FROM THE TEACHING OF JESUS
Ernest Holmes
The Light of the World (John 8:12)
""I am the light of the world." Jesus was not referring to his human personality, but to the Principle inherent in generic man. They who follow this inner Principle shall have the light of life; for this Principle is life.
"I Am" has a dual meaning. It is both individual and universal. God was revealed to Moses as the great "I AM," the Universal Cause, the Causeless or Self-existent One. Moses taught that "I AM" is the First Principle of all life, and the Law of cause and effect running through everything. The whole teaching of Moses is based upon the perception of this "First Principle."
Jesus said that he came, not to destroy the law of Moses, but to fulfill it. How could he fulfill it except by teaching the relationship of the universal "I am" to the individual "I"? In all the sayings of Jesus, we find this thought brought out: that God is Universal Spirit and man is His image and likeness...an individualization of His eternity. Therefore, when we understand our own "I" we shall walk in that light which lights the world unto the perfect "I AM."
We can consider this from another viewpoint. Man is the only self-knowing mind of which we are conscious. A self-knowing mind, of course, is one that is conscious of what it knows. Man, the only self-conscious being in this world, must be the light of the world. To know this and to understand why it is so, is to know that Truth which alone can make free. Truth is eternal and eternity is timeless, hence, if one knows the Truth, he will never see death. Death has nothing to do with the life everlasting, and is but an impatient gesture of the soul, wishing to rid itself of a body no longer useful.
Love (John 13:34, 35)
Love is the central flame of the universe, nay, the very fire itself. It is written that God is Love, and that we are His expressed likeness, the image of the Eternal Being. Love is self-givingness through creation, the impartation of the Divine through the human.
Love is an essence, an atmosphere, which defies analysis, as does Life Itself. It is that which IS and cannot be explained: it is common to all people, to all animal life, and evident in the response of plants to those who love them. Love reigns supreme over all.
The essence of love, while elusive, pervades everything, fires the heart, stimulates the emotions, renews the soul and proclaims the Spirit. Only love knows love, and love knows only love. Words cannot express its depths or meaning. A universal sense alone bears witness to the divine fact: God is Love and Love is God.
Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled (John 14:1)
"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me." His disciples were depressed, having an instinctive sense that Jesus was about to depart from them. They were filled with sadness. It was on the eve of his betrayal that he spoke these words, "Let not your heart be troubled," with that calm certainty which has ever been given to the believing. He was not afraid. He had already plumbed the depths of human existence and penetrated into the beyond. He knew that he was an immortal being.
Our hearts are troubled over many things and our mental burdens often become unbearable. It seems, at times, as though a cup of bitterness were being held to unwilling lips, with the demand that they drink. Jesus, standing at the threshold of his greatest experience, foreknew that he would turn apparent defeat into glorious victory. From the calm depths of an undisturbed soul, he spoke words of comfort to those of lesser understanding.
He told them to believe in God, and because of their belief in God, to believe also in him. Again he is referring to the individual "I" as the outward manifestation of the Universal "I AM." We are to believe in ourselves because we believe in God. The two are ONE. We are to know that passing events cannot hinder the onward march of the soul. The temporal imperfection of the human cannot dim the eternal integrity of the Divine."
Ernest Holmes
The Light of the World (John 8:12)
""I am the light of the world." Jesus was not referring to his human personality, but to the Principle inherent in generic man. They who follow this inner Principle shall have the light of life; for this Principle is life.
"I Am" has a dual meaning. It is both individual and universal. God was revealed to Moses as the great "I AM," the Universal Cause, the Causeless or Self-existent One. Moses taught that "I AM" is the First Principle of all life, and the Law of cause and effect running through everything. The whole teaching of Moses is based upon the perception of this "First Principle."
Jesus said that he came, not to destroy the law of Moses, but to fulfill it. How could he fulfill it except by teaching the relationship of the universal "I am" to the individual "I"? In all the sayings of Jesus, we find this thought brought out: that God is Universal Spirit and man is His image and likeness...an individualization of His eternity. Therefore, when we understand our own "I" we shall walk in that light which lights the world unto the perfect "I AM."
We can consider this from another viewpoint. Man is the only self-knowing mind of which we are conscious. A self-knowing mind, of course, is one that is conscious of what it knows. Man, the only self-conscious being in this world, must be the light of the world. To know this and to understand why it is so, is to know that Truth which alone can make free. Truth is eternal and eternity is timeless, hence, if one knows the Truth, he will never see death. Death has nothing to do with the life everlasting, and is but an impatient gesture of the soul, wishing to rid itself of a body no longer useful.
Love (John 13:34, 35)
Love is the central flame of the universe, nay, the very fire itself. It is written that God is Love, and that we are His expressed likeness, the image of the Eternal Being. Love is self-givingness through creation, the impartation of the Divine through the human.
Love is an essence, an atmosphere, which defies analysis, as does Life Itself. It is that which IS and cannot be explained: it is common to all people, to all animal life, and evident in the response of plants to those who love them. Love reigns supreme over all.
The essence of love, while elusive, pervades everything, fires the heart, stimulates the emotions, renews the soul and proclaims the Spirit. Only love knows love, and love knows only love. Words cannot express its depths or meaning. A universal sense alone bears witness to the divine fact: God is Love and Love is God.
Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled (John 14:1)
"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me." His disciples were depressed, having an instinctive sense that Jesus was about to depart from them. They were filled with sadness. It was on the eve of his betrayal that he spoke these words, "Let not your heart be troubled," with that calm certainty which has ever been given to the believing. He was not afraid. He had already plumbed the depths of human existence and penetrated into the beyond. He knew that he was an immortal being.
Our hearts are troubled over many things and our mental burdens often become unbearable. It seems, at times, as though a cup of bitterness were being held to unwilling lips, with the demand that they drink. Jesus, standing at the threshold of his greatest experience, foreknew that he would turn apparent defeat into glorious victory. From the calm depths of an undisturbed soul, he spoke words of comfort to those of lesser understanding.
He told them to believe in God, and because of their belief in God, to believe also in him. Again he is referring to the individual "I" as the outward manifestation of the Universal "I AM." We are to believe in ourselves because we believe in God. The two are ONE. We are to know that passing events cannot hinder the onward march of the soul. The temporal imperfection of the human cannot dim the eternal integrity of the Divine."
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