press the spiritual nature which is within, and to live through all eternity, as is its right, because of its sonship with the Father of all. When that relation with the Divine Mind is established, then will man receive first-hand the cause and not the recognition of its effect-the desire of the Almighty, and not the creation of that desire. The unity will be so firm and close that the inspiration of the source will be the thought of the creation, with no intervening obstructions between divine thought and human action. Then will the body be filled with light, and be spiritualized. Then will every need be instantaneously supplied by a thought; then will man be lifted up, even as the "Son of Man" was glorified, and become one with the great Sea of Life, which throbs and thrills, and seeks expression through all that is. Then, acting immediately and directly on the impulse or thought of the Great Mind, each son will perform his work unfalteringly and unwaivingly, and will know that the Great One has spoken to him. Then will be brought about the consummation of all human ideals-the binding together of all humanity by one great tie of love, under the reign of eternal harmony and divine order. Conflicting human interests will be blended into one absorbing desire to serve the whole, and human passions and evil desires will melt away and be forever lost in a great universal holy brotherhood. Then shall man be restored to the Garden of Eden. Turn not thine eyes upon the backward way. One sunbeam shot across a cloudy day "BUY THE TRUTH, AND SELL IT NOT" FLORENCE SLACK CRAWFORD HIS is the admonition of Solomon, king of Israel, in Proverbs 23d chapter, 23d verse; and Solomon was that king, whom when the Lord had appeared before him in a dream, saying, "Ask what I shall give thee," bowed low, declaring humbly, "I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or to come in. . . . Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad." You will remember that the narration in I Kings, 3d chapter, declares that this speech pleased the Lord, and God said unto him, "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself; nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment: Behold I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee; neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor." These words, therefore, are from that Solomon whom the Lord declared should be superior in Wisdom to any man who had come before him, or who should arrive after him. It behooves us then to weigh carefully the words, "Buy the Truth, and sell it not," for the law of opulence is contained therein. It was the discerning mind of an inner Solomon which pressed upon the conscience of the pioneers in the Truth and led them to see that he who made attempt to sell the Truth, soon found he had no Truth to sell. Truth refuses to be sold. It makes a falsifier of every man who puts it on the market. If there ever was a time when the mighty Jesus approached the point of wrath, it was when, with whip in hand, he drove the money changers from the temple of God, declaring, "Make not my Father's house a den of thieves." Over and over again he proclaimed, “The Sons of God go free," and he warned them continually against the snares of mammon, calling it the destroyer of both soul and body. This is the hidden meaning recorded in Matthew, 10th chapter, verses 28-31. Jesus had been talking about the dangers which would beset his disciples, and he admonished them, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [mammon] which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows [the soul and the body] sold for a farthing" [piece of money]? The lesson here is obvious. The quest for mammon will "sell" both body and soul in hell (death). Thus you see Jesus substantiated Solomon's words in regard to the commercializing of Truth. He who takes up the work of Truth and hopes to preserve the two sparrows, soul and body, which is indeed the reward given those who engage in the work, must watch lest he sell the two for a farthing. Now the question naturally arises, "Why?" Let us familiarize ourselves with the topic, “Buy the Truth, and sell it not," and endeavor to uncover the reason. Perhaps you may say, "How can one buy and not sell?" or again, "Truth is priceless; how then can one pay a price for it?" Ah, how very wise is God! Can anything be wiser than Wisdom? The law of the Lord is perfect and shall yet convert the soul. Above all things, God desires the purity of the heart and the emptying of self, that he may fill all. The one who desires Truth is purified by buying the Truth, by giving in order to receive it. The one who has Truth to give is kept pure by not being allowed to sell it. He, too, must give, trusting the never failing law to bring him his ever abundant supply. Both must give. Giving is God's law. Let us consider here two of the parables which Jesus gave in speaking of the kingdom of heaven. In the first, he says, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." He sells all he has on the sense plane in order to buy the Truth of the spiritual plane. Here it is well to notice that the sense plane is not worthless. It has value, and is to be changed into a medium of exchange with which to purchase the higher consciousness. Again, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.' The same course is pursued in this as in the other. In another place he asks of his hearers, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" Truth is expensive, and if you seek it, you might just as well consider that it is going to cost you something-in fact, everything, even to the extent of all you have. Only, dear friend, when you have given your all you will find you are abundantly richer than before, since God's all is in your possession, instead, so do not be afraid. I love to get everything down to a plain, everyday working basis. It is the little child in me, I suppose. But I know once we get a law, and can see it operating, it is so much easier to establish our faith. God's law acts on every plane of consciousness, for God is all and is therefore everywhere. That which is true in Being, is true in manifestation of Being. In fact, Paul tells us this plainly where he says, "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Therefore I may study God at my cottage. door. "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father." I may know God by the image of God which I am. Let us then study the law of opulence in Man. Let us see "Buy the Truth, and sell it not" in actual demonstration. First, it will be well to get a clear conception of Man. We hear much about the brotherhood of Man and his unity. This is all good, but the supreme declaration of Jesus. Christ is that Man is a unit and not a unity. He is a being, and not a harmonious collection of beings. "He that hath done it unto the least of these, my brethren, hath done it unto me." He does not say, "Is the same as if he hath done it unto me," but he declares he hath done it unto meactually did it to the actual Jesus Christ. Again, “Love ́ your neighbor as yourself." Not as if he were yourself, but love him, knowing him as your very self, for he is indeed your self. There is but one self. Paul was shown this in his great illumination, when known as Saul he was on his way to Damascus. Jesus called to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul answered, "Who art thou, Lord?" The voice made answer, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." Now Saul had never until that time even seen Jesus, how then could he persecute him? Saul had been slaying his fellowmen, and here in this blaze of illumination he was made to realize that brotherhood is more than unity. It is a unit. To touch a part is to touch the whole. To persecute your neighbor is to persecute Jesus Christ, for Saul saw the Truth in that instant that "the whole family in heaven and earth is named Jesus Christ." He tells us later in explanation, "As the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many, are all one body, so also is Christ." "Now God hath set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it." This is the teaching of Jesus Christ. Practical Christianity is striving, pressing toward it. It declares the One Being, and the One Consciousness, but it has not generally taken the body beyond the place of brotherhood. It must see the body as complete in Jesus Christ the Man, and "Cannot the foot call the whole body mine?" Therefore, as even the least member of the body, I must not hesitate to call myself Jesus Christ, nor fail to call my neighbor the same. "Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God." Now let us reason. There is One Being-God. There is One Being Conscious-Christ Mind. There is One Being Manifest-Jesus Christ, the formed Body Man. |