6/23/13 Rev. David McArthur
What Is Your God Thought?
We have grown in the way we think of God. Imagine you were a shepherd 3000 years ago and the night sky filled you with incredible awe. You wondered about the power that created it. You sensed how much greater than us that power must be, and how insignificant we are. With the light of dawn the fears of the night faded as the sun revealed the familiar world. In the dark what we didn’t know, what we couldn’t see, we feared must be evil. All cultures have had these natural thoughts.
So we developed stories explaining our understanding of God, and passed them down, like the pillar of fire. We thought that if we follow the rules, God will give us the goodies; if we don’t, we’ll lose them. The God thought handed down to us is probably as wrong as it is right. We tend to use the God thought that lets us feel close to the power, the I Am, Atman, the Buddha Mind. What works for you?
There are beings who see this relationship more clearly than others. Over time these people were written about. “The light that shines above all others is within you.” is from Hindu scripture. Jesus taught “The Father and I are one.” (Not out “there” and separate, like a pillar of fire.) He taught to move our consciousness to the divine part within, as in “The kingdom of heaven is within.” (And that it is not possible to be lost.)
In Unity we say we are spiritual rather than religious because we feel we have no need to defend the God thought of others who went before. Our God thought is expressed in “God Is Good All The Time.” What if we replace “God” with “Goodness”? “I AM Goodness All The Time.” “I AM Goodness All The Time.” “I AM Goodness All The Time.” Which God thought is most helpful to your journey?
Do you know you are more aware of the different God thoughts around the world than any of the people who wrote the Bible? You can look at the world with a new God thought! Again, imagine you are on the hillside 3000 years ago looking up at that sky in the night. But look with awareness that you are a part of the creation you are observing. Be aware that you are One with the creative force that set those heavens in motion. As you observe, you are aware of the life you have created—with love and loss, with tremendous joy and tremendous pain. You are observing the Created and the Creator, observing the Divine unfolding. What God thought works for you?
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