Living The Kingdom of God

One of my favorite quotes is from Marianne Williamson, speaker, teacher, and author of numerous books, including A Return to Love, which includes the statement, "We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone." Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to realize this truth and live from this truth, and in doing so, bring forth the kingdom of God into manifestation. In a nutshell, this is the essence of living a prosperous life, a life in which we express our innate glory in our work, relationships, physical well being, and our finances. If we are not currently living that experience, it is not that we do not possess the capacity; it is just that we are continuing to project a false image of ourselves which is not in alignment with our Truth, the Glory of God; thereby we are drawing to us demonstrations of our unbelief.  So, what do we do; how do we move from where we currently find ourselves to where we desire to be?

What are we to do when we look at our bank balances and see that there is not enough money to pay all the bills? What are we supposed to do when a relationship that we have committed to for life changes and the person we thought we were going to grow old with decides that is no longer the plan? What about when we go to the doctor and she tells us that we have a serious illness? What do we do when we find ourselves in a dead-end, mind-numbing job? How are we supposed to pull ourselves out of these conditions, transform our experiences, and live prosperous lives?

The master teacher and way-shower, Jesus, gives several good suggestions, not the least of which is found in Matthew 6:31 & 33 in which he says "Do not worry...but seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things shall be added to you."

First, do not worry. Worry keeps us in the cycle of manifesting what we do not want. Worry is the mental activity of resisting the condition which we want to change. Most have heard the adage, "what you resist persists." This is true because of the law of attraction which states that like attracts like. The law of attraction works by drawing us to people, places and circumstances that reflect the energy of our thoughts and feelings. It is important to remember that the law of attraction works on thoughts as well; one thought of lack attracts another similar thought and so on. When we worry, we are thinking thoughts of lack. When Jesus says, "do not worry," he is encouraging us to stop focusing on the condition, and instead focus on the Truth which is the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God, to which Jesus refers, is as Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore says "not a place in the skies but an ideal state in creative mind, ready to be ushered into the minds of [humanity]." Jesus says, "The kingdom of God is at hand," and "the kingdom of God is within you." As Unity minister and author, Eric Butterworth, says "it is not somewhere to go, but something to be." The kingdom of God is represented by the Garden of Eden in the allegorical creation story found in the book of Genesis, a state of consciousness in which we know that we are created as the image and likeness of the One, and in which we know that all is provided in every moment.

Jesus provides further instruction as he continues to teach as stated in Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you."

 

The word 'seek' can mean "to search for" or "to go in quest of" something, but Jesus could not possibly have meant that we have to search for the kingdom of God. If it is something we need to go in search of, he would not have told us that it is "within us" or that it is "at hand." In other teachings, Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom is all around, yet men do not see it. For us to ask, "Where is the kingdom of God?" is like a fish asking, "Where is water?" It is the Substance and Supply in which we live and move and have being. "Seek" in this context of Jesus' teaching means to 'look' or to 'see.' When we close our physical eyes and cease to look at the apparent condition, we can focus our awareness on the eternal Truth of our being, that which is "within" us, as us. When we remove our awareness from the five senses, and stop looking with the physical eyes, we are able to more readily see with the eyes of Spirit. This is one reason we commonly close our eyes during prayer and meditation; it helps us to change the focus of our attention. When we choose to see with spirit eyes, we can only see what is true. The eyes of Spirit only see the kingdom of God. In order for us to live a prosperous life in all aspects of our experience, we can begin today to practice seeing the kingdom of God within, and then choose to see the kingdom of God without. Practice seeing only the kingdom of God everywhere, for in Truth, it is all that is real.

I have often wondered what Jesus meant when he said what has be interpreted as "knock and the door will be opened." What follows is what came to me as I meditated on that statement. The "door" is symbolic of any thought of lack or limitation which we may be holding in our minds, a thought that we believe and which may be the basis for the demonstration of the current condition. However, this thought which seems to be separating us from our Good, once acknowledged, may actually be a passageway between where we find ourselves now and the life that we desire to live. Once we become aware of the "door," we can "knock" on the door and it will be "opened." We knock on the door of our false belief through the practice of denials and affirmations. It is important to deny the power of any thought which seems to be separating us from the manifestation of a prosperous life. We deny the reality of any thought which does not have its foundation in the Truth which is any thought that tells us that we are anything less than the expression of the kingdom of God consciousness. Once we deny the thought, we then knock on the door, not with our hands, but through the power of our affirmative thought. An affirmative thought is one that is based on the Truth, the kingdom of God within. When we deny that the "door" is real and knock through the power of affirmative thought, the door not only opens; it dissipates and a new consciousness is revealed. We are then able to walk through the doorway into a whole new way of thinking and being, thus a whole new consciousness from which to demonstration a prosperous life.

Jesus also instructs us to "ask," but Jesus does not teach that we are to "ask" as in, "please give me," but instead to "call forth" or to "claim." Jesus did not ask God to heal the sick, or raise the dead. No, Jesus gave thanks for what he knew was already the Truth and then called forth the demonstration of it. As Jesus said, "ask believing that you have already received, and it will be given." (Mark 11:24) We are to call forth through the power of our thoughts, feelings and words whatever we desire in order that we may demonstration a prosperous life.

We manifest the kingdom of God, the glory of God within each of us, thus, we live prosperous lives when we stop worrying about what we do not want, and instead focus on what we do want; choose to see the kingdom of God everywhere present, within and all around us; deny the power of limiting thoughts and affirm the Truth; and call forth what we desire through the power of our thoughts, feelings, words and gratitude.