n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 3
All of us have
experienced the
allure of natural
delights. I don’t think
it is difficult for any
of us to understand
how others might
choose them, and
fall into states of evil.
We’ve all done this.
in charge of our own life and direction is
also delightful. The Lord did not create these
mental states to be evil, but given our freedom
and the Lord’s goal of providing for a genuine
state of salvation (i.e., reciprocal love), He
cannot prevent people from choosing to let
those loves and their delights rule them.
But do we really have a choice?
Some have argued that freedom of choice is
not a choice between good and evil. When
we are in evil, we cannot see what’s true
and good with our understanding, because,
contrary to the appearance, our will leads our
understanding. Experiencing truth in our
understanding cannot produce change in us.
This is a misunderstanding of the teachings
of the Writings. If this were true it would prevent us from engaging in the
marriage of good and truth, of will and understanding. And that process is the
basis for our humanity and our ability to reciprocally respond to God.
It is true that the will leads the understanding. But the fact is, we have
access to two wills. The Lord guarantees this. We have a selfish will, from
the influence of hell working into our chosen evil and into our hereditary
inclination to love our self above others. When this will is strongly at work in
us, it bends our understanding to its will. But we also have a higher will. The
Lord flows into this higher will through heaven. This will is given from birth
and can become our “new will” as we let the Lord regenerate us. It’s through
this higher will that our understanding is elevated to see the truth.
This elevating influx takes place with us as a free gift. The mental states
that result are called “remnants” in the Writings.4 These remnant states are
not our own but the Lord’s with us. Yet we feel them as our own – often failing
to reflect on their source. All people are given remnant states in infancy and
childhood, though these gifts diminish in kind and power as we recede from
innocence.
All remnant states, throughout life, are preserved as a basis for the Lord’s
inflowing. Even adults who have immersed themselves in the choice of evil
are given quiet times when they experience states of insight and love from the
4 Often translated “remains.” Reflect on: Arcana Coelestia 530.2, 560, 977.2, 1707.3, 1906.3; cf.
1555.2-3, 3701.5
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