new church life: september/october 2017
have been created they can then take
on a life of their own, or can be used in
a variety of ways.
So with human life the Lord creates
the material “stuff ” out of which our
bodies and brains can be built, and He
provides the genetic code to bring it
all together into the human form. But
once all that is done He then gives us
the faculties of will and understanding
so that we can act as if of ourselves,
making decisions that determine
what kind of person we will be, and
specifically how we will respond to
Him.
But here’s the thing: just as our
bodies are made of material stuff,
so our minds require a material
environment within which to operate.
Without confronting the hard, fixed,
limited physical world outside of
ourselves we would never have to make
any choices or face any consequences
and we would never grow or change.
In fact we would never develop the unique personality that sets us apart from
other people; in a way we would all just be extensions of the Lord’s own love
and wisdom.
But when we do confront the hard, fixed, limited physical world outside of
ourselves, each one of us from a different perspective, the organic substances
of our minds are affected in such a way that unique memories are formed.
These memories, like habits, become a permanent part of us, defining us,
differentiating us from others, and establishing a plane of consciousness that
will serve us forever in the life after death. Of course, those memories, that
foundation, once laid can never be changed, so the life after death simply
continues based on the decisions we make here.
For example, in our own lives we face daily choices, every one of which
has visible and invisible consequences that can play out to all eternity. What
books we read, what films we watch, what music or conversations we listen
to: all these impressions (and that’s exactly what they are, impressions) are
stored away in our memory banks, whether we realize it or not, and they all
enter with some affection, either good or bad, so that they contribute to our
Just as our bodies are
made of material stuff,
so our minds require a
material environment
within which to operate.
Without confronting
the hard, fixed, limited
physical world outside
of ourselves we would
never have to make
any choices or face
any consequences
and we would never
grow or change.
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