Reflection Upon Translation

Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series, where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has shared many spiritual truths with me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we reflect upon the phenomenon of translation. 

And now, sit back and listen to today's message. 

Reflections upon Translation

 
"By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because God had translated him: For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 5
Brothers and sisters, we are told that faith effected Enoch’’s translation; we are also told that without faith it is impossible to please the Father, for those who cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him. By combining these two statements, we can draw further insight into the process of translation. Translation is the process whereby the soul matures to the point where it is enabled to make a decision to eternally abide by the Father’’s will. This is the divine oneness that Jesus offers us, and it confers eternal life upon us.

 
We know that it is possible to make such a decision while still living in the flesh. We do have the moral and spiritual power to make such a decision. And further we know that it is the Father’’s will that we do so. "A bruised reed shall he not break and smoking flax shall he not quench." He would have all to come into a saving knowledge of the truth "that they are the living spirit sons of the eternal Father.”” The Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Truth, empowers us to make such a decision. After all, the Father has commanded us to be perfect even as he is perfect. Jesus said that he is the way and that no one comes to the Father except by him.

Before actual translation takes place, the soul must have demonstrated its willingness to abide by the Father’’s will. And when the soul makes such a decision, the divine spirit considers this to be eternally binding even though the soul at this point still remains in the material mind. The divine spirit (not limited by time) looks ahead to the future and considers the declaration by the soul to be a statement of fact. Henceforth in the life of the individual, the divine spirit will manifest itself in and through the individual without resistance. Jesus offers this salvation to all who declare that they are his disciples, all who love one another as he loves them.

Let’’s examine this relationship whereby we accept translation by faith. We still live our lives in the flesh. We can derive this relationship by our reasoning, though we must remember that the attainment of this relationship is not determined by reasoning. And neither is it determined by intellectual status. Factual knowledge does not determine this relationship. Nor does social status determine this relationship. This relationship is available to the learned as well as the unlearned; to the rich as well as the poor. The only requirement to initiate this relationship is the faith-decision to do the Father’’s will. We know that the Father is love and that he reveals himself as love. Thus the fusion of our souls with his spirit in potential or actuality must be the decision to allow this love to eternally flow through us--to be an eternal conduit for the Father to reveal himself to our brothers and sisters. As Jesus said, ““if you love one another as I have loved you, all men will know that you are my disciples.””

Now we know that despite all of the spiritual grace and mercy that is shown us, not many souls develop to the point where their faith is able to embrace this spiritual state. Just what is the nature of the barrier that prevents us from fully realizing this great truth that we are the living spirit sons of the eternal Father? If we accept this truth, even while we live the life in the flesh, the divine spirit considers it fact and acts as if it is a fact. But we must have the faith to believe it and desire to receive it. Without these two components, we cannot experience this great truth. But if we do accept this great truth by believing it and desiring to receive it, how does the eternal union manifest itself in our lives while we are still living in the flesh? How does the divine spirit manifest itself in our lives when we have made the supreme commitment to do the Father’’s will eternally? How can we tell when our faith and/or desire has reached these supreme levels, where we dare to acknowledge our divine birthright and thud acknowledge our divine oneness with the heavenly Father?
Let us consider this material analogy:

When a toilet is flushed, if there are no barriers obstructing the plug, the water level in the storage container will fill and then stop. As we listen, we can clearly discern it filling up to the top until it is completely filled. The frequency of the sound changes. If there is something blocking the plug, the water in the storage container will continue to run, and there is no discernment of the container filling up. In fact, we can tell by the absence of the change in the frequency of the sound of the water that there is something blocking the plug. This is a material Doppler effect.

 
There is a spiritual Doppler effect. We are aware of moving towards supreme levels in our growth, to levels of increasing divinity. And this awareness is similar to discerning water filling a tank. As the soul begins to fill with the divine values and meanings, we become aware of it. The meanings begin to change, and it is this change in meanings that allows us to discern the soul filling us with divine values. These meanings continue to change and grow until they reach supreme levels. Now it takes some time for these meanings of supreme values to reach the consciousness of the mind, or more accurately for the mind to realize them. This is because the material mind is basically skeptical of such claims. But the faith within the soul has the power to overcome all doubts concerning spiritual reality. It is very difficult for the material mind to acknowledge these new divine values and meanings. We wonder if these values and meanings are true. The mind knows that they are meaningful but is not sure of the validity of these meanings. So the thought process goes round and round until that day when the self finally recognizes and realizes the new status
.
It is much easier to know the truth of what we are doing than it is know the truth of what we are thinking. But once you realize the truth of what you are doing, it is fairly easy to realize the truth of what you are thinking. It is the degree to which we have become Godlike that determines our status, and when we realize that we are Godlike, that we are performing according to the standard set by his Son, Jesus, that is loving our brothers and sisters the way that Jesus loves us, then we can accept it in our minds because we have no difficulty accepting that which we are experiencing.

This realization that we are one in the Father through his Son, Jesus, is the recognition of the truth that "the divine spirit has considered our faith desire a fact and acts accordingly.”” We have become an eternal conduit for the Father’’s love through his Son, Jesus, while we yet tread the valley of the flesh. Such a realization fills our hearts and souls with unspeakable joy and a superb tranquility of spirit.

This is the reward for pleasing God, for exercising unquestionable faith, for believing he exists and for diligently seeking him: He makes us one with him.

This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of the phenomenon of translation. 
We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.

 Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry. 
  


Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Reflection Upon Translation