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Luke
6:32-33
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For
even pagans love those who love them. If you do good to those who do
good to you, what credit is that to you? For even pagans do the
same."
Here in the
United States we will be celebrating our Independence Day of July
4th. And for most of us, we equate independence with
freedom. But, this day does not mark a day of being free for
everyone as the freedom that was declared in the Constitution of the
United States has yet to be fully realized for all of its
citizens: "We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." At the
time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this statement of
freedom was not true for the citizens of this country at the time.
But like our individual sense of freedom ... the Declaration of
Independence is an affirmation that is to be unfolded and evolved rather
than a statement of fact ... and I am confident that the authors of this
great declaration knew this was so ... and even if they didn't ...
it is so.
The seeking of freedom is
inherent within all of us as is the seeking of God. We have been
created as "volitional" Beings ... it is inherent within each
of us to "choose" ... and when our "choices" appear
to be made by others, we lose our sense of freedom and therefore our
capacity to express fully our Divine Nature. But this is only an
illusion as our spiritual nature is never dependent on anything outside
of Itself ... and even in the most seemingly oppressive of
circumstances, we can realize a sense of freedom as we align ourselves
with the Greater Power that Indwells us ... this same Power that gave
the authors of the Declaration of Independence the "idea or
concept" of freedom in the first place.
Man has created many inventions to
circumvent this inherent freedom within the masses ... the most gross
one of all is religion. Religion has used the very Word of God to
oppress and obstruct the inherent freedom within man/woman ... religion
as played its part as the antagonist of freedom in many ways; the
subservience of women to men; the inequality of races; injustice to gay
and lesbian peoples; the grossness of judgment and the creation of a
devil. Throughout the United States, segregation of the races is
predominant in churches. Religion continues to play its "devil's advocate"
role by and large throughout the world. Religion teaches that God
prefers one group over the other ... or that God favors one religion
over another. The history of the world has shown us that God has
"chosen people" ... but how could Omnipresence limit Itself to
anything or anyone? This attachment to a "god of
limitation" has created wars, holocausts and genocide ... hatred
and self-destruction ... and continues to do so. Religion has lost
sight of the basic truths taught by the Great teachers from which they
extracted the essence of their beliefs. The good news, however, is
that more and more churches are evolving their beliefs and concepts and
this will surely continues as Spirit becomes more insistent in the
hearts and minds of those who will be a part of this awakening to the
freedom of the soul.
Freedom will
expand and develop to a greater degree as we understand the teaching of
the spiritual genius, Jesus: "If you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you? ... If you do good to those who do good to
you, what credit is that to you?" Our spiritual growth and
development must transcend the old concepts of loving those who love us
and doing good to those who do good to us ... we must learn to love
without expecting a reciprocal action on the part of those we love ...
we must learn to do good ... just for the sake of doing the good thing
... not for any other reason. Not for recognition ... not to
appease God for our sins ... not because we believe that doing good will
make our lives better ... but for the sake of doing good ... even if it
offers no benefit to us whatsoever on the physical level. As we
love and do the good each time there is an opportunity to do so ... we
are allowing God incarnate within us to express Itself "through
us" ... and as we do this over and over and over again ... we will
actualize more of God in every experience of our Life.
And
So It Is!
Maximum Love,
Rev.
Hank Bates
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