7th DAY OF LENT – FASTING/FEASTING FOR THE NEW GOLDEN AGE
A TIME OF RETREAT
7th DAY OF LENT – FASTING/FEASTING FOR THE NEW GOLDEN AGE
(These devotionals may be best understood by reading them in order)
Nancy B. Detweiler, M.Ed., M.Div.
A Light for my Path
As we read through the Old Testament, two things become clear: Earth humans have made mistakes during our many incarnations on the plane of duality – and – there has never been a time when Celestial Beings and our galactic family were not watching over and attempting to guide us. We have experienced lifetimes in which we were very receptive to Divine Guidance and lifetimes in which we choose to walk alone.
A part of our learning process on the plane of duality is that we experience the polar opposites: good – walking with God, and evil – walking in feigned separation from God. The goals are twofold: that we learn from our mistakes and that we truly comprehend the Laws that rule this Universe.
Religions have taught us that we are sinners and speak that word with such severe condemnation that many become emotionally and intellectually immobile with fear of the punishment that surely must come. According to the particular religion, there are prescribed formulas of behavior for seeking forgiveness of sins. Either way, we end up thinking less of our self … we accept the condemnation and seldom question it.
The metaphysical meaning of the Hebrew word for “sin” is “missing the mark, falling short of the divine law.[i] In other words, we made a mistake. Making a mistake is normal during the learning process. In school, we may make a mistake on an exam and thus, make a lower grade than we had hoped; but, the teacher does not hold a grudge against us or condemn us to punishment. We disappointed our self by making the mistake and we—on our own volition—may determine to make fewer mistakes on the next exam. The pace of our scholastic growth is in our hands alone. Teachers and parents may offer guidance, but we alone make the decision to improve … to learn from our mistakes. No one can force us to learn.
The metaphysical definition of sin goes on to define divine law – “The divine law is the law of God, the law of Being; it is the underlying principle of every [one’s] being and of the universe. Sin is a departure from the law of our being.” [ii]
Divine or Universal Law tells us how God’s Creation works. When we behave in ways that are contrary to these Universal Laws, we have sinned, missed the mark, made a mistake.
Let’s go back to our school house example. Universal Law states that for every action there will be a reaction. So when we use our God-given gift of freewill[iii] to choose not to study for an exam, we set in motion a matching reaction—making a low grade on the exam. The goal of experiencing the unfolding of this Universal Law is that we learn how the Universal Law operates. There is no Divine judgment or condemnation to punishment. Mother/Father God simply allows us to experience the results of our choice.
Another Universal Law is “we reap what we sow.” When we plant a pansy seed, we expect to enjoy a lovely pansy. It would never occur to us to consider planting a pansy seed and expect a rose bush. Yet, we may speak harshly to another individual, then feel shock when someone speaks harshly to us. We forget that we planted a “speak-to-me-harshly seed.”
We find Jesus quoting this Universal Law in Matthew 26:52 while he is being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus speaks to one of those with him: “Put your sword back in its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Even though it may be several lifetimes later, all freewill choices of a negative or hurtful nature that we make in this lifetime invokes the Universal Law: we reap what we sow. It is never God punishing us … it is always the Universal Law returning the harvest that our actions dictated. God has no need to forgive us … instead, Mother/Father God continues to love us unconditionally while we learn how Divine/Universal Law works.
On this 7th day of Lent, may we “fast” from thinking of ourselves as sinners needing God’s forgiveness.
May we “feast” on ourselves as students of the Universal/Divine Law. Sure, we make mistakes, but that is okay. The goal is to learn from those mistakes so that we grow in our understanding of how Universal Laws unfold in our lives and in all of Creation. The Law itself is neutral; we determine by our freewill choices how it will manifest in our lives.
May we “feast” on the fact that Mother/Father God is never punishing us. Instead, our Mother/Father God stands by loving us unconditionally while we learn to walk as the child gods that we are!
May we “feast” upon the knowledge that those of us learning on the plane of duality chose the more difficult and rapid way to advance on our pathway to becoming adult gods and goddesses. Our spirit brothers and sisters who never incarnated on the plane of duality behold us in amazement. We have developed a Soul stamina they admire and for which they honor us!
[i] Unity’s Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, page 620.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] I stress our “God-given gift of freewill” because when God granted us the right to choose, He also gave us permission to make whatever choice we so desired. There is no need for God to forgive us for making a poor choice. The goal is to learn from that choice.
