Openness

There are many aspects of having an open heart and an open mind that contribute to happiness, sanity, health, and overall balance of the soul. When humans are frightened of something, even unconsciously so, the first tendency is to close off the possibility of truth, of whatever is frightening. The second reaction is to magnify its hazard in order to justify the fear. And to justify their own stance of close mindedness.

If you are secure in your relationship with the Father, in your faith, then you know that nothing can harm you. No construct of man can threaten your safety in the arms of the eternal. And in that safety, your mind can be open to everything. To all possibilities. Because there is nothing that can come between you and the Father, that living connection is solid and secure. You are free to learn from all sources. Free to embrace the highest thought constructs of any human being, or any supernal being.

Likewise, are you free to discard anything that becomes a hindrance to your evolving spiritual understandings. It is always surprising to us to witness human beings fighting so vehemently and so completely over so little, so often. The Master did not engage in argumentative banter over fine points of theology. His faith was much more than this. His living, loving connection with the Father was so complete that he could maintain exquisite mental poise even under the questioning of the most learned men in Jerusalem at the tender age of twelve. Only living faith can produce this exquisite mental balance.

The learned men of Earth continually make the error of building their knowledge up in such a way that it hinges on very little. Their entire mental construct and world view becomes associated directly with some one assumption that usually is quite tenuous but is accepted in the times in which they are doing their scientific or philosophical work.

Many humans are living within very narrow philosophical and mental constructs and anything that does not come within this narrow focus is automatically discarded as unworthy of their consideration. It is a mistake to think of yourselves as learned, to think of yourselves as wise, to think of yourselves as experts. Because, you will soon, upon graduation from this world, learn a great many things that will alter everything you think now, and this is as it should be.

During your lifetimes, you should be open to changing ideas and changing understandings of the world and how it is ordered. The one thing which will not change, and can only grow in beauty, intensity, and its all-encompassing scope is your reliance on the Father. And this is what is commonly referred to as living faith.

Your faith will only grow stronger during these changes of mental understanding. Everything that you learn that can help you on your journey toward the Father is useful during that time period, but may not be appropriate or useful during a later time period when your understanding has expanded and your awareness has enlarged. Does an adult cling to his children's books of ABC's, repeating over and over that the cow says Moo? No, the adult has moved on, the adult has learned more and is understanding more about the world and about reality.

The adult understands things that the child could not possibly comprehend and so it is with your evolving understanding of the world. For right now, these teachings are appropriate, the Urantia Book text is appropriate and it is good to embrace these things and allow them to expand your understanding of the world. When you graduate to the third mansion world, will these things still be appropriate? Probably not. Even for Earth in l00 years from now, will these things still be appropriate? I don't know. But I can tell you in l000 years, they will not be.

All of the universe is essentially designed to shepherd the Father's children one step at a time, one rung at a time, toward him. And at each stage, what you will learn is thrilling and mind-expanding and opening and tremendous and wonderful to you at that time.

As the Father's love is free and open and accessible to all, so these teachings are designed to be openly accessible to all who would drink from the spiritual fountain. Also, if you are to be teachers of the great truths of the Father's love, you must understand the most basic and simple expressions of that love with the utmost completeness. With the most profound sense of understanding that you can possibly have.
If you are to go forward in the world and begin teaching the Father's love to his children yourselves, you must know the truths that will reach into the heart of the most simple of his children, as well as the most learned.

You cannot appeal to the hearts of your longing brethren with sophisticated mathematical formulas or complicated historical dramas. And even though these things may be true, they are not necessary for simple spiritual growth that involves the child reaching to the Father and the Father reaching back in the same clasp of the eternal love of God.

So I say to you, be careful to avoid arguing over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. Do not worry about whether this or that theological construct is correct or not, just be open to receiving truth but more than that, be open to giving truth. Open your hearts so much that the love that you receive from the Father spills out onto your brethren and so much so that they cannot help but be touched by the love you give to them. This, and only this, is the way which will light the path of mankind. You are living lights. You are not slaves to a theory or bondservants to an idea. You are the living children that are bringers of light and love to the Father's other living children who languish in confusion, doubt, and even darkness and depravity.

Jesus said, you must love men so much that they will be drawn to you and will ask of you the greater things of the kingdom. Then, you can begin to give these greater things, these more complicated understandings. But all men must first be fed the bread of living love and no one can do that but one human being to another human being. This living love is what will change society—the world as you know it—this living love is what will change everything. Not the dry words of the theologian, the intellectual, who may understand many truths, but without living love, these truths are as dead.

It is true that loyalty is a profound reaction to truth, but loyalty is even more profound as a reaction to love. Those who love God live loyally to him and to that love. They are loyal in their love of their fellows and their fellows are impressed with their love so much that they are loyal to the source of that love, to that person. And if that person is a true living light of the Lord, then that loyalty can move mountains, as human beings become united together in love and loyalty.

Do not fear that you have put your loyalty in a source that is untrue so long as you are receiving living love from that source, from that inner source, your loyalty is completed. That circuitry of love is whole and this living faith is completely fear-proof. The one who is experiencing this complete circuit of loyalty, love, and faith cannot ever fear, really, again. For what can befall this person? What can happen in this world that can truly, lastingly, harm him or her? The answer is nothing. All the tragedies, all the horrors of the unspeakable
cruelty human beings are capable of cannot shake the faith of someone so completely motivated in the Father's will.

The Master said, Fear Not. Cast fear out of your hearts so that this circuit of faith, love, and loyalty can be evermore complete, evermore secure. So that the wholeness of your personality can be motivated in love and can never again be motivated by fear and dread and uncertainty. Yes, there is a simple test to understand the spiritual development of any leader and that is, is he or she motivated by fear in any way?  And does he or she motivate others by fear in any way? The true teachers of the Father never do so. 

Question: Ham, I find myself having total complete faith in the Father to help me through all things, to do anything, but I find I don't have faith in myself to do these things. Would that be considered a lack of faith
in the Father?

Answer: No, this is just part of your growth process. All human beings have certain inner blockages and certain inner injuries from their past that cause this lack of faith in oneself. It takes time to cleanse these blocks, these old patterns of thinking, it takes effort and it takes willingness to do so, to go through that. Once all these things are more clear, it will be easier for you to declare to the world that, yes I may not be able to do these things, but there lives one within me who can.