Posted on 25 April 2017, 11:38

Olive, a member of the group questioning the spirit of Stephen the Martyr [see Afterlife Teaching, below] was unhappy about a forthcoming move to another town, owing to her husband’s work promotion.

Olive: “Is it the Father’s will that we should move?”

Stephen: “If it was not the Father’s will there is no power in heaven or on earth that would bring the move about. Let us at least know that where we are and where we go must be the will of the Father.”

Olive. “Where does our free will come into it then?”

Stephen: “The choice of saying yes or no. But the free will depends on many influences. We speak of the free will as though we had an original thought in our independent minds. What appears to be our will is dependent upon other influences. You yourself say that you would surrender your free will for your husband’s ambitions, opportunity and happiness. Each of us, each day, surrenders our free will [due] to some influence from another. If I might give you an instance. You would prefer to sleep longer in the mornings but your child wakes you early; I jest a little. But think on this. For the free will that the Father has given to us is the freedom to love where it could be difficult to love, and accept things that others might not accept. We are given the freedom to be happy about the influences that the Father, through others, may have upon our lives. Should your husband’s superiors at work direct or ask him that he move, should we disassociate that superior from the Father? Should we not know that if the Father directly wished your husband to go to another place, would He not use such an instrument for sending him there? It is no mystery how the Father speaks and acts towards us. Each step we take is influenced by the Father for His purpose.

We do not become puppets of each other, for I am influenced by you; I come because your wishes influenced my free will. Have you taken away my free will? No more then, has the Father taken away yours by influencing you through His instruments. Be at peace with the Will of the Father.

We have talked of self-determination, perfection and of the acceptance of all things as they are. It could be interpreted, were we not careful, that on one hand we may have foolhardy activity and, upon the other, negligent apathy. We should follow the middle path and that is the acceptance of our experience and what we ask for in our prayers. What we have been asked to do is to give both our self-determination and our apathetic acceptance into the Father’s hands; then we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have not been inactive. We have taken the only sure action: To do that which is the will of the Father. Should we do this, then the Father might say that he is well pleased with our progress. We have spoken then of what the Lord laid before us as a remembrance and his gift to us. [The bread and wine of the Last Supper “The Mass”] Often, we have made the mistake in that we do not readily accept this gift, except in special circumstances only. The words used were that we should do this often. Let us not feel that it is only given to a few to call upon the Father for the blessing of what was offered. For all we need to do for ourselves is to call to mind that blessing and when we take the bread and wine in remembrance, then it is as the Lord said: His body that is LIFE and His blood that is LOVE that you take into yourselves. Do not be led into arguments that would separate one or either of these gifts; remember when you take each or any of the gifts, do this and remember to truly accept that gift. The Bread of Life and the Blood, which is Love.” [LIFE is our Bread, and LOVE is our Wine]

[Increasingly, it is being agreed that the physics of Quantum Mechanics implies that the universe is a Great Thought rather than a great machine, and that it is one, and undivided (non-dual). Quantum entanglement implies that all is entangled with all else, everything “causes”everything else. If we see this Great Thought as “God”, then we can better take in the words of Stephen about the “will of God”.  Then again, it is a fact that the idea of the Will of God determining everything, is found in the formularies of almost every Christian denomination, and certainly in Islam, Hinduism, Taoism. The I-Ching,the Tarot, and all mantic devices seeking to understand the intentions of “the Fates” – God.}

How God operates using Man’s Free Will.

Stephen continued: “Let me talk a little more of how I understand the plan of God could operate. I think that I speak with some knowledge, for I did think at one time that, had I kept my tongue still, maybe I would have continued in the physical existence with much greater use to the Whole. I searched in my heart and my mind, as to the wisdom of what my emotions led me to do and say. Was it the emotion of pride or mental conviction that caused me to act in a manner which some might refer to as disastrous? [When Stephen was stoned to death] Without sounding immodest, that action of mine, through the will of the Father, has inspired many to achieve much greater things than I would have achieved myself. This is how I believe the Father uses us, for we are, because we have free will, unique in his kingdom. We are like a machine or tool with many and varied functions that operates in a random rate and way. Imagine such a machine that chooses its own functions and actions randomly for a purpose that it is unaware of itself from one moment to the next! Were you to be the master of such a machine, would not the manner of using this machine be to observe the way that the machine is functioning at any particular time and supply work for the way that the machine is functioning? Now think upon this very carefully.

The physical mind, with its limitations, can only use what is subservient or obedient to it. That is because the physical mind itself has great limitations. Now, take away those limitations then you have the Master. He would need a machine that is not subservient, obedient to him, or under control, simply one that would operate. The usage and the product of the machine must then be unique or an act of creation! Therefore the machine must be a co-creator with the Master, for the purpose of the Master. Therefore, irrespective of what we decide to do, whether it be judged in retrospect as wise or foolish, it will be used for the Father’s purpose. Let us make this machine mobile. We could understand by saying, that if you wished to travel from this country to another, then we could say that the Father has designed that you travel this journey. Whereas, in fact, you have chosen the journey. The experiences of that journey combined with what is the Father’s purpose for you to achieve, are at the end of your journey.

[One can find more about the Stephen phenomenon by reading the February 2017 issue of The Ground of Faith
See also: Alex Tsakiris interviews Michael Cocks on Skeptiko

Michael Cocks edits the journal, The Ground of Faith.
Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr by Michael Cocks is published by White Crow Books and available from Amazon and other bookstores.

Michael on Skeptico.

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