2002-08-25-Seeking Perfection

Session

Opening

Ham: Greetings, children, I am Ham and I am glad or happy that you have chosen to be here this evening.

Lesson

Perfection

Let us consider this questing nature of humankind, this perpetual curiosity that seeks to find that which is more perfect, more true, or more beautiful than that which exists. Deep within the human soul exists a fragment of God himself. This inner fragment seeks always for unity with that which is itself. It seeks union with sublime perfection, it seeks union with truth, beauty, and goodness.

The seeking of the mind toward betterment is a part of God's design. As you personally seek to be better, it is part of the perfection quest of the soul. The inner drive toward perfection is not always recognized as such. But there it is. You are incomplete beings. You are imperfect beings. You are created in imperfection and given the choice whether to seek perfection or not.

Human beings naturally want to increasingly perfect something they are doing. They want to increasingly perfect their environment. They want to increasingly perfect knowledge. When humans are given freedom - freedom spiritually, intellectually, and physically or economically - there is a natural trend towards this increasing perfection.

Freedom

Human beings also want to perfect freedom. For what is freedom? The Master himself proclaimed his mission to free the people from spiritual bondage. He proclaimed that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

So how does this truth bring freedom? He certainly was not speaking of moral license or the freedom to be unrighteous. He was speaking of spiritual freedom. This freedom exists within the realm of goodness, the realm of righteousness. It is easy to imagine that when righteousness is sought, and perfection of morality is sought, the result is an increase in freedom because the impulse to be licentious is curbed. The more there is of unrighteousness in a group or a society, the less free its peoples.

So how does truth begin to break cycles of unrighteousness? Men do not seek to be righteous out of the bondage of duty. Men seek to be righteous out of the love of God. Love God and you will know him and knowing him you will identify with him and seek to be more like him yourselves. That inner drive has a purpose. Love brings with it insight, charity, and fortitude for he who has his purpose stayed upon the Father can withstand all earthly trouble. He whose purpose is stayed upon the Father naturally seeks to be charitable, and he who receives the Father's love naturally seeks to share that love. This is the truth. The Master also said that the meek shall inherit the earth. And what then is meekness than a description of human beings growing in spiritual righteousness and therefore growing in love and charity.

Islam, Christianity

Never forget that the Father loves all his children and that he seeks only there betterment. Spiritual progression is never served by aggression. Those who would seek to promote spiritual progression by way of the sword are sadly mistaken. The world must very soon find ways to accommodate all its peoples without resort to violence. Destruction, famine, and pestilence come all three together. Humanity must be served in better ways.

The Muslim religion which spread very rapidly by the sword has now come up against modernity which it refuses to accept. All religion must grow and change or it will whither and die. Higher concepts must continually replace those that are lower in order for humanity to advance. When a religion becomes an intellectual stifle or when it seeks to restrict freedom of thought, then that religion has good reason to be afraid.

Repression of the human mind is seen by the spiritual government as a sin. Religions are not immune from sin and most at some time or other have or continue to cross that line and become thought oppressors. By perpetuating that which was, religion stifles that which will be.

Humanity is going through very rapid progress at this time and rapid progress generally creates a backlash of fear. And the churches which are the carriers of tradition are often the source of this fearful backlash against rapid social change. This is what is happening all over the world from Baptist pulpits to Mosques. Your world is fearful of too much change.

Jesus, Tradition

The Master was a spearhead for change. He flouted tradition. He was open in speaking with all kinds of people, women and men, children and adults. He was literally the face of God to a generation. But that face now is cloudy, distorted from 20 centuries of human tradition. The friendly boat builder from Galilee who raised women to his side and spoke of God as Father is barely visible through the baggage of time.

But his spirit is ever present. His spirit lives and is a friend and personal confidant of every believer who turns to him. His spirit speaks constantly to every ear who would ear it saying this is the way. His spirit is more alive now in the hearts of his children than it has been since his recent earthly death. His spirit seeks to reclaim this earth and all the children in it. This is a tall order but one that will succeed.

There is no other true religion. There is only one truth. Truth cannot be stifled or changes or put aside. Truth cannot be postponed. The religion that the Master revealed - a religion of freedom, a religion in which every person had a personal relationship with their Father in heaven, a religion in which God can be sought and talked to and loved and emulated - this is truth. This is the truth which all people must find. Verily I say unto you that even the religions which hold up Christ as a beacon and do so by any falseness will be brought down.

Every person eventually will find their sonship or daughtership with the Father and this find will be worth everything. It is the pearl of great price this discovery. Everything else that stands in the way of that relationship must be sacrificed for that relationship is everything. It is eternal life. It is spiritual peace, intellectual comfort, social harmony, and blissful love.

The world will advance just so far as those believers are willing to walk their path with God. The future of your world is literally riding on the willingness of men and women to put aside their selfishness, their personal will, in order to follow the higher will of God.

Human beings are weak creatures. You all have your grey areas, your struggles with self, and this is as it should be but remember progress is made through that certainty of faith. Be certain and secure in your relationship to God. Let nothing interfere with it. Seek God with all your heart and all your might. Seek the higher way. Descend not into the lower impulses. Be beacons of love to those who need love so desperately. This is the way. There is no other.

Closing

This has been a long lesson so we will defer questions until next week. During the week, think about how you can make God your everything and in what ways do you slight him and turn in other directions. What does it mean when we talk about dedication? What does it mean when we speak of faith and trust? Learn to sort the big things from the small. When all the small things are brushed away, what is the center of your reality? What are your true goals in life? Is that restlessness and hunger for perfection leading you into truth, righteousness and love or are you tricking yourself into thinking that self-serving is a way to channel your energies and make progress?

You all do very well. There is no one in dire need of assistance. I will take my leave until next week. Farewell.