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“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way; . . .” Isaiah 53.6
The Urantia Book, 100:3.3, In the contemplation of values you must distinguish between that which is value and that which has value. You must recognize the relation between pleasurable activities and their meaningful integration and enhanced realization on progressively higher and higher levels of human experience.
This essay is an explanation of these two references.
Since the beginning of time mankind has been on a quest. Simply, this quest has been the journey to discover the meaning of life. This quest has been predominantly defined and expressed through philosophers and religious institutions. However, the real purpose of this quest has been elusive to the common man, consciously and personally.
Consequently, knowingly or unknowingly, we have delegated the control of the quest to institutions. These organizations claim to adequately fill this place we find so elusive. The result is, we have obediently pursued our “faiths” by primarily two largely dysfunctional methods. First, we have quietly accepted a prevailing institutionally supplied view, one we each ascribe to, whatever that happens to be at the time. These “prepackaged” views require little deep thinking by us; at least no more deeply than we are personally comfortable. Second, we have established a practice of gathering to worship an often-ill-defined concept of a deity that we presume adequately facilitates our static view enabling this disregard of personal deep seeking. Consequently, these efforts to achieve the goal set forth in the quest stop short of spiritual fulfillment in individuals, personally.
The result is that many, if not most people, are left in want, aren’t even conscious of this want, and end up falling by the wayside. This is because instead of personally discovering an ultimate answer for life within ourselves, we humanize, intellectualize, and externalize our religious practice, which enables us to morph ourselves from seeking the true purpose of living into a whole different adventure. This new adventure, while using a similar vocabulary, is as different from true spiritual experience as the night is from the day. This is because, while it seeks to fill the void within us, it cannot! The new adventure becomes a quest to discover a life of meaning. A life of meaning, for us. The focus, the direction of our effort is self-seeking, self-awareness, self-fulfillment as opposed to God seeking, God awareness, spirit fulfillment. By this, we search for a life of meaning, instead of allowing ourselves the realization of the meaning of life. The difference is black and white. The results are nearly opposite of each other and are the basis of the very definitions of abject failure or eternal success in life, personally and individually, and even corporately as a world of human societies. The truth is this; living a life of meaning is not the meaning of life!
We “all like sheep” are guilty of this practice of the pursuit of a life of meaning. While it is natural for us to pursue such meaning, such a life effort leads to failure. This failure may be masked by great success on material levels and even some significant degree of happiness as we proceed. But failure to discover the unlimited joy of discovering God's value, the ultimate driver of life, is failure in the most profound sense. While it is a deep desire within each of us that drives us, the direction we seek betrays our intent. Knowing that we do desire this naturally does not excuse our complacency at addressing the ever present and even greater task at hand. Until we discover the value of life as revealed by the creator, we cannot truly appreciate any meaning. So, the question becomes this. Are we truly unaware of our predicament, or are we aware but unwilling to face ourselves in total honesty and candidly recognize our options? In other words, are we able to refocus our lives, rebuild our vision and readjust our sense of reality to discover the value of the difference? For it is in the value of this discovery of reality that we find the strength of character sufficient to manage the adjustment of our paths. We all have access to this ability. We don’t all use it.
How many ways do we pursue the practice of our “faith” while we secretly do everything we can do to avoid truly facing God? We say, I want to do my own thing; I want to be my own man (woman); I want to be all I can be; I am just trying to get what is mine, I deserve it; everybody else is doing it; it is my turn; I want to be the best I can be. These kinds of statements reveal a humanity seeking self-oriented expressions of living with the hope that fulfillment will be realized. It won’t! The great challenge, the victory of life, is discovered elsewhere.
The great challenge of living is not found in the achievement of living up to and filling our personal desires to mean something while here on earth. The great challenge of living is much more real and valuable than that. The great challenge of living, the real purpose of life here on this little planet is that we engage ourselves in the growth of our soul. That is why we are here. If not for that reason, life would have no value. Without consciousness of our true value to creation, even a life full of meaning is meaningless.
The process of growth in human consciousness of spiritual reality is not mysterious or magical. Neither is it hypothetical or merely theoretical. It is the most real practice we can do. But, of course, we cannot do it, can we? If we could, we would have been doing it all along and we wouldn’t need prophets, seers, and revelations to help keep us on track. So, why don’t we do the necessary work of growing souls? Is it too hard for us? Are we confused? Have we been misled? Is it something else that keeps us from voluntarily taking this journey? Or could it be that what we are doing is really all we believe is expected of us, as some here suggest? In other words, is what we have in our world the best we could expect for this age of our existence?
Questions like these are rhetorical and can’t be adequately addressed. WHY we are where we are in our current state of social development has a single answer. We are where we are because we have allowed ourselves the privilege of physical and intellectual development without equally devoting ourselves to spiritual realization and devotion, to growing our souls. We take everything we can from life but give back almost nothing. In so doing, we take no responsibility for the results. Subsequently, all the errors of life on planet earth are somebody else’s fault. And, since they are somebody else's fault, let them fix things.
That is the great lie! That is the great diversion! Nobody is a nobody! We are each somebody. I am the only somebody who can deal with these issues. I am responsible! The state of my world is my fault. If not that, then nobody is, and if I am still here then there is no such thing as nobody! If I am still here then somebody is here to do the work of growing a soul, of becoming spirit led instead of ego driven (we can't be both), of deliberately uncoupling from material level meanings and thinking and pursuing consciousness of true spirit value as the primary purpose of life. This is the message Jesus reveals. Seek God first, always. Seek God until we hear, “This is my beloved son.” Then we can seek the meaning of life; then we will truly know the value.
While crossing over from material mindedness to soul consciousness is a lifelong endeavor, not a ‘once and done’ event, the regular and repeated committing of one’s life to the pursuit of this journey is paramount from the onset. It is facilitated by willingly conquering life’s trials at all levels from the most basic physical to the highest spiritual. We must learn to practice this process while cleaning out the latrines of our personal lives as well as learning to effectively prepare and worship at our altars. The body may be our temple, but the temple must be cleaned, maintained, and continuously remodeled. The engine of this effort, this growth, is a practice of our will. It is by supreme effort of our will that we choose to discover and live the will of God. Only God knows the full and complete blueprint of each individual's design, so only God can be fully trusted to completely direct the work to be done. One of God’s little idiosyncrasies is his thoroughness. He leaves no stone unturned. But while he is thorough and methodically deliberate, he is divinely patient with us, he never pushes. This means we always, and only, move along at the pace we willfully demand of ourselves.
But, while the work can tend to seem mundane at times, and the product of all this effort is the achievement of something we have no clear idea of, we must learn to trust through action. The point at which the effort is begun, the point Jesus referred to as “born again”, often comes as a result of intense emotion and no small personal trial. This is where we decide to embark. But the truly strenuous work is yet to come. As the reality of God becomes more and more a living consciousness within an individual's mind and soul, the value of this reality becomes more apparent and more desired. It also becomes more challenging to acquire. The farther we go, the more personally involving becomes the pursuit. The farther we go the greater the effort required to force ourselves to comply with our stated choices. Simply put, to see the view of life God has for each of us, we must personally climb our stairs of consciousness to that inner viewpoint of righteousness provided by the indwelling spirit guide. There are no elevators. Each step is a lesson for us placed by God himself for our benefit. Each step requires us to live up to the previous ones. The order in which the stair lessons come to us could be called predestination. Each person is unique. Each person must climb his or her own stairs. Each path is unique.
But while every step must be managed, every step is a potential trap. The tendency to make a platform from a single step or group of steps is a trap for our egos and does great harm to our message. The effort to express our status, our level of achievement becomes a distraction to our ascent soul ward.
Does it help to share this journey with others? Immensely! Is sharing the depths of the trials of stair climbing a necessary part of the endeavor? It is. After all, part of our journey is to assist others in theirs. My personal growth accomplishments are the product of God's guidance, the fruit of my spiritual growth. Sharing my fruit with others is a commandment. While this labor of love is not immune to the acceptance or rejection from others, the focus of the drive must remain focused on service to the Father’s plan for my brothers and sisters. If my state of growth is not allowed to proceed because it interferes with someone’s own personal fear or private issue, my assistance to others will be self-limited by them. Fear of being transformed by God is what drives this, we are taught. Failure to supply the effort to climb the stairs of my life slows my growth and confuses others. This is one reason why sharing our souls openly and transparently is of such value.
Once this open sharing of personal triumph becomes the practice, the world in which we live begins a transformation. Gradually, a life of value becomes more important than a life of private personal meaning. Value provides enlightenment, light. It reveals. Life on the planet is opened and the value we collectively experience of God is expressed as true worship. However, a life lived only for the pursuit of personal meaning is soul darkening. Such a life gradually life becomes fear ridden, competitive, and angry. The pursuit of meaning only, conceals truth. A life lived for the realization of value reveals truth and frees the individual to explore all the potentials of life openly.
Value is perceptibly infinite, limited only by will. Meaning is limited by personal experience, even when evaluated by interaction with spirit insight.
Eternal life is the endless pursuit of infinite value. In order to forever relate value to meaning we must be completely involved in the full realization of both! But we must seek first the true value of God so our meanings will be real and fruit of our spirit’s efforts will provide enlightenment for others.
That value is revealed in us through the living spirit of truth, the spirit of Michael of Nebadon, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Son of man. We can study the meanings revealed in the Urantia Book all we want but we must not overlook the source of its value.
Jim
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