LECTURE
The kingdom of God
© The School of Truth
Source p. 270, Oct / Nov 2008 - The Path of Truth
It is important to identify what we are seeking in life. Are we satisfied, content? If not, what do we need to give us peace, satisfaction and fulfilment? Is it better relationships, health, happiness, prosperity, work? We may feel we have all these things yet something seems to be missing – something seems to elude us.
The big question is – are we soul-content? Do we express the joy of the soul in our lives? Matthew 6:33 tells us "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added unto you" - all things, not just some things.
"Kingdom" implies a state, a place where people live and over which a king reigns. In a similar way, we all dwell in a mental kingdom that is established by our thoughts. But is this mental kingdom in which we dwell the kingdom of God – a kingdom of love, good, truth, beauty, compassion, consideration, unselfishness?
The Master told us "seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you" and further "The kingdom of God is within you." The kingdom of God is really a state of consciousness that is brought into being by the thoughts that we allow to occupy our minds.
"Consciousness" is a word that is often used, but what does it mean? It is in fact a state of awareness, an intuition, a knowledge, a realisation, a recognition, a sensitivity or sensibility – a feeling. It is all these. Our senses – what we see, hear, touch, taste or smell – can give us a consciousness. For example, if we exercise we could obtain a greater consciousness of health, vigour and strength.
In a similar way, spiritual exercise gives us greater spiritual awareness, or God-consciousness and, to the extent that we have this, we are dwelling in the kingdom of God, and we feel God’s presence as a reality.
The realisation of the kingdom of God does not usually come immediately. It is a step by step process. Spiritual awareness begins as an urge, a desire, then an idea that gradually develops in the mind. Thoughts feed the idea and develop it until our consciousness is raised, opened and expanded. Then we come into the realisation, or the awareness, that no matter what we are doing or experiencing, God is always with us.
We need to allow the activities of God into every area of our lives. The kingdom is the source of all things. God is our Supplier of health, happiness, peace and prosperity. These are all in the inner kingdom, within to be expressed, to be made manifest. The kingdom of God is the realm of all good.
So let us go forward, establishing ourselves in the consciousness of the presence of God, having faith in Him as the source of all good and realising that it is "the Father's good pleasure to give unto you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven" and when we enter it we realise that it was always within us. But we must become aware of this good within us before we can bring forth those things that we wish to demonstrate in our lives.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." What is this righteousness? Is it the same for every one? When faced with problems the criterion is – will our thoughts, feelings, words and actions take us closer to God, raise our consciousness, or will they take us away from God and lower our consciousness?
Some people may do right actions but do them rather reluctantly or grudgingly. This is not the way. All that we do should be done with a good heart, with love. People have to make a breakthrough and become aware of the kingdom that is within them, to develop a whole new consciousness of existence.
Seekers after Truth are rewarded with "soul-contact", that is the feeling of being in the kingdom of God. People may feel that the errors of the past or present prevent them from having contact with the Infinite, but this is not so. When we are in error and recognise it, the longing for contact increases, just as when we are cold we need warmth more than when we are warm, and our longing itself brings us closer. We recall the parable of the Prodigal Son, where the father says, "Son, thou are ever with me and all that I have is thine."
Let us share with you part of a poem by Frank Witney, entitled "The Soul Dawn":
When day is dawning in the east,
the sun arises in my soul.
Across the threshold of the mind,
there streams a thought that I am whole;
there comes a thought that glorifies
my inmost being, soul and heart –
the rays of Truth, its sunshine bright,
must penetrate my every part.When the horizon shows to me
its shafts of glory, warmth and light,
there dawns upon my consciousness
the light of Truth with rays to bright
that every darkened thought must go,
must be replaced by thoughts of good,
and every doubt and unbelief
give way to truth that's understood.
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