| Answer
from Jesus:
Imagine the situation
during the early years of the Christian movement. Although many people
had heard me speak, only a relatively small number had gained a deeper
understanding of my true message. If all of those people had remained
silent, how could Christianity possibly have grown to become a significant
religious movement?
The purpose for my mission was to bring renewal to the religious life
on this planet. Today, the Earth is passing into yet another religious
cycle and there is once again a great need for renewal. How can this
renewal possibly come about? It can only come about because people like
yourself have the courage to speak out about the need for change, the
need for growth.
It is ironic, but also very predictable, that the Christian churches
of today have become as calcified in doctrine and dogma as the Jewish
religion was 2,000 years ago. Back then, I was rejected by the orthodox
religious people of the day. Today, many orthodox Christians reject
me once again by rejecting the need for change and renewal in the Christian
movement.
I am very happy with the fact that you and many other people have the
courage to speak out. I encourage you to continue to do so and to refine
your ability to speak out in a way that has the best possibility of
success.
In so doing, be careful not to become attached to people’s reactions.
Do not expect that you will get an instantaneous acceptance of new ideas.
You must realize that in any organization some people will rise to positions
of power, and they will either enjoy that power of feel comfortable
in their positions. Therefore, they will be reluctant to accept anything
that might seem to threaten their positions.
Likewise, many church members have become comfortable with certain doctrines
and rituals. At inner levels, these people’s souls think they
have made some kind of deal with God. They think that if only they keep
believing a certain doctrine and following a certain outer ritual, then
God simply has to save them. While this is an incorrect assumption,
you should be careful about challenging such long-held beliefs.
You need to recognize that some souls have embodied in an orthodox Christian
culture for many lifetimes. Therefore, they have become very attached
to the orthodox way of life, and you cannot expect them to give up that
way of life all at once or within a short period of time.
When you interact with such people, consider yourself to be a farmer
who is walking in the fields and sowing seeds. You know that you cannot
simply put a seed in the ground and expect that it will sprout within
minutes. The seed must lie dormant in the ground for a season before
it will begin to take root. Therefore, when you talk to orthodox Christians,
do not seek to force them to accept certain ideas and do not present
your ideas as if people simply have to accept them. Instead, attempt
to present your ideas as questions and give people complete freedom
to decide what they will do with your questions.
You see, if you present an idea too forcefully, people will feel threatened
and they will immediately close their minds. If you present an idea
as an open-ended question, you have a greater chance that some people
will actually consider the idea. It might take some time before the
idea takes root in their consciousness. However, if people feel threatened
by an idea and instantly close their minds, the seed of your idea will
fall on barren ground.
My parable of the sower is very applicable to this whole problem. One
interpretation of this parable is that God constantly sends his prophets
and messengers into this world. They scatter seeds of true ideas, and
some of the seeds fall on the barren ground of minds that are closed
to a higher understanding of truth. Other seeds fall on the fertile
ground of open minds in which the ideas can take root.
Therefore, simply be the sower, who sows the seeds of a higher truth.
Let the seeds fall where they may and be not attached to whether they
sprout. Be not discouraged if people do not respond immediately to your
ideas. Simply allow those ideas time to take root in their consciousness.
One possible approach is to try to make people think about why I was
rejected by so many orthodox Jews. This was not because the Jews were
bad people; they had simply closed their minds to a higher understanding
of truth. If people can see this, then try to make them consider whether
Jesus wants his followers of today to be as closed-minded as the Jews
who rejected him when he appeared in person. If all of the Jews had
been closed-minded, how could I possibly have attracted any followers?
In other words, it was people with open minds who helped start the Christian
movement, and only people with open minds can ensure its survival.
Ask people to consider the saying, “Seek and ye shall find.”
Then, ask them to consider why so many Christians cling to outer doctrines
and are afraid to seek a higher understanding. Ask them to consider
what they fear. Do they fear that they might find a higher understanding
and therefore have to change beliefs with which they are comfortable?
Then ask them why I said, “I come not to bring peace, but a sword.”
Are they willing to consider a higher truth, or will they cling to the
outer doctrines, as the lawyers of old who plotted my death?
Once again, I am happy that you and many other people are speaking out
about the changes that are surely needed in the Christian religion.
Simply use the tools I have given on this website to build your personal
Christhood and continue to refine the way you speak out. In the latter
part of the new book, The Christ Is Born in You, I
give a more detailed teaching on how people can serve me in this new
age. You might want to study that teaching, because it can truly help
you become an even better servant for me. Please count yourself as one
of my servants and allow yourself to feel my gratitude for your service.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
