Series 1 - Lesson 4 - Annotation 8
What place has thought in the restoration to divine perfection?
8. Man lost consciousness of his divine origin through the misapplication of his causative power, thought. Ideas are the cause of all that is. A man is as limited as his beliefs; as free as his beliefs accord with Spirit. Man is a conscious thinker. To attain a consciousness of divine perfection he first must have a clear mental image of what divine perfection is. Divine perfection is God; therefore in his thinking man should contemplate God. What is God like? Man fell short of manifesting perfection by beholding an imperfect image (pattern) of himself, and now to be restored, he must carry an image of God in his mind and in his heart. Our whole life is an outpicturing of our mental conception of what God is. Our thoughts, our concepts concerning God are the most important ones we can have. Divine perfection cannot be restored without a pattern, so we image in consciousness our conception of what God is, where God is, and what He is like. As we catch the true vision and meditate on it, our homeward journey begins. The more man desires, visions, thinks, contemplates that which is like God, the more nearly perfect will be his manifestations. Man "falls" every time he lets himself consciously think of anything less than the ideal and the perfect.
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Preceding Entry: What are the two phases of growth which the members of the "church of Christ" experience?
Following Entry: Explain fully the meaning of the word "blessing."
