FROM the TEACHING of JESUS
Ernest Holmes
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth (Matt. 5:5)
""The meek shall inherit the earth." This is a teaching of non-resistance. War lords and plunderers of human possessions have come and gone. Kingdoms have risen only to crumble in dust and become numbered with past events. Passion and lust for power have strewn the earth with destruction. It would seem as though the meek had lost out in the titanic struggle for temporal supremacy.
In the midst of this drama of human existence, Jesus declared that the meek shall inherit the earth. Let us inquire if his teaching is a true one. Do we teach our children to follow the steps of a Caesar and a Napoleon? Or do we tell them the story of Jesus or Buddha? The cross is mightier than the crown and we teach our children that LOVE MASTERS EVERYTHING! The meek shall inherit the earth. To whom have our artists turned for inspiration and that quickening power which enables them to depict the idea? Not to the war lords, nor even the captains of industry, but to the meek.
What characteristics are set before us as being worthy? Have not faith and belief in the divine Goodness been the theme of our greatest singers? Who could write a beautiful story about hell? But heaven and love have inspired thousands to the uplifting of humanity. Jesus was right when he said that the meek shall inherit the earth. They have done so and will continue to do so!
They That Hunger Shall Be Fed (Matt. 5:6)
They who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. Is there anyone who does not have a soul hunger? Does not the spirit of man thirst after knowledge and understanding, yearn for Truth and Reality, as blind men yearn for light? And his hunger can only be satisfied with spiritual food, as manna from heaven.
Let us inquire into this teaching and see if it be an illusion. Turn to the history of those who have been spiritually-minded, and the question is answered. They have not received a stone when they asked for bread. All who have been hungry have been fed; their hunger has been blessed, in that it has led them to that only food - that heavenly manna - which has sustained, strengthened and upheld them, while the rest of the world (with thirst unsatisfied and appetite unappeased) has eagerly inquired from what store they bought their goods. They who hunger and thirst after Reality are always fed, and directly by the hand of God Himself.
The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy (Matt. 5:7)
"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." Again we are confronted with an apparent contradiction. Do the merciful always obtain mercy? From casual observation, it would seem otherwise. But are not many of our observations based on a finite outlook, from a limited concept? Can we estimate life from the range of one human experience? If life begins with the cradle and ends with the grave, then are all of our hopes, not only forlorn, but useless. It is only with the "eye views the world as one vast plain, one boundless reach of sky," that it sees truly.
The perspective of reality is lost when we view life from the range of a short experience. Jesus saw beyond the veil and estimated life from the great perspective - the long run of the adventure of the soul. He knew that the law of cause and effect takes care of all, and that the "Mills of God" will grind the chaff of unreality from the wheat of the Spirit. What matter if these mills do not do all of their grinding while we are clothed in flesh! Did not Jesus know another life which to him was as real as this one? Can we expect, in this world, to receive full compensation for all our work? Of course not. We are building on an eternal foundation, one that time cannot alter nor experience destroy.
A true estimate of real values cannot be built on the shifting sands of time alone. In the long run, the merciful will obtain mercy! In the long run, we shall reap as we have sown!"
Ernest Holmes
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth (Matt. 5:5)
""The meek shall inherit the earth." This is a teaching of non-resistance. War lords and plunderers of human possessions have come and gone. Kingdoms have risen only to crumble in dust and become numbered with past events. Passion and lust for power have strewn the earth with destruction. It would seem as though the meek had lost out in the titanic struggle for temporal supremacy.
In the midst of this drama of human existence, Jesus declared that the meek shall inherit the earth. Let us inquire if his teaching is a true one. Do we teach our children to follow the steps of a Caesar and a Napoleon? Or do we tell them the story of Jesus or Buddha? The cross is mightier than the crown and we teach our children that LOVE MASTERS EVERYTHING! The meek shall inherit the earth. To whom have our artists turned for inspiration and that quickening power which enables them to depict the idea? Not to the war lords, nor even the captains of industry, but to the meek.
What characteristics are set before us as being worthy? Have not faith and belief in the divine Goodness been the theme of our greatest singers? Who could write a beautiful story about hell? But heaven and love have inspired thousands to the uplifting of humanity. Jesus was right when he said that the meek shall inherit the earth. They have done so and will continue to do so!
They That Hunger Shall Be Fed (Matt. 5:6)
They who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. Is there anyone who does not have a soul hunger? Does not the spirit of man thirst after knowledge and understanding, yearn for Truth and Reality, as blind men yearn for light? And his hunger can only be satisfied with spiritual food, as manna from heaven.
Let us inquire into this teaching and see if it be an illusion. Turn to the history of those who have been spiritually-minded, and the question is answered. They have not received a stone when they asked for bread. All who have been hungry have been fed; their hunger has been blessed, in that it has led them to that only food - that heavenly manna - which has sustained, strengthened and upheld them, while the rest of the world (with thirst unsatisfied and appetite unappeased) has eagerly inquired from what store they bought their goods. They who hunger and thirst after Reality are always fed, and directly by the hand of God Himself.
The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy (Matt. 5:7)
"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." Again we are confronted with an apparent contradiction. Do the merciful always obtain mercy? From casual observation, it would seem otherwise. But are not many of our observations based on a finite outlook, from a limited concept? Can we estimate life from the range of one human experience? If life begins with the cradle and ends with the grave, then are all of our hopes, not only forlorn, but useless. It is only with the "eye views the world as one vast plain, one boundless reach of sky," that it sees truly.
The perspective of reality is lost when we view life from the range of a short experience. Jesus saw beyond the veil and estimated life from the great perspective - the long run of the adventure of the soul. He knew that the law of cause and effect takes care of all, and that the "Mills of God" will grind the chaff of unreality from the wheat of the Spirit. What matter if these mills do not do all of their grinding while we are clothed in flesh! Did not Jesus know another life which to him was as real as this one? Can we expect, in this world, to receive full compensation for all our work? Of course not. We are building on an eternal foundation, one that time cannot alter nor experience destroy.
A true estimate of real values cannot be built on the shifting sands of time alone. In the long run, the merciful will obtain mercy! In the long run, we shall reap as we have sown!"
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