You Can't Have It Both Ways!
by Rev. Greg W. Neteler
(August, 2002)
"Ye are
the light of the world." There is power in the Spirit. Live this power and express it
in everything that Spirit contains and you will demonstrate in the world that the way of
Spirit is the true way. When you are lifted up, hundreds—even thousands—will be
lifted up as a result and follow in the spiritual life. Therefore, let the full power from
on high express in everything that you may say, think or do and great will be your reward
in this world. The spiritual life deprives you of nothing that has real worth and gives
you more and more of everything of great worth.
Imagine all of the people in
this world who have taken a class, purchased a Truth book or attended various religious
services in their search for a spiritual life and its benefits only to find that the
greater works Jesus promised are not happening. The church came into being as the result
of a healing ministry. Where is that healing ministry today? If spiritual principles
really worked we should be living healthy, happy, prosperous lives. When people join in
prayer things ought to happen. But when they don’t, why not?
I think that we try to walk
two paths or have it both ways. What do I mean by "have it both ways?" We think
we believe that we are created in the image and after the likeness of God and at the same
time claim that we are sick and tired. Or we state that we are children of God and also
believe that we are only human. We can’t have it both ways. We cannot have an
awareness of God as our life and source and at the same time believe that our challenges
in life are incurable. Such dualism in consciousness cannot exist for "No one can
serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24) and "A double minded man is unstable in all
his ways." (James 1:8)
Two titles were used in the
New Testament to refer to Jesus—son of man and Son of God. In his native language of
Aramaic, son of man is an idiom which means "human being." How did the
son of a carpenter from the small town of Nazareth become the great Truth teacher who
changed the world? He came to the realization that son of man was his experience but not
what he was in reality. He grew spiritually to understand that his true nature was Son of
God and so completely identified with this reality that God-power worked through him to
perform seeming miracles. With his own spiritual awakening, he taught his followers that
they, too, were Sons of God and expressions of the same wisdom and power. This realization
led to his declaration that we could do the same works as he and even greater as we awaken
to our own spiritual nature.
Some of the most neglected
passages of scripture are the genealogies such as found in the first chapter of Matthew
and also in the third chapter of Luke. Both passages contain important information about
who and what we all are in the light of spiritual Truth. Matthew traces Jesus’
lineage from Abraham through the generations to Joseph and Mary. Matthew’s approach
lays a sure foundation for Jesus as a Jew descended from the father of the Hebrew people,
Abraham. Also, he states that "Jesus was born, who is called Christ." (1:16)
Bodies are born and birth and death are the movements of an eternal soul into and out of a
physical body. Mary and Joseph were the means for the development of Jesus’ physical
body while his true nature is the Christ. Christ is the English equivalent for Kristos,
which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Meshiach. This is a title that
was given to priests, prophets and kings which means "messiah" or "anointed
one" and refers to the act of anointing with oil as symbolic of being consecrated to
God. Metaphysically, we understand the Christ as "spiritual man," the
image-likeness of God, the I AM or God individualized.
Luke’s approach to
Jesus’ lineage is different from Matthew’s. Where Matthew began with Abraham and
worked forward in time, Luke begins with Joseph and works backwards to "Adam, the son
of God." In contrast to the specifically Jewish and human descent presented by
Matthew, Luke’s genealogy is more universal in scope and states clearly that Jesus is
a son of God through Adam who is a son of God. Generations have taught that all mankind is
descended from this first expression of man. If we accept this idea, then we must realize
if Adam is a son of God, we are all sons of God and our individual genealogies begin at
the same source. The true nature of all people is the Christ, "spiritual man" or
God individualized.
What does it mean to be a
Son of God? It means that we have all the same attributes as God, our Father and only
source. If we think of God as the ocean, then we are the waves on the ocean. No wave can
stand on its own nor can it ever be separated from the ocean. This is true of us as well
for we have no life of our own; our life is God-life and we cannot be separated from God
even for an instant or we would cease to exist at all. Though no two waves ever appear
identical, every one is composed of the same substance and contains all the same elements
as the ocean itself. This is also true of us and our relationship to God. We all have the
same divine attributes though in expression we appear very different and to be individual
means "not divisible" from our source.
When we think of ourselves
as only human, we are forgetting who and what we really are and are not expressing all
that we can be. It is a temporary state of experience in which we are not aware of all the
possibilities that are inherent within us. Myrtle Fillmore, Unity’s co-founder, gave
this advice: "You must discipline your mind day after day, and control your thoughts
so that you will not be full of faith one moment, and doubting, wavering, and unstable the
next." (Letter, July 7, 1931) She also advised: "Instead of letting your
thoughts run along old lines of materiality, when you are busy with your daily duties as
well as when you pray, use the ‘I AM truths.’ Make them an established part of
your consciousness. The more you think about ‘I AM’ your Christ Self, the
greater will be the realization of your inner righteousness and purity." (Letter,
March 20, 1930) Some of her favorite "I AM truths" were: "I am the
resurrection and the life. I am the light of the world. I am the health of my people. I am
and there is naught beside me." (Letter, July 20, 1931) All of these she drew
directly from the Bible. An affirmation she suggested as a good way to start each day was:
"I am stepping out to face blessings, to face prosperity, to face the glory of
life." (Letter, April 12, 1929)
How often do you try to
serve two masters? How often do you begin to hold some true idea only to allow the old
thoughts of limitation to surface? Two things cannot occupy the same space at the same
time. It is as true of thoughts in mind as it is of automobiles in an intersection. When
you begin to walk two mental paths, it is time to take charge and determine the direction
you will go. Be observant of your thoughts, feelings and actions. They show you where your
consciousness is. The only way the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years could be
healed was by touching the Christ self which radiates the Truth of life and health so
completely that nothing less can stand in its presence.
No matter how things appear,
or how they feel, hold to the Truth that you are a "Son of God" with all the
attributes of God. Don’t settle for only human any more. A lot of people believe that
the things of the world, the appearances in their physical experience, are real and that
this spiritual stuff is merely mental mist. But in Truth it is just the
opposite—first in mind, then in manifestation.
Copyright 2002, Greg W.
Neteler
Used with Permission.
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