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"Then answered the householder: `My friends, I do you no wrong. Did not each of you agree to work for a denarius a day? Take now that which is yours and go your way, for it is my desire to give to those who came last as much as I have given to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Or do you begrudge my generosity because I desire to be good and to show mercy?'"
[The parable illustrates the love and mercy of a perfect God who will receive us whenever we turn to him.]
This condensed introduction to Jesus' mind and thought provides an insight into the nature of the God whom Jesus called "Abba," an Aramaic term of endearment used by Jesus to express childlike love for our heavenly Father. It is also sufficient to lay the foundation of a mind attitude capable of leading to the spiritualization of our very being. Having assimilated this core material into our being, and having committed ourselves irrevocably to try and live our own life under the direct guidance of the indwelling presence of our God-Spirit, just as did Jesus, then nothing else is essential or necessary to ensure our oneness with the Father and our participation in his will.
Paper 100--a Synopsis
"The only realities worth striving for are divine, spiritual, and eternal."
Spiritual growth depends upon:
Recognition of one's spiritual poverty.
Communication with the God-Spirit within.
Utilizing the resultant spirit fruits for the benefit of our fellows.
A personality that is motivated by love, unselfish service, and the perfection ideals of divinity.
Our spiritual status is shown by:
Our nearness to God.
Our usefulness to our fellows.
Our enhanced values for truth, beauty, and goodness.
Our desire to know God and be like him.
Our desire to always do God's will.
Concepts of supreme values:
Meanings and values are non-existent in a purely material reality; they are perceived in the inner super-material sphere of human experience.
That which experiences meanings and values is the mutual creation of mind and the associated spirit that reality-izes the experiences.
Experience can add meaning to value--and is the consciousness thereof.
An experience has supreme value if it enhances our interrelatedness to God and our fellows.
Problems of growth
Spiritual growth requires:
Dominance of love.
Supreme love of God and unselfish love of neighbor.
Love of neighbor requires understanding of neighbor.
Understanding gives rise to tolerance that grows into love.
When enough of us become the focus of God-like love, this love will spread like a virus to encompass all people.
Conversion and Mysticism.
In contrast with seeking mystical conversion, the better approach for attaining contact with our indwelling God-Spirit is through living faith, sincere worship, and unselfish prayer.
Mysticism tends to gravitate consciousness towards the subconscious rather than the super-consciousness, hence can be dangerous. Jesus never resorted to such methods.
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