|
THE UNIVERSE
When the mortal intellect attempts to grasp the concept of the totality of reality, such a finite mind is face to face with infinity. Reality totality is infinity and therefore can never be fully comprehended by any mind that is less then infinite.
To the finite mind there simply must be a beginning, and though there never was a real beginning to reality, still there are certain source relationships. The prereality eternity situation may be thought of something like this: At some infinitely distant, hypothetical, past-eternity moment, the I AM may be conceived of as both thing and no thing, as both cause and effect, as both will and response. At this hypothetical eternity moment there is no differentiation throughout all infinity. Infinity is filled by the Infinite; the Infinite encompasses infinity. This is the hypothetical static moment of eternity; actuals are still contained within their potentials, and potentials have not yet appeared within the infinity of the I AM. But even in this conjectured situation we must assume the existence of the possibility that the I AM has self-will.
The realms of the finite exist by virtue of the eternal purpose of the I AM becoming Creator. Finite creatures, high and low, may propound theories, and have done so, as to the necessity of the finite, but in the last analysis it exists because the Creator so willed it. The universe cannot be explained, neither can a finite creature offer a rational reason for her or his own individual existence without appealing to the prior acts and pre-existent will of the Creator.
The human mind, as it seeks to penetrate the mystery of the origin and destiny of all that is called real, may approach the problem by conceiving eternity/infinity as an almost limitless ellipse which is produced by one absolute cause, and which functions throughout this universal circle of endless diversification, ever seeking some absolute and infinite potential of destiny.
The Creator has not withdrawn from the management of the universes. If the Creator should retire as the present upholder of all creation, there would immediately occur a universal collapse. Except for the Creator, there would be no such thing as reality. At this very moment, as during the remote ages of the past and in the eternal future, the Creator continues to uphold everything. The universe is not wound up like a clock to run just so long and then cease to function; all things are constantly being renewed. The Creator unceasingly pours forth energy, light, and life.
The universe of universes, with its innumerable host of inhabiting personalities, is a vast and complex organism, but the Creator is infinitely more complex than the totality of universes and personalities. When you stand in awe of the magnitude of the universe, pause to consider that even this inconceivable creation can be no more than a partial revelation of the Infinite.
|