© 1994 Everett Sloffer
© 1994 The Brotherhood of Man Library
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At some stage during our lives, virtually everybody has some special experience, a spiritual insight that we might desire to share with our fellow seekers. Surely such experiences derive from the God-spirit within. Some may be too intensely personal for sharing. Others may have spiritual value that we should not keep to ourselves.
Everett Sloffer had one such insight that he shared in his article, “The Power of Spiritual Insight,” printed in the Spiritual Fellowship Journal 2 (2), 1992. It came to him while listening to a friend address a small group and, for him, opened up a new and deeper meaning of the first and greatest commandment. (You should love the Lord your God with all your heart…)
The comment that did this was “Jesus sought the Father’s will even in his smallest desire.” For Everett, this statement unlocked new doorways of understanding of life and love, of work and play, and of every moment of being. Previously, Everett had tended to assume, as most of us do, that the will of God only applies to the big decisions, those actions that direct or re-direct our lives. Many people sincerely believe that God is too busy running the universe to be concerned with the minute details of our daily activities.
The Urantia Book tells us that this is not true:
. . . the divine Spirit must dominate and control every phase of human experience. UB 34:6.7
. . .[And] Jesus ever [deferred] his slightest wish to the will of the Father in heaven . . . " UB 139:4.9
Everett says that these statements imply three things:
First, the will of God extends to every possible action and decision, and to every moment of being. In matters of spirit there is no such thing as “small stuff.” Jesus demonstrated that there is always a Godlike way, even to do the small things.
Second, the will of God is the most liberating force in the Universe. Most of us are handicapped by the conceptual error that the ways of God are somehow limiting. By his life, Jesus showed us that doing the will of God leads to maximum liberation.
Third, the will of God calls us to act. Though we must “be” before we can “do”, action is necessary simply because decisions cannot be consummated until we act. And if we are uncertain, we can always trade our mind for the mind of Jesus and ask, “What would Jesus have done?”
God is ever gently leading us forward. He knows that in time and with His help, there will be continued progress. So let us act, remembering always that Jesus sought the Father’s will even in his smallest desire. So can we. Thank you, Everett, for sharing your insight.
| A Time for Change? | Volume 1 - No. 1 — Index | Do You Want Your Children to Like You? Jesus Provided a Model |