Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for February 3, 2008
What Is God?
I would like to explore something really basic today. Let's look, together, at what God is. We all think we know what our definition of God is - until we try to put it into words. Think about it for a minute - what is God? What are your words for It?
I looked in the glossary of the Science of Mind text book to see what it said about God. It said that God is "The First Cause." (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Before anything existed, God existed. God created all that exists, or God caused it all to come into existence. Scientists call this the Big Bang.
It says that God is "the Great I Am," which is how God defined himself to Moses. (Exodus 3:13-14) "Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, "What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you.'" This is probably my favorite definition of God. God is "I AM."
It says that God is "the Unborn One, the Uncreated." There was nothing before God to create God. God has always existed.
It says that God is "the Absolute or Unconditioned." God is that which nothing can limit; that which forever transcends any conceivable limitation or determination. God is unconditioned perfection, Self-Existent, and Self-Sufficient.
It says that God is "the One and Only." In (Isaiah 43:10-11) it is written "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior." Whatever God is - it is the only one. There is none but the one God -no matter what name you wish to call it. God is Love, Wisdom, Intelligence, Power, Substance, & Mind. God is the Truth which is real, the Principle which is dependable.
CHARLES FILLMORE
Charles Fillmore writes about the same things as Holmes. In The Revealing Word he says, "God is the almighty One; the Creator; the ruler of the universe; the Infinite; the Eternal." Fillmore and Holmes both agree that God is not person but Principle. God is the underlying, unchangeable Truth (James 1:17) "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
Fillmore writes that, "God as principle is absolute good expressed in all creation. When men know God and worship Him (John 4:24) "in spirit and truth," they recognize Him as this great goodness, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent."
Teresa of Avila wrote: "Within oneself, very clearly, is the best place to look [for God]... and it's not necessary to go to heaven, nor any further than our own selves; for to do so is to tire the spirit and distract the soul, without gaining as much fruit."
God is personal to us when we recognize Him within us as our indwelling life, intelligence, love and power. Actually a better word is God individualized in us rather than personal to us.
When we identify ourselves with God as our indwelling Father, He seems to us to be personal. But it is in the universal identification of ourselves with Him that we come into the God consciousness. The personal is limited. The universal, or God consciousness, is unlimited.
We don't see God with our physical eyes except as He manifests Himself through His works. His attributes are brought into expression by us, we who are His offspring and who are like Him in essence. So we raise our thoughts and feelings to God's level so that we may be channels through which He can come forth into expression and manifestation.
GOD IS WITHIN
So we can look to nature to see God and define Him. We will see the beauty of God there. We can see Divine Order in nature and we can see the Wisdom of God in His creation.
But, like Teresa of Avila, I believe we must look within to get a real feel for God. It says in (Genesis 1:27) "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." So where better to start the search, than within the creature that is the image and likeness of God.
Teresa of Avila wrote, "Knowing ourselves is something so important that I wouldn't want any relaxation ever in this regard... it is good, indeed very good, to try to enter first into the room where self-knowledge is dealt with."
We must first find ourselves, before we can ever find God. We must first understand ourselves, before we can ever understand God. This requires an ability to be very honest with ourselves and it requires a desire for self-responsibility. It means that we will no longer blame others for the state of our soul, or project our old wounds onto our friends. It means we are able to acknowledge to ourselves, and speak clearly to others, the thoughts and emotions we are experiencing.
Our spiritual quest is valid and should not be given up. But we can become too easily distracted by higher spiritual truths and teachings and neglect to look at the way we live in this world - as psychological and physical beings.
You, I, and everyone else on this planet are mixtures of ancestral, genetic, psychological, and spiritual components. The influence from all of these things show up in our lives, and some of them are not as attractive as we would wish they were.
Teresa of Avila reminds us that by acknowledging these not-so-welcome traits we are entering into the realm of humility. We enter a place where we understand that we are superior to none, a place we can all afford to dwell in.
Our ego would prefer not to enter this room, and our pride struggles to remind us that we are better than others. It does not want to face those darker areas of our personality.
The trickster lives within all of us and will emerge whenever we bring light into the darkness. It will try to divert our attention or explain and defend its position.
We might find ourselves suddenly becoming preoccupied with a phone call we have to make or an email we have to send. Or we could find ourselves involved in a very complex inner dialogue as we examine previous situations for minute details. We want to justify every word and defend our position.
When we find ourselves falling into the traps of the trickster, Teresa of Avila tells us to bring ourselves lovingly back into the presence of God who knows all and to place ourselves humbly at His feet. Through this action we acknowledge that it is God who sheds the light into our hearts, not the ego. Only then will the truth of our self be revealed.
This journey of knowing the self is a constant process - we move in and out of the room of self-knowledge as our life and soul demand.
Teresa gives an analogy of a bee making honey in a hive. The bee is always working to make the honey, but sometimes it leaves the beehive and flies about gathering nectar from the flowers.
Similarly, she said, the soul needs to fly into other realms to experience the nectar of God, to not always concentrate on the earthly self.
For Teresa, self-knowledge and humility are the two greatest attributes we can bring to our spiritual life - whatever stage we may be at. Those most advanced know that visiting these dwellings brings them closer to God, and so they take great delight when they are guided there.
KIND THOUGHTS
Teresa wrote, "The soul could lose its peace and even disturb the peace of others by going about looking at trifling things in people that at times are not even imperfections, but since we know little we see these things in the worst light."
One of our greatest enemies in this world is judgment. Jesus said (Matthew 7:1-5) "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."
Teresa, up until the end of her life, was overseeing 18 monasteries, and the nuns were often housed in very close quarters, where they ate, worked, and prayed together every day. There were many opportunities for personalities to conflict and for overzealous religiosity to occur. Teresa quickly became a psychological expert and earned the reputation of having incredible insight into the true nature of any disturbance.
She came to understand judgment as insidious and as the cause of much unrest and lack of love in her nuns. She witnessed that the good intention of helping another could simply be a disguised form of judgment. Very often the advice given was not asked for, and therefore not welcome, causing offense or a rift in the friendship.
The advice could also be irrelevant or not quite accurate, since the situation was being judged according to another's understanding. Teresa wrote, "Ah, if I should have to speak of the mistakes I have seen happen by trusting in the good intention!" By busying ourselves with another's life, she said, we forget to look at our own life, which is where our attention should be put.
It is not anyone's responsibility to point out the faults of another. Our responsibility is to love. Unfortunately, too many relationships fall into a pattern of judgment in the guise of helping. In particular, our close relationships with our family and intimate partners are prone to this dynamic and can be a major cause of disharmony, since nothing erodes love more quickly than judgment.
What one person may perceive as helping can feel like an accusation to another. We have to allow others to be, and simply love them as they are. Love has a greater affect than any advice. As a nun once said, "The only time people accept advice is when they ask for it."
What do we do then when we find ourselves judging another? Teresa suggested seeking the good in one another and not focusing on faults, whatever we perceive them to be. Recognize the Christ in all people, and you will see nothing but God.
We are to bring love, not condemnation, into the heart. If we love another, she said, then other's actions should not annoy us. But if we are becoming disturbed, then we should look within to see if those very same faults live within us. We should not bring them to our friend's attention (unless, of course, they are a major concern); rather, "let each one look to herself," and let mutual love reign.
By looking to our own life, we can overcome the need to help others. Alternatively, we can find appropriate avenues for this need to be expressed. This may be through our profession, through being a volunteer in our community, or simply through being available when friends or family need help. If we can step outside the place of "good intention" and simply be available to love, people will readily seek our counsel or help when it is required. Removing yourself from judgment, from your own and from others', and being open to love is the greatest gift you can give the world.
So what is God. What is God to you? How is God individualized within you? What attributes of God do you, personally, bring into expression in your life?
Allow yourself to look within, explore yourself - and in so doing - find God.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:13-14; Isaiah 43:10-11; Genesis 1:1; James 1:17; John 4:24; Genesis 1:27; Matthew 7:1-5
REFERENCE: Science of Mind textbook Ernest Holmes; The Revealing Word Charles Fillmore; Falling Into The Arms of God Meditations with Teresa of Avila
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Last updated
February 4, 2008
