Our Ultimate Purpose

During my lesson, Building Our Spiritual Muscle, on Sunday, July 29, at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, I shared that from my perspective embodying the Christ consciousness is the ultimate purpose for engaging in our spiritual practices and building our spiritual strength. Further, that as we embody the Christ, our divine nature, we express it as did Jesus Christ, our way shower, through acts of love, service, compassion and healing.

As frequently happens, following service that day I facilitated “Discussions with David,” where a group gathers to discuss and share thoughts about the lesson. One of members who attended that gathering asked what I meant by the word ‘ultimate.’ This lead to further conversations about “Divine Plan,” “God’s Will” and “Freewill.”

I appreciate these dialogs. They invite us all into a deeper connection with what we believe, know and experience. They certainly inspire me to greater contemplation and more in-depth inquiry.

Since we did not have time to delve deeply into the topics mentioned about, I thought I would offer some of my thoughts in this forum.

I stand firm in my belief that the pinnacle of human experience is the attainment of Unity consciousness - the realization of our oneness in God/Spirit/Divine Life/Unified Field of Consciousness, or by whatever name or nature we know It to be. In fact, as I understand it, that is the “Divine Plan.” We are here, individually and collectively, to awaken to the indwelling Christ, to embody that Divine Ideal, and to manifest a world that exemplifies the qualities of the Christ through our thoughts, words and actions.

Unity cofounder, Charles Fillmore, in The Revealing Word, defines “Will of God” as,

God's determination is always perfection and all good for all [God’s] children; perfect health in mind and body; abundance of every good thing including joy, peace, wisdom, and eternal life. [God] does not will suffering or imperfection in any form.

We often think of “God’s Will” as a directive. We may have interpreted this to mean that God uses the Power of Will or will power to assert or impose a specific plan upon us. That does not jive with the God of my understanding. In researching synonyms for ‘will’ I found ‘spirit’ listed. Replacing the word ‘will’ with ‘spirit’ gives this concept an entirely new energy.

I suggest that each time we hear “God’s Will” we translate it to “God’s Spirit.” God’s Spirit of love; God’s Spirit of courage; God’s Spirit of forgiveness; God’s Spirit of abundance; God’s Spirit of joy; God’s Spirit of wholeness; God’s Spirt of peace, etc. God’s Spirt is accessible and available to each of us, yet never forced upon us. We get to choose.

We enjoy the gift of freewill. In his book, In the Flow of Life, Unity minister and author Eric Butterworth says,

The only predestination in life is the ultimate unfoldment of the divine creature you are. But the direction you take in realizing this outforming of the Christ indwelling will always be determined by your consciousness.

The content of our consciousness, the prevailing energy patterns of thoughts and feelings, determine our path, not some predetermined arbitrarily assigned role or plan for our lives. We have the power to affect the nature of our consciousness.

Regarding the “ultimate purpose” for our lives, I share this from my book, In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness ¹,

The sole purpose of life experience is to be a channel for [God.] “Why am I here?” or “What is my life purpose?” are questions asked by most of us. Many spend a lifetime seeking these answers, yet never finding them. The problem is not with the answer, but with the question. The question implies that the one asking has a purpose that is different and somehow separate from the one purpose of humanity – to be the expression of Love on Earth.

The questions often asked about purpose are truly questions of calling. The questions could very well be worded, “What is [Spirit] calling me to contribute to the world, and how do I accomplish it?” or “How can I, as an individuation of [God] freely share Love in a way that is life-enriching and uniquely suited to my gifts and talents?” Those are questions that open the channel of freedom, allowing the expression of all that desires to be born in the one asking.

Each of us has a unique part to play in the unfolding of the “Divine Plan” as we awaken to the indwelling Christ, and through the power of freewill, become God’s Spirit in action.

In addition, we are divinely guided on the path to our greatest unfolding. Eric Butterworth also said in In the Flow of Life,

Divine guidance is not an exterior force action upon you. It is the seed of your divinity (the Christ of you) seeking to fulfill its pattern in the outforming process of your life. God could never do for you that which you do not inherently want for yourself.

As we center our awareness in our hearts, we attune to the voice of our inner guide. When we listen and follow the knowing at the depth our being, we are lead each step of the way in the fulfillment of our unique pattern of the Christ that each of us is.

I will explore more about this idea in my lesson at 10:00 this coming Sunday, August 19, at Unity Spiritual Center Denver. My lesson is entitled, “Your Internal GPS.” If you are in the Denver area, please join us. If you are not able to join us on Sunday, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. My lessons are uploaded each week.

¹ Sign up for my email list, and I will be happy to email you an electronic copy of my book. You may also purchase a paperback copy here.