The Spiritual Value of God Consciosness
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we seek to understand the spiritual value of God consciousness.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Spiritual Value of God Consciousness
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John,
Chapter 4, Verse 24.
Brothers and sisters, God is Spirit, a Spirit of love and a Spirit of law. The law of God is the
unchanging habit of God. It is the way that he does things, and he does all things equally well. The
love of God, on the other hand, is the fatherly attitude that He displays toward all of his children
while they comply with His law. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning."
Prior to becoming conscious of the spirit of God, we are still subject to the problems of life, both
personal and environmental. The environment of life, the moral arena, and the unceasing demands
made upon our material bodies guarantee that decisions will be made. Each decision carries its own
unique set of effects. If the decision is good, then the effects will be good. But in determining
whether a decision is good or evil, we cannot always tell by the immediate reaction of the emotions
to the decision. The effects of a good decision are not always immediately apparent. This is so
because it takes time for the full effects of a good decision to manifest itself.
Likewise, the effects of bad decisions are not always apparent at once. The emotional attitude toward
a given decision or its effects is directly related to the maturity of the individual. Maturity embraces
such variables as experiences, knowledge, wisdom, and value level comprehension. The acquirement
of all these qualities requires time and is further conditioned by our desires.
The best way for us to determine whether a decision is good is to base that decision upon the highest
level of understanding and wisdom that we possess, and when we do this, this is same as choosing
the will of God. Our decisions are good if the effects of those decisions lead to an increased
awareness of the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Father's love. And always is this the decision of
the highest value.
Each good decision that we make leads to a higher level of understanding and wisdom. Conversely
choosing a decision of lower value leads to a decreasing level of understanding and wisdom, and
eventually results in the loss of capacity for experiencing spiritual reality, the loss of God
consciousness. But what are we to do about the stresses and strains of life, both emotionally and
physically, that invariably accompanies decisions to live a life based upon divine truth? What are we
to do about the everlasting fact that choosing to do the will of God does not remove us from the
material consequences of life, with its emotional disability?
What is the purpose of experiencing the love of God if it does not change the material outcome of
painful decisions? An earthly father cannot prevent bad things from happening to his children, but
the child still values his father's love. The love of God does not alter the law of God, but it does
guarantee that we will have hope rather than despair while experiencing the laws of God (in effect
the unchanging laws of God governing material reality). The difference between hope and despair
is the difference between success and failure. With hope everything that is possible is possible. With
despair nothing is possible.
Beings who have free will and exercise it and those who do not exercise their free will are both
imperfect revelations of God--law and love in an incomplete universe where all struggle to achieve
perfection of existence. The non-volitional has no choice in the matter. It must follow the will of
God. It responds to the laws of God. The volitional having been endowed with free will may choose
to be apart of the ultimate destiny of the whole. Being human beings, we are a combination of the
volitional and the non-volitional and thus subject to both the law and love of God. Concerning the
material mechanism of life, it is subject to the laws governing the material level of reality. This is
the non-volitional part of a human being. The volitional part of a human being may identify with the
spiritual through the creation of a soul, and transcend the material vehicle of which it was once apart.
It may live on forever since the spirit that it has identified with is eternal.
The experience of God's love does not excuse us from the ups and downs inherent in a material
existence, but it does create a faith consciousness that survives the material existence. This truth
which may be faith grasped establishes an absolute foundation for us to rest upon. No matter how
hard the evils of circumstance or the handicaps of existence, even though they overwhelm, the true
meanings and values of our lives (those that are eternal) remain untouched.
Emotional and physical suffering are unavoidable in this life, but the suffering can never destroy
souls that are dedicated to doing the will of God. And even though anguish sometimes appears
unbearable, the love of God with its manifested hope brings us through. Feeling bad is a very
distressing emotional state and is often related to the circumstances of our lives. There are many
reasons for feeling bad. Some of these reasons may remain in spite of our best efforts to remove
them. Feeling bad should always be tempered with the sure knowledge of faith that it has an end.
Feeling bad is not apart of the eternal state. What time fails to remove will be removed by the endless
cycles of eternity. Faith and trust in God will keep us afloat during this unavoidable state of temporal
existence. Faith and trust will eventually reveal the spiritual meanings and values of our painful
experiences.
This concludes today's message on understanding the value of God consciousness. We hope you find
something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next time, this
is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Spiritual Value of God Consciousness
