How I Used Truth - Lesson 2 - Annotation 4
Why should there be no condemnation of any person?
4. There should be no condemnation of any person because each one is a unique creation of God. In our spiritual nature we are the image-likeness of God; in our soul nature we have conscious intelligence, we think and feel and function in the realm of form as a human being.
"And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7).
In the manifest realm everything is in a state of unfolding the plan of the species; every person or "living soul" is coming into a greater consciousness of his true nature. He is unfolding the divine plan that is inherent in him as spiritual ideas. As every "living soul" or human being is the offspring of God his Father, he has the same nature as his divine Parent. If he has not progressed to the point of fully manifesting his divine nature, he cannot be held in condemnation. After all, we do not condemn the unfolding bud for not being a full-bloom flower. So we see that understanding unfolds in divine order in each of us. There can be no condemnation for the steps that we have taken in our endeavor to express the divine plan. The mistakes we may have made are due to lack of understanding of the full Truth. As enlightenment of our mind comes, mistakes and their effects are erased first from our consciousness as limiting beliefs and habits, and in turn from our outer experiences. What applies to us individually applies also to others.
The question refers to "any person" and from this we must assume that it means also that we are not to condemn ourselves. In I John 3, verses 19 and 20, we find these words:
"Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."
How often have we let "our heart condemn us" and make life a burdensome thing instead of the radiant, triumphant adventure of working with God to bring His good into our life's experiences here and now! "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in heaven, so in earth" (Matt. 6:10).
"How often does our heart condemn us! How often do we shut ourselves out from the fullness of life with a sense of sin and wrongdoing! . . . If we are suffering from a sense of condemnation, it is not God who is condemning us, it is we who are condemning ourselves. . . . Surely the forgiveness of God is ours even before our heart reaches out to accept it. Surely the understanding of God is ours even when we fail to understand ourselves" (Pamphlet, "If Your Heart Condemn You": James Dillet Freeman).
When we really know that we are the beloved children of God, and always remain such no matter how we may wander into a "far country," there will be no tendency to condemn ourselves or others. We will be inwardly impelled to live so that our constant prayer will be:
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
Be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer"
(Psalms 19:14 A.V.).
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Preceding Entry: What does it mean "to live more righteous lives" (text, page
36)? What is the "righteous judgment" to which Jesus refers
(John 7:24)?
Following Entry: What is meant by "working against God"?
