and doing the mix for my favorite band, definitely no problem. I was just inches from one side of the glass facing the guys that were inches from the other side of the glass facing me. If I wanted to hear more of Banana’s bass or Earthquake’s harmonica, I just twisted the knob to make the music fit my ear. I really loved that job.

The next day, The Youngbloods played an outdoor concert on P-Street Beach in Washington, DC. Jesse was writing songs that meet people where they live, to take them someplace far, far higher. I will never forget how after the he loaded the truck with all the band’s equipment by himself, without complaining. He did this while the rest of the band and I played Frisbee alongside Rock Creek.

As time passed, I began to really appreciate another song by Jessie Colin Young and The Youngbloods. It went like this: If you hear the song I sing – You will understand (listen!) – You hold the key to love and fear – All in your trembling hand – Just one key unlocks them both – It’s there at your command – Come on people now – Smile on your brother – Everybody get together – Try to love one another – Right now.

I can’t imagine a better, more individualized way to fill the God-shaped void that was once inside of me. I was no longer singing about the “emptiness of right now,” as if I had some special relationship to it other than one of reminiscence. I don’t want to miss out on anything just because I am not adequately responsive to Divine Leading. Sure, I know how to develop and execute my own plans. But, I’ve learned, from experience, that God’s plans are always better.

I once had a long conversation with an old friend named Troy while I was on a long drive. I have lots of projects that are just inching forward. And, it really bugs me if anything is running behind my self-imposed schedule. My friend is a systems analyst that has guided some of the largest computer initiatives on the planet. Accordingly, he is experienced in managing projects that have a great number of moving parts. During that long drive he told me two things that I will never forget.

He said that “God doesn’t just want to be your upstairs advisor, he wants to be your partner.” At that I thought, “Well, senior partner obviously.” Then, Troy said something else that I really didn’t understand at first. He said “One-hundred percent of ten percent is more than ten percent of one-hundred percent.” I thought “No it’s not!” But in reality it is.

That completed ten percent is of tremendous value. There is a qualitative difference. It is more serviceable in the way that you get to make use of it.

What would happen if George Costanza was the relevance guy at VeryBigSearchEngine.com. Why then a search for major celebrations during December would likely place Festivus at the very top of the results page and Christmas might not place at all. Now this could be simply because the calendar editor placed the birth of Jesus in August and ignored the tradition of celebrating it in December.

Suppose someone posted an article on the Life of Jesus. The relevance rankings would determine your ability to find it using a search service. These rankings are conditioned by the search algorithms, some group’s doctrine concerning reliable sources and of course the quality of the subject article. The essay may not even be indexed depending on the editor’s attitude towards religion or the editorial policies of the search service provider. 

A large thesaurus could contain tens of thousands of synonyms and hundreds of thousands of cross references. And, while one would think the content of an article would itself be the primary relevance factor; naming, tagging and formatting also affect placement in search results to varying degrees. It very much depends on the person authoring, packaging, and submitting the article. 

Jesus touched on this with the question: “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

In the days before its Declaration of Independence in what is now the United States, Edmond Burke wrote a Report to King George. He described the colonist’s ability to recognize an ill principle in this way. “Here they anticipate the evil and judge the pressure of the evil by the badness of the principle. They honor misgovernment from a distance and snuff out the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze.” 

Clearly the “tainted breeze” in our day, and throughout our world, is that of the special interest that would eclipse or discount the interests of average citizens. It was the unmitigated selfishness of those living high while demanding increased revenue that brought the global economy to the edge of oblivion in 1929 and 2008. Such individuals should not be seen as somehow more respectable than the person robbing a convenience store; also in the interest of “increased revenue.” In the first case, the revenue supported the pampered executive’s featherbedding, and in the latter case, it was likely used for the most basic elements of survival.

Throughout history, and during our present time, information is power. One of Martin Luther’s greatest challenges was a priesthood insistent on playing the Judeo-Christian scriptures close to the vest. Slaves, in the early United States even found it necessary to hide their bibles. Freedom of the press has always been limited to the guy that owned the press. And today, the question of net-neutrality will be pivotal to future societal evolution.

The Internet will either be free and unfettered, the self-interested will determine what information is conveniently presented to you in accordance with their priorities. Implicit to the consent of the governed is informed consent. Tampering with factual accounts has serious democracy implications. So does the ability to get a handle on information free of someone’s dollar skew. 

We must learn to see beyond individual or institutional attitudes, beyond vestings and bias factors. To the content spewing and trolling broadcaster, if it bleeds it leads. To the next-gen fisher of men, engaged in precisely directed, full duplex narrowcasting, we are inclined to fine tune our offerings. The consumer of information relevant to the Gospel has lots of choices. And consumers of all types are becoming increasingly annoyed by irrelevant stuff that clutters their screens; distractions that are thrown in their faces just when they are trying to focus on the subject at hand.

The avenues of spiritual, intellectual and practical reality merge into the narrow road. That road leads to a door that can only be unlocked with sincerity. And such sincerity is the product of faith that is tempered through experience. It is the Master Key to the Kingdom. 

Where wisdom is clearly lacking; where humility lessons are everywhere, there is new opportunity for those willing to bring a historical perspective and learn from history. It is important to keep the kind of perspective that will support services rendered on behalf of those Jesus called “the least of my brethren.” We are often surprised to discover that so much of what we know today was known by our ancestors. Their grasp of rudimentary chemistry and physics, the taming of fire and the industrial technique of early man suggest a science of sorts. It would appear that a substantial investment was made in pooling the experience of more than one generation. We can draw from an even greater experience, for Our Father in Heaven is the First Source of all Reality.

As a teenager, my relationship with my father was always contentious. My questions about things that seemed important were often dismissed in ways that left me without soul satisfying answers. Although he was one of the most generous people I’ve ever known, I had developed no real appreciation for that until I was born-again into a larger, truly universal family.

My rebirth occurred right around Christmas of 1972. It was a long labor. Before that, my highest conception of any Supreme Deity, if one existed at all, was that it was the sum total of our collective human experience. As I began to consider the possibility of a Supreme Being, one that might even have personality, my focus shifted from the ancient Hindu concept of the It Is to the things Jesus revealed about the I AM.

In those days my personal bible was the record library of the FM radio station where I hosted an all night show for a year or so. It was a twenty-three hundred watt flower pot, inside the Washington Beltway, that featured album rock. Because of the free form way, in which the station operated, I could simply spin what interested me. It was a time of spiritual growth as my interests and my selections were gradually moving away from themes of darkness and death to those of light and life.

Jim Morrison’s shouts of “Cancel my subscription to the resurrection” no longer appealed to me. While I continued to love the music of the Doors, I was developing a real affinity for the Moody Blues. The song Have You Heard reached me. I was especially touched by the lyrics: Life’s ours for the making, Eternity’s waiting, Waiting for you and me.

My first flight instructor was George. He was into Scientology in a big way and, although I had read some of the Hubbard stuff, I found a statement contained within one of his books rather off-putting. He wrote: “Don’t mix this with modern psycho-analytic theory.” I remember thinking “How self-serving.”

George however, was an impressive individual. One television commercial that aired in Washington featured George flying a little red biplane wearing a leather aviator’s cap and a white silk scarf that was trailing him. He spun the plane into a dive and, in the voiceover, George said “My life was in a spin; but then I found the modern science of Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.” At that point George had put the plane back into straight and level flight. It was a great commercial. Although I had already read Dianetics and found some of it useful, the commercial didn’t persuade me to buy into Hubbard’s package deal. But it really was a great commercial!

Years before, during my first flying lesson, and with his elbow propped up on the wing of a Cessna 152, George had said: “Don’t try to memorize what I say to you. Just make sure you understand it. At that point memory will be automatic.” I thought “What a great teaching technique,” and I immediately recognized the culture from which George drew his inspiration.

At some point, during one of the many flights that followed, George said something else that stuck with me. He said “after you get your pilot’s license, be sure to get a seaplane rating.” When I asked why, George said “Because it’s the easiest to get and it’s definitely the most fun.” In the days, months, and years that followed that conversation, I was drawn to every picture in every magazine that featured a seaplane. Some would have a person sitting on the wing while fishing. Others would have kids swimming around the plane. I thought: “I get it now: Island hopping for one vacation and lake hopping for the next.”

Then, I had the dream. It was an impressive dream. It was kind of like a short clip that seemed to be spliced onto the end of every dream I had for a period of years. I had landed a seaplane on some lake that was too small to support a takeoff run. And it always ended with me going around in circles hoping for that rare gust of wind that would finally get me airborne. Now if that ain’t a metaphor for something, I don’t know what is.

Here’s what I do know. There are times when we look at a problem as if we’re wearing blinders. We may think the only thing that’s going to get us out of a bad situation is a gust of wind or a winning lottery ticket. Waiting and hoping for luck to come our way may give rise to a teachable moment. Then, we must be responsive to Divine leading.

The Phil Keaggy song Disappointment described God’s appointment this way: “Well, He knows each broken purpose leads to fuller deeper trust. And the end of all His dealings proves our God is wise and just.” It is that wisdom, that flows from the heart of our loving Heavenly Father, that is our best evidence of the Supreme Being.

With each rising tide there is a process of increase known as accretion and, as the tide recedes, there occurs a necessary cleansing and reduction along with some sorting and sifting. Our life experience is built up and refined through a similar ebb and flow and, without this process, wisdom could not evolve. 

Acquiring and proving factual matter is essential to the conservation of knowledge. At times facts reveal patterns reminding us of essential truths that may lead us God-ward. But how does this happen? At what stage and under what circumstances do we attribute meanings and assign value to a collection of facts. And by what process do we aggregate and assimilate individual facts? 

We often take note of effects without necessarily understanding the causes much like the way atheists can develop an affinity for the things of God while failing to develop an appreciation for the Source and Center of all. Even so, the one and only uncaused cause leaves his signature on everything. It may be barely discernible in our shadowy light, but it is there none the less. 

The Deity centric cosmos reveals the fact of the fatherhood of our eternal God and a correlated truth, the brotherhood and sisterhood of human kind. It is the vibrantly alive, rock solid principle of reality upon which Jesus based his gospel concerning the gift of salvation through faith and the inevitable consequence of rebirth, to awaken as part of the Divine family. What is the universe of universes if not nurturing infrastructure? There is precise science, a coherent reason, a predictable path to and a gravity influence emanating from the center of all things. Nothing escapes his grasp. 

The self-preservative endowments of primitive animal life, including the instinctive power of quick perception and reflexive action, suggest a form of intuition that is beyond the scope of inheritable learned behaviors, far superior to those capabilities inherent to small brains and the envy of those engaged in leveraging robotics technology. How many years of technological evolution had passed before our display technologies began to approach, in capabilities, that compact dazzling light show taken for granted by the cuttlefish? 

The automatic association and referencing of ideas combined with the coordination of acquired knowledge suggest a capacity for understanding. Reason, seasoned judgment and decision making all depend upon understanding; a comprehension of meanings for which there is no ready neurological explanation. The conscientious self-direction that accompanies character development and moral stamina manifests spiritually as courage; a quality for which there is no adequate physiological explanation. 

The scientific quest, the curiosity that leads to adventure and discovery yields knowledge that guides us along useful and progressive paths of physical, intellectual and spiritual growth. The collaborative urge, the desire to socialize and the ability to harmonize all point to a Spirit of Counsel prompting the exchange of ideas and opinions as we learn to cooperate for mutual benefit. Such an endowment transcends natural law and provides further evidence of mind ministry. 

The religious impulse serves to differentiate the soul deprived creature from those with the capacity to appreciate origins. The worshipful expressions of the appreciative individual create deep channels through which wisdom may flow. This wisdom yields an even greater appreciation. And so we come full circle to the rolling tides. A process that favors the granularity, particularity and the specificity from which meaningful constructs and useful value propositions are built. 

Once we have learned to test all things and adhere to that which is true, beautiful and good, we can become reality centered within the greatest possible reality. As for all the things we take at face value, we should remember that the truth never suffers from close examination. So there is no disloyalty implicit to revisiting all prior assumptions. It doesn’t serve God’s purpose to artificially prop up sophistries based upon faulty analysis. Our mandate is to promote Truth; to prayerfully consider the things that are set before us and to allow ourselves to be led into all Truth by the Spirit of Truth. 

The question of whether to facilitate or teach is much easier when we consider the context: when we realize that perfection is not prerequisite to making meaningful contributions that help advance individuals and groups. The contextual relationships are only revealed through a balanced understanding of the things, meanings and values that encompass the essential curriculum. 

You can be instrumental in creating that rising tide that lifts all boats. You can help with the cleansing, the sorting, the sifting. You can lift others to stand on the shoulders of greatness. And your analysis can be the one that is tested through experience and tempered by wisdom. If Jesus is your teacher, the world becomes nurturing infrastructure. Where God is your thesis advisor, the universe becomes a grand conspiracy to insure your success. When the faith- fellows of the kingdom of heaven befriend you, an exciting career begins to unfold before you. And, whether you decide to embrace this, your first, best destiny, is left entirely up to you. 

When all about you is in turmoil, when adversities somehow seem insurmountable and when there is no way to avoid meeting them head on, the centering prayer is the key to staying on an even keel. Jesus was more than a carpenter. He was a boatbuilder. Each vessel he built had to withstand not only the onslaughts of time, but rogue waves that might come from any direction. On our isolated, rebellion torn world the assaults on human dignity can also be severe and unpredictable.

Selfishness, cruelty, hate, malice, and jealousy can be like tsunamis that slam the mortal soul. And then there are the smaller waves that continuously beat about all that is near to us and dear to us. Even so, each and every human being that has dedicated the keeping of his soul to the indwelling spirit of Our Heavenly Father is rewarded with a Divine form of ballast that serves to stabilize us as we venture out onto the high seas where unexplored truth has the potential to reveal the keys to our eternal destiny. 

As we set about to search, seemingly distant shores for meaningful spiritual realities, we discover our temporal securities are vulnerable and we steadily develop a preference for spiritual sureties that are unassailable. As we encounter and enter the citadel of the spirit, it can serve as the inner bastion that shields us from any attempted incursion into our soul. It can also be the inexhaustible source of our moxie, our pluck, our spunk, and our mettle.

The soul satisfying landscape that surrounds Our Father’s central abode can also be our eternal dwelling place. Our perseverance can either be deeply rooted in this living spiritual gift from God or, our entire root structure can be shallow and weak. Much depends upon how we perceive Creation. And, even in this context, we are more than creatures to a Benevolent Creator. We are members of a spiritual siblinghood. We are the children of a Divine Parent with all that implies.

As we come to realize that God indwells and envelopes us, we gradually grow past the earthly sciences, philosophies, and religions of any particular age. We begin to see facts as transient, meanings as time conditioned and, as if by contrast, values as potentially eternal. When those values are derived from our loyalties, as conditioned by our seasoned perception of Divine Qualities, we receive assurances that we are on the right course to the center of all that is real.

We must be sympathetic to the doubters because those who fail to recognize the existence of God are often appreciative of his handiwork without recognizing the author. They may be justifying rejection and claiming to be “reality centered” when, in fact, the embrace of the Divine is the most real experience that may be encountered in all of human experience. And then, of course, there are all the problems associated with the quality of our witness. Are we really walking the walk as we talk the talk?

God is not coercive. We need to give him permission to order our thoughts as well as our steps. To actually be reality centered, we must be intellectually balanced. Our science, philosophy, and religion must be truly complementary rather than competing. As long as our facts, meanings, and values are coherent, this is arrived at naturally and augmented spiritually.

The term Theos is defined as God. Those steeped in theosophical traditions have long held that it refers to our ultimate environment; our total reality. The English word enthusiasm is derived from the Greek term en-theos. It has been defined to mean both “in God” as well as “God within.” In the first case, Theosophy appears to support the statement of Paul the Apostle, for he said: “In Him we live and move, and have our being.” In the second case, Jesus advances the concept of God within as he proclaimed “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

The Jesusonian Gospel as it reveals God within is entirely compatible with ancient as well as modern wisdom traditions that support the concept of God as all pervasive. And, while our conceptual frameworks will undoubtedly continue to evolve, we realize it is precisely because our relationship with the omnipresent and benevolent Deity steadily grows. The wonder lure is not only hard to resist, once we realize that the high mission of art is to serve as prelude to a far more appealing reality, we cease to resist as we let these higher, more refined arts, have their way with us.

Our early fascination with and affinity for the scattershot rage machine will fade. The discordant screech will lose its appeal. And, as the singer foretold, “The things of earth will grow strangely dim, by the light of God’s glory and grace.” The possibilities are endless. And, even though our highest and best destiny is known. Although we are each ideally suited for a custom made future, it will not be imposed upon us. We must deliberately and enthusiastically reach for it.

The spiritual endowments that both indwell and envelop us are not at odds with one another. They are steadfastly working on our behalf in a complementary fashion, in unison, in concert. Just as the various systems within a healthy human body are designed and orchestrated from on high, ministering spirits are unified and coordinated in accordance with an overarching principle. The Law within our Universe of Universes is Life. The cardinal precepts, throughout the entire cosmos, are life affirming.

We are the beneficiaries of a nurturing environment that operates in accordance with certain design imperatives. Among these are somehow making provision for arenas of choice. Our comprehension of Infinity and Eternity gives rise to a challenging concept described as Divinity Tension. From our perspective, between life temporal and life eternal, there is what some have described as a Great Divide. And yet, Our Eternal God intentionally bridged that divide when he so loved the world that he gave his Son, so that we would not perish but have everlasting life.

Sooo, even to the time-bound and space-fettered mind of human kind, it would appear that God level access means that he is able to bridge any divide at will. Could it be that part of the tension we perceive is due to the choice that God can make between being everywhere at once and somewhere specific at the most appropriate time? In other words, does God, by his own volition, ever limit himself? And is Infinity somehow confining? Curious minds want to know. Just how does one, who occupies all of Infinity, create the Divine equivalent of elbow room?

And what about the competing views that God is either existential or experiential? Of course, if he is God, he can choose to exist and also experience. After all, who are we to deny him that choice? And that gives rise to yet another controversy. Our ancestors were reluctant to even name God because it was thought to be disrespectful. After all, isn’t naming just another form of coercive labeling? Are we reducing God to fit in a compartmentalized box for our own convenience, to fit our naming conventions?

Here’s what we do know. God is bigger than even our most fanciful descriptions. His creation is more symphonic than anyone ever imagined. And, his mercies are far greater than what we have any right to expect. The nurturing infrastructure we inhabit was designed and is maintained for child rearing. It features an array of problems that we are free to perceive as either distressingly insurmountable or as stimulating challenges.

Some may rise to greet the morning sun while others may not. Charles Darwin said “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one.” The uncertainties of life do not contradict the sovereignty of God. If we are never confronted with insecurities and recurring uncertainties, just how are we to manifest hope?

Unless we are, at times, reacting to disappointment and grappling with hardship, just how are we to develop strength of character? How are we, as coordinate creators, to evolve societal benevolence without encountering and addressing social inequality? How can we ever mature in an abiding faith unless we, at times, know less than we can believe? How can we appreciate and favor truth unless contrastive error and falsehood are possible?

How can spiritual idealism ever emerge victorious without the relative goodness and beauty that prompts us to reach for better things? How will we ever know loyalty without considering the possibilities of betrayal and desertion? And, how can we overcome the self’s incessant clamoring for recognition and honor, without deliberately choosing the divine life and intentionally embarking on a career characterized by self-forgetfulness?

In each of these situations we are called upon to grow in that grace which is defined as unmerited favor. Many of the experiences we gain are simply a matter of rehearsing for the vicissitudes of life. Others are a true test of stamina as we develop the quality of endurance. In every case, the celestial process is one of continuously perfecting us. We learn from our failures as well as our successes.

We are told that all things work together for good, for those who love God, and are called in accordance with his purpose. While we are learning to think as adults, we should also be learning to pray as children. Jesus told the apostles to allow the little children to come to him; He said “forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

In the natural world, life can be brutally competitive. In the life of the Spirit, life is complementary for there are shared objectives, a sincere devotion to acting in accordance with the Divine will, and a supreme satisfaction with any accomplishment that brings honor to our Creator Father and Son. Life is but a day’s work – we are called to do it well. The act is ours; the consequences God’s.

The most appreciative stargazers and prophets have made their observations, have been appropriately awed, and have said: “You, God, are alone; there is none beside you. You have created the heaven and the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts; you preserve and control them. By the Sons of God were the universes made. The Creator covers himself with light as with a garment and stretches out the heavens as a curtain.”

The enlightened minds of a great humanity have all recognized and worshiped the Universal Father. For he is the eternal maker and the infinite upholder of all creation. God has given us a supreme mandate, “Be you perfect, even as I am perfect.” To fulfill this mandate, we must have some idea of what constitutes perfection. Understanding the attributes of God is essential if we are to intentionally engage with him; as he conditions, nurtures, and perfects us. As God-knowing persons, we have one supreme ambition. We are to become, within our limited spheres of influence, just as perfect as God is within and throughout his infinite universe of universes.

The tender affection, and parental devotion of God is unmatched in the infinite sense. Although he has given us all we need to express these same qualities with those he has brought into our presence. While God alone is omnipresent, we can also be there for those in our midst, those with whom we fellowship, and those for whom we have been given some amount of responsibility.

In addition to the Divine attribute of omnipresence, the Father is also omniscient and omnipotent. While we are far from all knowing and all powerful, we do have a certain amount of knowledge and power that Our Father can put to benevolent use, subject to our intelligent cooperation. And, he has made provision for us to acquire more, once he has made the determination we are likely to wield it responsibly.

We serve and reside on a strife-torn, confused, and disordered planet. Because of this, it is easy to be misled. But, we also know that among the Divine attributes are the qualities of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. When our actions are in alignment with our highest conception of these guiding starlike qualities, as informed by the exemplary life and teachings of Jesus, it is unlikely that we will run afoul of the Father’s will.

Jesus said: “This is my command, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Our mission statements should flow directly from this admonition, as articulated by Our Mission Commander. Just about every monotheistic religion that existed, when Jesus walked the planet, had some version of the Golden Rule. With his exemplary life and the command he gave when he said “love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus became, in essence, the Gold Standard for that Golden rule.

Some churches have no apparent aversion to the kind of moral relativism and revisionist history that seemingly supports, in the minds of some, a departure from the Jesusonian Command. Such self-identified Christians should be asked to explain just why Jesus is not taken at his word. When Jesus said ”He who has seen me has seen The Father,” he was leading by clear example. The Way, the Truth, and the Life is simply not compatible with any reckless indifference to this essential Truth.

The superficial prettiness of the well coiffed is not comparable to that beauty emanating from the God within. The beautiful souls that advance a fidelity to supreme values are unrivaled in the material world. That may be lost on some. But the gift of discernment makes the truly faithful unerringly responsive to authentic beauty in all its forms.

When a wise friend said that God wants to be our partner,” I realized the process of perfecting depends upon our wholehearted cooperation, working with our friend and senior partner to become useful in the grand scheme of things. We cannot achieve our highest and best destiny without God. And, he cannot create perfection within us, without our consent.

We may have read in the US Declaration of Independence that “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Is this, to some extent, true for the Trinity Government of All Creation? On our tiny planet, as we circle a sun on the back road to Infinity, the ‘consent of the governed,’ has been held in high regard even as Scotus gave his lectures as a bachelor theologian at Oxford in the 1290s. His Ordinatio was transcribed as the Lectura. John Wycliffe, in the preface to his 14th Century bible translation to Middle English, also made it clear that the bible advances “government of, by, and for the people.”

Our Heavenly Father always intended for us to be the true arbiters of our own destiny. This is what all good parents want for their children. Our greatest joy is to watch them reach for their highest and best destiny. Achieving that in life temporal is just the beginning.

The church of today is in free-fall because it is a house divided against itself. And, the only hope for a possible unification of Christianity is Jesus. The invisible, spiritual, brotherhood and sisterhood that Jesus personally advanced is not characterized by theological uniformity but rather by spiritual unity. The Jesus brotherhood is the true church and it must not be eclipsed by even a well intentioned and well organized institution.

Spiritual unity is achieved only through faith union with the living Jesus. The visible church should not continue to impede the progress, of the invisible and spiritual brotherhood of the kingdom of God, by insisting on a uniform response to creative diversity. The non-Christian world is simply not going to capitulate to such an unattractive and sect-divided Christendom. To conceive of God as a slavish law-bound power is to misrepresent the true devotion of our loving Heavenly Father.

Most differences within the church are the result of a great humanity’s individual and varying response to spirit leading. To insure the harmony of the whole, in the face of underlying creational differences, it should be recognized there is a basic uniformity of character within the complementary Spirit ministries while there is also a diversity of function. The spiritual siblinghood is destined to become a living organism that is far greater than any institutionalized social organization can ever be. It may very well find such social organizations serviceable, but it must not ever be displaced by them.

Religious experience within a cultural, ethnic, social, or racial group derives its unity from the identical nature of God’s indwelling each individual. Humanity’s unselfish interest in the welfare of other persons originates with this Divine indwelling. Because personality is uniquely bestowed, no two persons are alike. Therefore no two human beings will identically interpret Divine guidance. The Spirit of Divinity, which lives within our minds, compensates for this differential response by enabling us to become understandingly sympathetic with one another.

The religion of the Spirit reveals the unifying and coordinating quality we have learned to recognize as Divinity. This attribute of God progressively draws us together while the religions of lesser authority only divide us, pushing us against each other. By the mid-twentieth-century, theologians and philosophers had formulated more than five hundred different definitions of religion. Because religion is intensely personal, in actuality, there are as many religions as there are people. Theological and philosophical uniformity will thus remain elusive. However, because groups of people can and do experience spiritual unity, we may indeed learn to appreciate and value diversity with respect to the interpretation of religious thought and experience.

The Spirit of God is real. The divine impulses that originate with the Spirit complement that indwells and envelops us are uniquely conditioned by our own experiential interpretations. Such interpretations are altogether personal and therefore different from the religious experiences of all other human beings. The sincere pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness invariably leads us Godward. 

If philosophy is ever to achieve unity, in the intelligent comprehension of the universe, then both science and religion must become less dogmatic and far more tolerant of criticism. The church that dares to remove all creedal pressure from its members is the one that will attract a congregation that grows, increasing its joy, while enjoying the liberty of ennobling deeds, of loving service, and of merciful ministry.

The kingdom of heaven in the hearts of individual human beings will create religious unity because any and all religious groups composed of such religious believers will eventually be free from all notions of ecclesiastical authority. There is great hope for any church that worships the living God, validates the siblinghood of humanity, and encourages the enjoyment of religious liberty. Unity may be discovered in the full expression of our unique personal interpretations with respect to the truths of religious belief and the facts of religious experience.

Cohesiveness within any religious group depends upon spiritual unity, not on theological uniformity. The only “religious sovereignty” is the relationship with the One in whom we live, and move, and have our being. The religions of authority tend to compel uniformity that crystallizes into lifeless creeds. But the religion of the spirit requires only the unity of experience, a commonality of insight and, perhaps, a shared vision of destiny. It makes full allowance for diversity of belief. It does not require a rigid uniformity of viewpoint and outlook. With every scientific discovery the discoverer was free to make the discovery.

Uniformity in belief is impossible given the present state of the world. Within the consciousness of a healthy group, there can never be doctrinal finality or sectarian superiority. The religion of the spirit does not demand uniformity of intellectual views while it does foster the formation of, and affinity between, kindred souls. Jesus prayed for unity among his followers. He did not insist upon uniformity. True righteousness nourishes the creative spirit. It recognizes individual experience with the living realities of eternal truth. It fosters progressive communion with the divine spirits of the Father and the Son,

I knew a man that, prior to embracing Jesus, spent much of his life residing on skid row. He later dedicated his life to a ministry for special populations that had challenges similar to his earlier ones. This man exuded a wisdom that was informed by the hard work associated with getting his life back onto a even keel. It included none of the sappy platitudes we’ve come to expect from ease drifting souls.

I’ve never found myself on skid row. Although, I have lived a significant portion of my life on what some might describe as a shoestring budget, or at a subsistence level. And I know why so much of what Jesus taught and exemplified resonated with the poorest of the poor. Even on those rare occasions, when obstacles seemed insurmountable, I wasn’t unhappy. Sure, I would express frustration with more than a few expletives from time to time, but I never really doubted God’s provisioning.

I distinctly remember one morning when my car ran out of gas as I was sitting at a traffic light. When I looked in the rear view mirror, I noticed that right behind me was one of those roadside assistance trucks with a bid ol’ pusher bumper on the front. The driver pushed my car about a hundred yards into a gas station. I bought gas with the pennies I rolled the night before and got to work on time. The experience added about three minutes, if that, to the fill-up. When a friend of mine marveled at my “luck,” I simply said “it’s nice to go through life with Divine favor.”

Don’t get me wrong, I know that I’m a greatly flawed individual. I also know that God loved me anyway and all I want to do is reciprocate. I want to serve, unencumbered, in the way I have been called to serve. In the original movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, the main character, George, is sitting in a bar after his thwarted suicide attempt. Clarence, the wet and disheveled man sitting next to him, introduced himself as George’s guardian angel. To that, George responded saying, “Yeah, you look like the kind of angel I’d get.”

I loved that movie, in part because my dad’s name was Clarence and he had an understated sense of humor similar to that of George’s angel. It took George quite awhile to appreciate Clarence. And it took me a very long time to really appreciate my dad. But to me, both Clarences represent fidelity that is informed by high purpose. In addition to being flawed I have been greatly blessed. Not everyone has obvious models for what it means to be called in accordance with God’s purpose.

The Apostle Paul said “I have learned that, in whatever situation I find myself, therewith to be content. His was a truly great witness. For even in the midst of circumstances that would break the will of weak individuals, Paul maintained a positive view of the road ahead. Even when he was locked in the pokey, Paul knew that God’s ultimate justice is tempered with abundant mercy. This doesn’t mean that we should enter into sin with the expectation of Divine mercy. That is likely to have harsh consequences for the wages of sin is death.

Sooo, if “the wages of sin is death,” and if “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” then why aren’t we all dead? If justice reigned supreme in the universe, we probably would be. But as judges go, God is the fairest of the fair.

In the Parable of the two sons, after one son had squandered his inheritance sowing his wild oats, he realized he had reaped the consequences while dining with the swine. He thought “’How many hired servants of my father have bread enough to spare while I go hungry. I will go to my father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no more worthy to be called your son; only be willing to make me one of your hired servants.’ 

This father loved this son and was always on the lookout for his return. On the day when the son approached his home, even while he was far off, the father saw him and ran out to meet him. When the son asked to be treated as a servant, the father would have none of it. He turned to the gathered servants and said ‘Bring quickly his best robe, the one I have saved, and put it on him, and put the son’s ring on his hand, and fetch sandals for his feet.’

When a Samaritan woman, a woman of questionable character in the eyes of men was brought before Jesus, he saw through eyes of love. He beheld a human soul who sincerely and wholeheartedly desired salvation. And that was enough. Jesus regarded her as having been sinned against more than sinning of her own desire. And she was forgiven.