FROM THE TEACHING OF JESUS
~ Ernest Holmes
The Father's House Always Open
"And so the son found everything in the Father's House just as he had left it. Nothing had changed and he was made welcome to all the divine stores. But he had to return to find joy and peace forevermore. How wonderful is Reality! While we may have seemed to be away from it, it has ever remained the same and is ever ready to reveal itself to us. All we have to do is to go half way; that is, turn to it and it will turn to us. The Truth known is instantly demonstrated; for the Truth is Changeless Reality and cannot come and go. No matter how long we may have been away from Reality in our thought, It is always here, ready to spring forth, full-orbed, into expression. No matter how long a room may have been darkened, the entrance of light instantly illuminates it. What becomes of the darkness when the light enters? Where did it come from and where does it go?
It is difficult to comprehend such an infinite possibility as an instantaneous reconciliation with the universe; we demonstrate this only in degrees, because our consciousness is not yet fitted to perceive the wholeness of complete perfection.
The Stay-at-Home Son
"Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
"And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
"And he was angry and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
"And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee...and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends...
"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
How human the stay-at-home son was, and what a theological attitude he took in regard to his younger brother! He had not entered himself and he was not willing that anyone else should enter. His real attitude was that God should condemn everything that he, himself, did not like or believe. He was puffed up with self-righteousness and personal conceit, filled with petty vanity, and fuming with anger over his brother's welcome home. I expect that we meet him in ourselves nearly every day - in our personal experiences with other people - in our intolerant attitude and uncharitableness toward others who do not think as we think. But God knows as little about self-righteousness as He knows about evil, for both are false; therefore, He said unto the elder son, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." This implies that the elder son had missed the mark as well as the younger, for he had been living in the midst of plenty and had not recognized it. He needed but to have asked and he would have received all that the father had. Both sons were foolish but it is a question which was the more completely deluded.
The Application of the Story
But to bring this story down to our own experience -for it is a lesson for everyone for all time - we live in the midst of eternal good, but it can only be to us what we believe it to be. We are at the mouth of the river, but we must let down our own buckets if we wish them to be filled with the pure waters of Reality.
We are surrounded by a Spirit of living Intelligence, and eternal givingness, love, goodness and power, that wishes to express Itself through us. There is Divine Urge within, ever pushing us forward to the goal. We are also surrounded by an immutable Law of cause and effect, and because of our divine individuality and the necessity of experience in order to come to a realization of what, and who, we are, we are subject to the causes which we have set in motion. All is love and yet all is law. Both love and law are perfect and we, as individuals, can experience only what we really believe and act upon."
~ Ernest Holmes
The Father's House Always Open
"And so the son found everything in the Father's House just as he had left it. Nothing had changed and he was made welcome to all the divine stores. But he had to return to find joy and peace forevermore. How wonderful is Reality! While we may have seemed to be away from it, it has ever remained the same and is ever ready to reveal itself to us. All we have to do is to go half way; that is, turn to it and it will turn to us. The Truth known is instantly demonstrated; for the Truth is Changeless Reality and cannot come and go. No matter how long we may have been away from Reality in our thought, It is always here, ready to spring forth, full-orbed, into expression. No matter how long a room may have been darkened, the entrance of light instantly illuminates it. What becomes of the darkness when the light enters? Where did it come from and where does it go?
It is difficult to comprehend such an infinite possibility as an instantaneous reconciliation with the universe; we demonstrate this only in degrees, because our consciousness is not yet fitted to perceive the wholeness of complete perfection.
The Stay-at-Home Son
"Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
"And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
"And he was angry and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
"And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee...and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends...
"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
How human the stay-at-home son was, and what a theological attitude he took in regard to his younger brother! He had not entered himself and he was not willing that anyone else should enter. His real attitude was that God should condemn everything that he, himself, did not like or believe. He was puffed up with self-righteousness and personal conceit, filled with petty vanity, and fuming with anger over his brother's welcome home. I expect that we meet him in ourselves nearly every day - in our personal experiences with other people - in our intolerant attitude and uncharitableness toward others who do not think as we think. But God knows as little about self-righteousness as He knows about evil, for both are false; therefore, He said unto the elder son, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." This implies that the elder son had missed the mark as well as the younger, for he had been living in the midst of plenty and had not recognized it. He needed but to have asked and he would have received all that the father had. Both sons were foolish but it is a question which was the more completely deluded.
The Application of the Story
But to bring this story down to our own experience -for it is a lesson for everyone for all time - we live in the midst of eternal good, but it can only be to us what we believe it to be. We are at the mouth of the river, but we must let down our own buckets if we wish them to be filled with the pure waters of Reality.
We are surrounded by a Spirit of living Intelligence, and eternal givingness, love, goodness and power, that wishes to express Itself through us. There is Divine Urge within, ever pushing us forward to the goal. We are also surrounded by an immutable Law of cause and effect, and because of our divine individuality and the necessity of experience in order to come to a realization of what, and who, we are, we are subject to the causes which we have set in motion. All is love and yet all is law. Both love and law are perfect and we, as individuals, can experience only what we really believe and act upon."
No comments:
Post a Comment