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This article explores the way in which you see yourself positioned in the cosmos and how that defines who you are and how you see the world around you. We live on a wondrous planet spinning around an amazing solar system. Everything you see in our system, the sun, planets, Earth, me, and you were all created and formed from dust. Yet Earth is astonishingly beautiful and complex. Our oceans are enormous. Our weather is incredible and ever changing. Our mountains are giants and our landscapes are breathtaking.  Earth from Space. NASA. I am fascinated by how the world in which we live was created by God, how it moves, how it is shaped, and how the physics that governs our world also shapes other worlds in the universe. The ways in which we experience life here on Earth connects us with everything else in the universe – from our solar system to the moving stars in the night sky.  Galaxy NGC 1487. NASA. It’s an amazing time in which we live, because we’re the only beings that have the capability to explain who we are and our position in the universe. Perspective My perspective, the way in which I see myself, on our planet, in the universe, defines how I see the world around me. Similarly, the way in which I see myself positioned spiritually in the cosmos defines much of who I am. Flat Earth When the Bible was written, people thought that the Earth was in the center of the universe, and that it was flat like a round disk, and if you went too far out to sea, you’d fall off the edge. We know better now. People used to thank God for the sun rising over the Earth, and for the Sun setting below the Earth, and its apparent movement across the sky. But the movement of the sun is caused by our planet spinning through space. What we see is different from what’s actually taking place. The sun does not revolve around the Earth. It's the other way around.  Rover on Mars. NASA. Our planet is a sphere, a ball of rock.
Our Ancestors Our ancestors didn’t know all of these beautiful patterns, rhythms, and order of the solar system. When our ancestors looked up into the night sky, they saw tiny bright lights, and imagined images and figures. And they used the stars to tell stories of creation, life, and their position in the cosmos. Today, we tend not to look up at the stars in the majestic sky anymore. We’ve lost our connection to the stars and other planets.  North Star Trails. NASA. When our ancestors looked up at the night sky, it told them one thing – they were at the center of the universe. If you look up at the northern night sky, you’ll see a star called Polaris, the North Star. The cup of the Big Dipper points to Polaris, which is at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. The North Star is almost in line with the Earth’s celestial pole. And when you stare at the North Star at night, all of the other stars rotate through the night sky around that point. So, it looks like the entire universe rotates around the Earth, that the Earth is apparently the center of the universe. And that’s what everyone, our ancestors, thought for thousands of years. It looked obvious. But they were wrong. Mars Retrograde Motion To really understand the position of the Earth in the solar system, we have to look at Mars. When you plot a chart of the position of Mars traveling across the night sky, you’ll notice that it doesn’t move in a straight line across the nighttime sky, but changes direction and loops back on itself. This retrograde motion is impossible to explain, if you think Earth is at the center of the universe. It can only be explained when you position the sun at the center, and the Earth as one of many other celestial bodies orbiting the sun.  Mars Retrograde Motion. NASA. 2008. Understanding this retrograde motion was a great achievement in understanding our position in the solar system and the beautiful patterns and order of universe. Paul A couple thousand years ago, a man named Paul had a similar breakthrough achievement in understanding our spiritual position in the cosmos. And he taught others about it. And he wrote those teachings down for us to read, learn from, and apply to our lives. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 3 in the King James Version. About 50 AD, a man named Paul wrote about the most fundamental change in our relationship with God. He revealed the greatest spiritual truth that anyone could ever know. It was one of the greatest mysteries of the world. And it triggered a fundamental change in humanity's relationship with God - a relationship in which believing, rather than behavior, became the key to a more than abundant life.  Paul. By Unknown. wikipedia.org. Paul was born Jewish. He lived in Tarsus, which is now Turkey. He lived within the Roman Empire. He traveled to Jerusalem, Asia, Greece, and Rome. And he taught and wrote. Paul wrote 13 letters. He never met Jesus, the man, but met his friends and disciples, and for many years, Paul actually had a job to hunt and persecute them. He grew up under Roman law, and he knew the Jewish law or Law of Moses (Old Testament) very well.
Pay for Love Under Jewish Law, good behavior included what was/is called “indulgences,” where you essentially pay for God’s love. The more money you pay the church, the more of God's love you receive. This religious dogma limited people of the past. But, because of men like Paul, we now know better. Ephesians 3:6 actually reveals a certain spiritual truth that remained a mystery until Paul revealed it:
Mystery Revealed This was a great mystery revealed -- that we are to be of the same body (both Judean and Gentile). Paul revealed to the folks who lived back in those days that everyone could be of the same family, one new body, a new spiritual family body, both Judeans and Gentiles, both the "haves" and the "have nots," both the rich and the poor. All believers in that body are "fellow heirs" of all that God has made available to us. And we can "partake" of God's "promises." Turn to Colossians 1:26-27 in the King James Bible. It says,
Paul writes this to help reveal the great mystery in more detail. And it's all about love. Gift of Love Every believer can have Christ in him or her, which is referring to the gift of holy spirit. Holy spirit is a gift from God to every believer. And it's given unconditionally. "Christ in you" in the bible means the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. So, where the bible says "God in Christ in you," that means that you can have the gift of holy spirit in you, the unconditional love of and from God, held in your mind (renewed mind) and manifested (applied) in your life. How can God be in your mind? Well, you have to understand what God is, and what God is not. God is not a man. God is not an old man with curly hair floating in the clouds, waving his finger, and doing good and bad things. That's a bit delusional. You might as well believe in Poseidon. Actually, God is what the bible says it is. God is spirit, love, light, energy, everywhere, powerful. Buddha The Buddha said, "The mind is everything. What you think, you become." That's so true. The Mind That's how every believer can have the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. It's all about believing. And it starts with your mind. That’s what Paul revealed. That’s what Paul taught and wrote for us to read today. Paul revealed a spiritual truth that helps us understand our spiritual position with God and our relation with others. Summary So, in this article, we learned a little bit about our position in the universe and our relationship with God. We know a bit more than our ancestors did. The retrograde motion of Mars helps us position ourselves in the universe. And Paul revealed a great spiritual truth that also helps position ourselves as the children of God who have the unconditional love of God held in our renewed minds and manifested in our lives. You're positioned just right. Stay where you are. |
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December 2021
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