08/05/2012
C. Dee Coy,
RScP
Today, I would like to
talk a bit about gardening, baking, precious gems, and seeking first things
first.
Seek Ye First Things
First. The master teacher is recorded in
the book of Matthew, chapter 6, putting it this way, “Therefore do not worry or say, What will we eat, or what will we drink,
or with what will we be clothed? For worldly
people seek after all these things. Your
Father in heaven knows that all of these things are also necessary for
you. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you.”
Jesus is not making a judgment here. He is not suggesting that we reject the world
or the things of the world. It’s a fact,
that all of us are spiritual in nature AND it’s a fact that we are all living
here as worldly creatures with worldly wants and needs. What Jesus is saying is another lesson in
cause and effects. Food and drink and
clothes, as well as phones and cars and houses and all the rest, are
effects. They are the given part of the
equation here because, as we know, once cause is established, the impartial Law
of Mind takes over and creates. As we
affirm the things of this world that we need and desire, we will have all these
things but they mean nothing without understanding their source. God is the only source. When we seek for these things from a position
of “self”, from a position of what WE as human beings create, we still get them
but it all becomes a struggle. When we
seek first the source of all these things, then we find ourselves in alignment
with that which creates and, “all these things shall be added to you.”
It’s a matter of “not putting the cart before the horse.” Don’t
put the cart before the horse is one of those proverbial expressions for
something that seems self-evident and you wonder how it ever got started. In English, this one can be traced back to the
1500’s and I am guessing it had something to do with teenage boys. I imagine some time ago in the middle ages,
some boy with a loaded cart thinking it would be great if he could just get the
cart into the barn without having to unload it, but there isn’t enough room to
pull it in with the horse and it’s too heavy to pull in himself so he rigs up a
way to get the horse to push the cart in.
Some teenage girls walking by see this and think it is totally ‘rad’ and
the next thing you know every boy in the village is modifying his cart to go in
front of the horse. It all ends very
badly of course, and therefore everyone has to be reminded not to do it.
What Jesus seems to be saying here is, put first things
first and things will work out a lot better for us. In fact, as we enter the Kingdom, all things
automatically work out better for us. Seek
First the kingdom
of God and all these
things shall be added to us. Seek Cause
before effect. When we recognize First
Cause, God Itself, the Source of all that is and realize Its principles then
effects can become as simple as speaking our word.
So what is this thing called heaven we are to seek first? It wasn’t that long ago that the common
conception of Heaven was rooted in place.
A place located just beyond the stars that were believed to be fixed to
the surface of the celestial dome that covered the earth. It wasn’t until Copernicus demonstrated the
earth was not the center of the Universe about 500 years ago that this idea of
a “place” called Heaven “up there” began to break down. The confusion over Heaven being up there has
a Biblical basis as well, as the word
heaven is used to describe different realms. Heaven is used to refer to the sky of birds
and clouds above our heads. It is also
used to describe that which is beyond Earth’s atmosphere that contains the “heavenly
bodies” of Sun, Moon and Stars. It is
used again to describe where God resides and with Him, those who have shed their
earthly bodies and taken on heavenly form.
Finally, the last word on heaven is given to Jesus who spoke of it on
numerous occasions.
Jesus often used parable and allegory to describe
Heaven. As an embodiment of the Christ
Mind, he is thought to have had intimate knowledge of this Kingdom of Heaven
or Kingdom of God.
We generally consider that the experience of Heaven is ineffable, beyond
words if not beyond comprehension altogether and while Jesus did not offer a
physical description of the Kingdom, he did teach that it was real and often explained
its essence in metaphor, especially to his inner circle of disciples. In addition to using Heaven to reference the
sky and the stars and the place of God Itself, the teachings of Jesus very
clearly places the Kingdom
of Heaven within and
at-hand. The Kingdom of Heaven
is more than a final repository of our souls after death. The Kingdom is already in place, even here on
Earth, simply waiting to be realized.
Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity says, “Jesus definitely located
the kingdom of Heaven
when He said (in Luke, chapter 17), “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo, here! Or,
There! For lo, the kingdom of God
is within you.” But what does that
mean?
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of
mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds; but when it
is grown, it is larger than all of the herbs; and it becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” - We know that every seed we plant and
cultivate naturally seeks to become the prototype that is programmed into its
DNA. - In the same way, every idea that
we plant in consciousness naturally seeks to mature as the highest truth behind
that idea. - As we plant even the tiniest
idea of a “Kingdom
of Heaven” within our
minds, it has the potential to grow into full knowing of that ‘Kingdom’ so that
the ‘things’ of heaven take up residence
in its branches.
Jesus immediately follows this metaphor with another
saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like
the leaven, which a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until it
was all leavened.” - We know that
when we add yeast to dough, it causes an invisible reaction throughout that
changes the physical character of the dough over time so that it raises and
expands. When Jesus speaks of burying
the leaven in three measures of flour he is describing the effect of Truth in
each of the three states of consciousness, spirit, soul and body. - In this way,
the idea of the ‘Kingdom
of Heaven’ placed in mind
is invisible but moves throughout our entire consciousness, slowly changing the
characteristics of our thoughts, our actions, AND our experience, and expanding
them all to a raised state, the state of Heaven.
And Jesus said, “Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was seeking good pearls. And when he had found one costly pearl, he
went and sold everything he had, and bought it.” - We know that we are always looking to acquire
the best (however we define what best is) that is available to us. - The best gadget, the best recipe, the best
experience, even the best church. And
when we find it, we discard what we have that is not the best in favor of
it. - In the same way, we spend our time
seeking for the best ideas and the highest truths that bring joy to our souls,
meaning to our minds, and happiness to our existence. - The ‘Kingdom of Heaven within” is such an
idea. - Better than all the rest, it is
worthy of replacing old ideas of separation and unworthiness.
Ernest Holmes, the
founder of Religious Science, declares, “We
believe that Heaven is within us and that we experience it to the degree that
we become conscious of it” This is
one our core beliefs, that the kingdom of heaven is already within each one of
us simply waiting for us to plant the seed, add the leaven, seek it out, and be
conscious of it.
Charles Fillmore, the co-founder of Unity says, “The kingdom of heaven is the orderly
adjustment of divine ideas in man’s mind and body.”
This is Cause and Effect.
This is As Above, So Below. This
is about experiencing without, what we know within. This is how the Kingdom of Heaven
becomes established on earth. And it is
not about giving anything up. Holmes
writes that, “Jesus did not wish us to
feel that, in seeking this inner kingdom, we are losing anything worthwhile in
the outer life, for he said that everyone who has sought the inner kingdom
shall ‘receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come
life everlasting.” The Kingdom is
not something reserved only for future states; it is something which we
experience here and now through the manifold blessing which the Spirit
automatically bestows on us when we seek first things first.
So how might we go about seeking first things first? How can we, as we go about our daily lives
seek the Kingdom
of Heaven within? How do we cultivate the seed, raise our
consciousness and possess the pearl?
How do we go about
“seeking It first?”
First, we remember where we are seeking. We are seeking within. The Kingdom of Heaven
is not out there somewhere. The eternal
Heaven that awaits us if and when we leave this physical experience is outside
our control. What is within our control
and within our grasp is the Kingdom
of Heaven on Earth. It is the Kingdom that manifests from the
inside out. As we become conscious of
it, we experience it. Our work is all
mental. The Law that manifests it as
experience works in accordance with our thoughts. Fillmore, in one of his “Talks on Truth” cautions us
against getting bogged down in the conditions of the world and the
burden of changing it from the outside, saying, “That is a long, circuitous route into the kingdom and those who are
choosing it face many weary years of waiting.”
Instead, we are to plant the seed and cultivate it. Put the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven
into your heart and nourish it with your thoughts. You don’t have to meditate on it or hours
every day, but be mindful of it always.
Consider it. Don’t try to form it
into anything specific, just be aware of the form it takes naturally as it
grows into what it is meant to be. When
we make our lists of things to do, put SYF (seek ye first) right at the top,
remembering that God within me knows how to accomplish everything. When the phone rings, what is your first
thought? How about “seek ye first” as in, God within me is the perfect
communicator? Then answer the
phone. Or if you find yourself in
conflict with a spouse or child or neighbor, “seek ye first” by knowing that
Heaven within you is perfect relationship, before you set about resolving the
conflict.
Charles Fillmore puts establishing heaven on earth this
way, “Whoever says, “I will be upright
and honest in all that I think and do ,” is laying the foundation stones for
one of the buildings of the New Jerusalem.
Whoever declares by word and act that only the good exists, is building
white spires to the one and only true God.
Whoever has the mental resolve to do unto others as I would have them do
unto me is paving the highways with pure gold in a heavenly city of equity and
justice.”
Remember that we are not asked to give anything up. Everything we need and desire is added unto
this. That is the promise. We don’t have to give up any of our goals or
aspirations. We don’t have to stop
seeking for the best of everything. All
we are asked to do is put the cart in front of the horse. To seek first things first. To “Seek First the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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