You see it don’t you?

You see it don’t you? Just look. Notice the workings of the entire universe. There is birth, death, and rebirth.

The fundamental nature of all things is the image, likeness and being of God. It is the underlying and unchanging essence of all things. That essence took on a mind, body and personality in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was born, grew and evolved, died, and was reborn. The true essence of his being is alive in us. To say that Jesus died is a bit misleading. It is true that his mind, body and personality stopped functioning but the underlying essence of Jesus never ceased to be, and is alive right now, and constitutes the ground of our being.

Jesus said, “I am the truth.” That truth includes the characteristic of impermanence that is true of all things that appear in our world and universe. The human mind, body and personality and anything they create in the phenomenal world are all characterized by impermanence. They are born, change, and ultimately go away in their present form. We suffer as a result of our attachments in the world. What I mean by “attachment” is that we take things that are characterized by impermanence and expect/depend on them to be permanent. We imbue them with a power they don’t have, and cling to them in ways that cause us suffering.

The fact that the world is this way is not a problem. The only problem is our failure or unwillingness to see this truth.

But it is also true that the underlying essence of all things is permanent and unchanging. For example, the Scriptures say, “God is love.” When we lose someone who was a special and cherished expression of love, we naturally experience the pain of loss. And yet, love itself does not die. Love is permanent. It may change forms but there is never a net loss of love in the universe. Why? Because love is part of the underlying essence of all things – the image, likeness, being and nature of God at the center of all things, and the source of our true and ultimate well-being.