As a boy of 11 or 12 it was, that I began suddenly to be taken up with the seemingly unfathomable mystery of my life. I continued for approximately 9-10 years still deeply immersed in the mystery, disturbed by my confusions and my inability to make sense of my place in this world.
I was living in a society of similar entities who, like me, while living in an apparent semblance of outward order, nevertheless in various ways betrayed inner disorder and confusion; people of such conflicting ideas, interests, goals and ideals who gave me no hope of receiving from them the answer to my great problem. All men, it seemed to me, were as confused as myself. These people apparently didn't know where they were going, and neither did I. I lived, but I didn't know why, or how, or where I was to end. I was surrounded by people, by my family and friends, yet helpless. The mystery was unfathomable, the answer impregnable! The thought of eventual death, and dying, as mystified as I had lived, was a burden tending to despair. And so, I was carried along in the stream of life, and by time.....to what?.....to nothing?.....to oblivion?..... I had to find out.....!
As that lad of 12 or 13, I resolved that I would travel the world and search every corner. (N.B. Siddhartha - Buddha) No sooner had that resolve registered itself within me than it was met with the reply, what use.....? Every other place is the same in principle as here, so where do I go? If the answer is elsewhere, then it is here too! But where..? Is the answer to be found in the love of a girl? It cannot be, for any girl is, in this regard, just like me. My parents then, what about them? And again, the answer is the same. They're just like me. We're all in an apparently endless chain...!
And so here, and the world over, I observed people faced with the same question of their existence; people faced with the same mystery, the same challenge. Each, in his own way, must try to resolve the mystery that to me could, and can, have but one complete and true answer; a common answer, as common to each person as is our common humanity. One humanity, one answer; the same for us all. It has to be! But where.....? Where is that answer?
And so I lived on.....and I searched on... and I came to realise that the answer for the 'seekers' has to lie, not in the realm of the material world that is seen, but in the immaterial, spiritual world that is unseen. I sensed, just as the visible realities of the world find their fulfilments in the visible world, so the invisible realities and searchings of my spirit could only find their fulfilments in the invisible world of the spirit.
It was in this world of the spirit, that I came to perceive the sure existence of a Living, Creating, Intelligent Power (See Existence The Mystery) responsible for all that I see; and which was and is, therefore, responsible for me! I came to see that it is only the perception of this Creating, Intelligent Power, and the resulting conviction of Its Existence and Presence, that alone gives, from its peculiar vantage point, sense, sanity, meaning, reason and answer, in a complete sense, to the whole question of life and existence.
However, it must be noted, that a sense of mystery necessarily co-exists with this perception and conviction, as it is not possible to see with the eye of the flesh, that which alone can be seen with the eye of the spirit; but the vision is nonetheless sure! 'Belief', thus becomes an act of 'faith', faith in the existence of that which is unseen. St. Paul, the Apostle, put it this way: "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for; to be certain of the things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)
It is also worth noting: that countless numbers of people through the centuries have actually gone so far as to give their lives, in order to live and die faithful to this same perception and conviction. They have, like Christ, died rather than deny the truth of their assertion, so sure have they been. They have lived and died, striving to carry the same message to others, that all men might have the same 'vision' and 'believe'. This 'vision' sees all mankind united in one Spirit to a Loving, Life-giving Father-Creator, with the oneness of mankind fully realised within that union.
It is in this sense that Christ is seen as the actual 'Moving Power', the 'Force' and 'Uniting Spirit', the 'Victim-of-Atonement' Who invites every man to the joy of 'At-one-ment' with the Eternal Divine Life, inviting him to share in the wonder of God's own Living Eternity. Christ, conceived in the virgin's immaculate womb by the overshadowing power of The Holy Spirit of God, manifested Himself as the Incarnated Son of God. (Luke 1:26-35) "In Him dwelt the fullness of the (Spiritual) Godhead, bodily." (Colossians 2:9) In this way, He manifested the 'at-one-ness' with God that all men are called to achieve. (See John 17:21-16) He was to be "the first-born of many brethren." (Romans 8:29)
It follows, to perceive all things and aspects of life in relation to the Creator Who made them, and in the light of His Will for them, is the key to all wisdom and knowledge, (Colossians 2:3) the key to peace and true Love, and ultimately the key to the experience of Life in Its Ultimate Reality, the key to the possession of life in all of its fullness, not here, but in the hidden world to come. This is the world of which Paul spoke when he said, "Eye has not seen, ear heard, or mind conceived, that which the Father has in store for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
To perceive and view things in this way, that is, with the eye of faith, is to be likened to tuning into a TV transmission on the right frequency. Tuned in, one hears and one sees; but for one not tuned in, it is foolishness, having "ears which therefore cannot hear, and eyes which therefore cannot see." (Matthew 13:13-15) But again, for those tuned in is heard the Word of the Living God, and seen, is the Vision of His Eternal Presence.