How I Used Truth - Lesson 4 - Annotation 9
What did Jesus mean when He said, "I am the door" (John 10:9) and also "I am the way" (John 14:6)?
9. Spiritual discernment leads us to believe that when Jesus said, "I am the door" (John 10:9), He was referring to the I AM or Christ Spirit within each of us, The I AM or Christ is the only "door" by which we may consciously enter into oneness With God.
Excellent as the human mind is, it cannot take us through the door or gate to our good; it is the instrument that takes us to the door.
"Through your mind pours the mind of God . . . Your consciousness, even when highly spiritualized, is not to be regarded as your leader. It is meant to sustain you, not to prompt you. It aids and comforts you, but it never creates. Being the product of your thinking, it never can be the exalted source of ideas. It is your realization of the presence of God, but its voice is not the voice of God" (What Are You? 42).
The I AM within us is the storehouse of good that satisfies our every need. No outer person, place, or thing can reveal the storehouse where all divine ideas, as living principles, await our acceptance and application. No matter how much we might want to be the "door" for a loved one to find his way to the storehouse or Presence of God, we cannot be that "door"; we can, however, pray for his illumination so that he turns to the I AM within himself and finds the "door."
When we consider the scriptural statement "I am the door," we think also of "I am the way" (John 14:6). The "way" for each of us, like the "door," is the I AM or indwelling Christ. Christ is the only way, while Jesus, our Elder Brother, is our Way-Shower. This point was covered quite extensively in the Annotations for Lesson Four, Lessons in Truth.
The I AM in each of us, our own true nature, is the life principle. Like the pattern in the seed it alone can provide the "way" of our spiritual growth. Only the pattern of the species can be the "way" in which each individual seed unfolds. So with us. The I AM is not only the "way" to our unfoldment, but it alone can guide us into the manner of that unfoldment. When we remember this for those we love, we no longer hold them mentally in bondage to our way of living.
Just as we can never be the "door" for another person, neither can we be the "way" for him. This is something that only his own indwelling Lord, or I AM, can be. We can however, through our prayers, our understanding, love, and compassion stimulate him to turn within so that he may contact his own "door" and "way." Even this service for another should never be forced upon him, but must be prompted by our own indwelling Lord. This is the only true method by which we can aid a soul struggling to find its way of release from the burden of frustration, fear, unhappiness. To our fellow man, as to ourselves, the Christ, I AM, says,
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20).
The "door" here referred to is the door of our mind. The Christ (the God Presence within) is always with us, but Christ comes consciously into our mind (thinking and feeling) only by invitation. When we "loose him," our friend or loved one has a better chance of opening the "door" of his own mind so that the Christ, dwelling at the center of his being, may commune with him.
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Preceding Entry: Should one who is apparently "going wrong" be specifically treated for his "sins"?
Following Entry: How do we "loose him and let him go" (John 11:44)
