The Pathway of Roses/Giving Much and Receiving Much

by Christian D. Larson

CHAPTER VII

GIVING MUCH AND RECEIVING MUCH

When you have attained or received something of exceptional worth, give God the glory. Do not praise yourself, or give your own personality the credit. All power comes from above, and the more we appreciate the source of this power the more we shall receive. The path to perpetual increase is to give God the glory for everything that comes, and when we realize that everything comes from God, everything that comes to us will have exceptional worth. Every moment will be a demonstration of the power of truth, every experience will be an open door to a larger, more beautiful world, and every person, thing or event that we may meet, will add to our welfare and joy. With God all things are possible, and when we give Him the glory for everything we are with Him in everything.

To live the life of the great eternal now in the consciousness of those spiritual elements in which the real man lives and moves and has his being, is to enter the new heaven and the new earth. In the spirit all things are for ever new, and the life of the spirit is perpetual ascension into the newer, the larger, the more beautiful, the more sublime. When life seems barren and useless, we are not in the spirit, but the moment we enter the spirit, a million universes are revealed to mind, and the joy of existence becomes supreme. We are not required to search the world of things for happiness, worth, entertainment or events of interest; one moment in the spirit is far more interesting than a whole life of physical existence, and one hour in the cosmic world is a thousand ages of unbounded bliss.

Depend upon the Infinite and His power will see you through. We learn that the Lord fought for Israel in ages gone by, and he will do the same now, for He changeth never. The term "Israel" means one chosen of God, and every person who chooses to go with God will be chosen of God. Go with God, live with God, walk with God, depend upon God in all things, and you will be chosen of God. When you choose God as your leader and your King, He will fight your battles; He will be with you always, and you will never see anything but victory. We fail only when we depend upon ourselves, ignoring the presence and the goodness of the Supreme. We go wrong only when we follow the light of our own darkness, forgetting that the guiding light of the Most High is at hand. This light knows what we ought to do, and when we follow this light we will always do that which is best.

The light of the spirit never leads into sickness, trouble or want. The light of the spirit invariably leads out of that which is evil, and into that which is good. To go with God is to go into freedom, into happiness and into everything that can add to the richness and beauty of life. God is rich and can give us everything we may need without depriving anyone of anything; and when God leads us on to victory no one will lose because we have gained. The best will happen to everybody, and the greatest good will come to all. The gain of one is the gain of the many, providing that gain was secured through higher power; and when the one ascends in the scale, millions will discover the light they so long have desired to see.

This is our purpose: To live the purest, the largest, the fairest, the most useful, the most beautiful and the most spiritual life possible, just for to-day. To be our very best here and now, with no desire to outshine some other being, but simply to be all that we are in divine being now. To fill the present moment with all the spiritual sunshine that we can possibly radiate through the crystal walls of love, peace, faith and joy; and to live so near to the Supreme that we may touch the hem of His garment whenever we so desire. This is life, and he who lives with such a purpose forever in view, shall never know an undesired moment.

To believe in the Christ is to enter into the Christ consciousness; not simply to believe something about what He was, but to realize what He is; to feel the sublime life that He felt, and to know that touch of the spirit that He knew. We believe in the Christ only when we can mentally feel the power of His life in our own divine nature, and we believe in His name, the name that is above all names, when we can inwardly discern the full spiritual significance of that name. Belief in the Christ is not of the letter, but of the spirit; not to be definitely expressed in words, but to be inwardly felt in the soul. To ask in the name of the Christ is to enter into the spiritual understanding of that name, into the very soul of the power of that name, and in that sublime state offer our prayer. When we enter into that realization where we know what the name of Christ signifies in the spirit, we can ask in His name; and what we ask in His name we invariably receive.

When we enter into the spirit of the name of the Christ we are in the supreme power of the Christ; we inwardly know what the Christ is and what He can do; and being in His power, we are in that power that can do and will do whatever we wish to have done. We fail to receive only when we are outside of that power that can give; but we invariably enter into the power of the Christ when we inwardly know the spiritual meaning of His name. To end a prayer by simply saying, "We ask it in Christ's name" is not sufficient; we ask in His name only when we can consciously feel that divinity that is defined by the name of the Christ. Words have no power unless they are spoken in the feeling of the spirit of that truth that the words are intended to convey. We speak to God only when we spiritually discern and inwardly feel what we say, and God answers only those prayers that are spoken to Him.

We should never try to eliminate evil. To resist evil, to give thought to evil, or to work against evil, is to give more life and power to the very thing you wish to remove. Overcome evil with good, but do not array the good against the evil, thinking that overcoming implies resistance or warfare. To overcome is to rise out of, forgetting the lesser by giving the whole of life to the greater. The purpose of life is to grow eternally into the greater good. Aim to fulfill this purpose and evil of every description will disappear. There is no wrong in the world that demands our attention. The good alone deserves our attention, and when the good receives all our attention, evil cannot exist any more. Build for the right; inspire every soul with an irresistible desire for the right, and everything you do will add to the power that makes for freedom. Think of the good, speak of the good, work for the good, live for the good, and the good only, and your life will be a light wherein darkness can never be.

The false prophet always predicts evil, trouble, misfortune and death. He can see only the weak side, the man made, the coming and going illusions. The true prophet can see that which lies behind the illusion, that which is possible, that which is in store, that which can be done and will be done. He keeps the eye single upon the high state, and thereby ascends into the reality of that vision which previously seemed but a dream. Every person who judges according to appearances is a false prophet; he forms conclusions that are not true to real life, and by following those conclusions causes that which is false and undesirable to come to pass. Every person who judges according to the divinity that is inherent in man is a true prophet; he brings truth into expression and thereby causes that which is true to prevail in tangible existence. The true prophet can see the greatness, the beauty and the perfection of the soul of man, and knowing that the soul is the master, predicts the coming of everything that is in the soul, or that the soul has the power to do; and all such predictions will come true.

God is sufficient. When you are in sickness, trouble, sorrow or want depend upon the Supreme. You need nothing else. Infinite power is greater than all power, and if you have perfect faith, this power will surely set you free, no matter what the condition of bondage may be. The ills of the world continue principally because we think that something else besides the Infinite is required. But to depend upon other things besides the one is idol worship. The true worship of God, the highest worship of God, is to live so near to God that we can, at all times, feel that power that can do everything, will do everything, is doing everything. When we worship God, in spirit and in truth, we do not seek help from things; we use things according to their nature, but we seek help from the Supreme alone.

There is no bondage in living according to the law; in brief, there is freedom only in that life that lives absolutely according to the law. A law is but a path to new realms, fairer than we have ever known before. To follow any law in life is to increase the greatness and the worth of life, and to follow all the laws of life is to grow perpetually into the highest good that body, mind and soul can possibly desire. And no one could wish for a greater freedom than this. To use the law is to gain our own; to misuse or ignore the law is to deprive ourselves of our own, and bring disorder, want and pain into life instead. The law never binds nor holds down; the power of all law moves eternally towards the heights, that supreme greatness that is waiting for man; and whoever follows the law will move with that power up into those same heights.

Give God the glory for what you have and you will receive more. Be grateful for the measure that is coming to you and that measure will increase perpetually. This is the law and it will never fail unless you fail to do to others what God is doing to you. Giving and receiving must be equal in your life. We must give something for everything we receive; nothing is free; the universe is not built in that manner; but giving does not imply the gift of things. True giving and true being are one and the same in real life.

The act of giving produces just as much joy as the act of receiving, because both add to the richness of existence. When we give much we bring forth much from the depths of divine being, and what we bring forth becomes a permanent part of actual life. When we give much we add to life from the within; when we receive much we add to life from the without; and when the richness of the within is harmoniously blended with the richness of the without, then real living begins. But the two must be equal. When we give more than we receive, or receive more than we give, discord follows, and herein we find the cause of many troubles and ills. The lesser without cannot receive the greater within, nor can the greater without be appropriated and appreciated by the lesser within. The small, undeveloped mind cannot enjoy the sublime grandeur of nature, nor can the great, highly developed mind find contentment in crude, uncultivated surroundings. The without and the within must be in harmony if the highest happiness and the truest life is to be enjoyed, and this harmony is invariably secured when giving and receiving are equal. In truth, there is no other way; if we would have the real correspond with the ideal, and the capacity to enjoy be as large as the good things we have found to enjoy, we must give as much as we receive and receive as much as we give.

Before we can receive those things in the without that have worth, we must bring forth worth from the within. What we bring forth from the within we always give to the world, because no person can enrich his own spiritual life without enriching the whole world thereby. Before we can receive the best of all things in the without, we must bring forth the best of all things from the within. But to desire to give to the world from the richness of our own nature is not sufficient; many have done this and have found themselves in want, both physical and spiritual. To desire to receive is just as necessary as to desire to give.

The two desires should be equally strong, and together should hourly grow in strength. The desire to receive is just as good as the desire to give, providing the two desires are equally dear to the heart. The more we receive the more we can give, and the more we give the greater our capacity to receive. Therefore, by placing ourselves in that position where we can constantly give more and more and constantly receive more and more, we not only add more and more to the richness and beauty and perfection of our own life, but we become a great power for good in the world. And this is our highest aim.

Before we can live a great life and receive from the external world those things that naturally belong to a great life, we must give forth into real life more and more of our own inherent greatness. Before we can receive as much from the world of things as our largest personal needs and desires may demand, we must unfold, develop and use those powers and talents that are necessary to the building of greater and greater things. Be of great use in the world and you give more and more to the world. In response the world will bring your own to you. He who actively is much, gives much; and he gives the most who serves the best.

To serve the human race in the largest and highest sense, we must bring forth into living expression the truest, the best and the greatest that we can possibly find in the depths of our own sublime being. And to this end we need all the inspiration we can receive from nature, all the love and friendship we can receive from man, and all the wisdom and power we can receive from God.

To become all that we are destined to become, we must receive the largest possible measure from every source, but we cannot receive the largest possible measure from any source unless we give all we have the power to give whenever we have the privilege to do so. And this privilege is ever present. Whatever our field of action may be we may give the very best that there is within us; and we will not do so in vain. Live a great life where you are; hide nothing that has worth; use every talent in full measure; bring forth into life and usefulness the highest powers that you know you possess, and you will enter into a greater and greater life, until you finally reach the supreme heights of exalted spiritual attainments. Awaken everything within you that can, in any manner, enrich, beautify and perfect the whole of life. Do not limit the giving of your greatest self to any one part or any one group of parts. Live for the universe and all that the vastness of the cosmos may contain.

The more we all give to the whole of life the more we all shall receive from the whole of life. We therefore have everything to gain by giving more and more everywhere, and by receiving more and more from every source in order that they may give again in still greater measure. And herein we find the secret to that beautiful life that God has prepared for them that love Him.

"Be not anxious for your life." Live your life according to the very highest light that is within you; use fully and well all the powers that you have received; give your best to the world at all times and under every circumstance, and depend upon the Infinite for everything that existence may need or desire. You will receive it. You need not be anxious about anything. God is greater than anything that can possibly happen. Have faith in Him and He will see you safely through. Things go wrong only when you fail to be your best and fail to take God with you in everything you do. It is therefore in your power to place yourself in that position where everything will go right. The lilies of the field are all that beautiful lilies can possibly be, and they depend wholly upon the powers divine that are within them. Accordingly, they are an inspiration to all the world.