Just prior to Jesus coming on the scene a young man named John appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance. One day when John was asked if he was the Messiah he denied it and then added these wise words: “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.” (John 3:27).
These words ring of truth, and those who have had some experience with spiritual practice would probably not hesitate to agree with them. But it is one thing to agree with them and another thing to take them to heart in a real and personal way. In other words, these words are not only wise; they are actually filled with spiritual truth and power. If we really were to live our lives according to this maxim, it would surely bring about a major transformation in our outlook and life orientation.
From a religious perspective it sounds as though John was saying that a personal God in heaven doles out to us humans certain spiritual gifts or talents according to his purpose and that unless God gives it we must reconcile ourselves to simply going without. But from an impersonal spiritual perspective this scripture speaks of a much more profound truth than that. It speaks of a spiritual principle that I call letting go.
The reality is that most of us are neither as humble nor as spiritual as John the Baptist was. John had long since come to accept his role as the Messiah’s precursor—a role that carried little glory or fame. He had a large following in his own right and could have set himself up as a rival to Jesus. But he not only resisted that temptation; he told his followers point blank: “He [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30).
But John was not only a humble and good man whose primary calling was to point the world to Jesus; he was also a spiritual teacher. And like all true spiritual teachers he had a powerful inclination to help people. This is what a true spiritual teacher does. He or she attempts to liberate and uplift all those who come to them through the imparting of spiritual truth and life principles. He or she possesses a thorough knowledge about the human predicament and wants to see people live lives that are happy, healthy, and fulfilled. And so, when John spoke of people only being able to receive what the universe gives he was setting forth a principle for all spiritually minded people to contemplate, embrace, and live by. And his motive was to bring them into a fuller and happier life experience.
When we think of people in our world we do not generally think of them as being fulfilled and happy. Some might be rich and influential; some might be talented and attractive. But not very many are what we might call fulfilled and happy. Why is this? Because in our present society there is a definite dearth of knowledge about spiritual principles.
The fact is that while we may agree with John’s words, very few of us actually live our lives according to the spiritual principle they bring to light. John lived without striving for personal gain and position. He neither manipulated nor controlled other people to get what he wanted. He lived from an orientation of receiving. This orientation goes deeper than just receiving a spiritual gift or calling; it extends to every facet of human life. It extends to the realms of livelihood, finance, relationships, and even health. And it involves not only receiving but also acceptance for what we are given. And this orientation of receiving and accepting is one of the keys to becoming a fulfilled and happy human being.
The fact that most of us do not live according to this orientation does not mean that we are bad people. Rather it means that we are misled people. It means that we have been taught from infancy onward to live according to an altogether different orientation—that is, the orientation of getting and taking. We have been taught that life is ours for the making and that to sit back and receive is too passive of an approach—that we will never get the things we want and need out of life from that angle. So instead we have all become proactive getters and takers. And for many, this approach does bring to them the things that they covet. Unfortunately, it does not make them fulfilled or happy. Why is this? Because it directly violates the universal law of how things were meant to come to us.
We are all familiar with the orientation of getting and taking. Most of us have been living that way all of our lives. It goes hand in hand with another orientation we have been taught from birth—that of living by human strength. Our sense of separation from God and life in general has caused us to instinctually fend for ourselves in every aspect of life. To this end, we have all endeavored to become as humanly strong as we can, so that we can compete and make our way out in the wide cruel world. Another word for this orientation is Darwinism. According to Darwin’s theories, it is the strong that survive and prosper. Only they get what they want from life. But do they find fulfillment and happiness? Not usually.
So, living by human strength is a posture we assumed at birth, and getting and taking are simply aspects of that posture. We get it in our heads that we want this or that and we set about proactively trying to get it. We learn acceptable techniques for getting (that is, acceptable from society’s viewpoint), so that we do not run afoul of the law. Most of these techniques are mentally activated. They include manipulating, controlling, deceiving, lying, plotting and scheming, etc. And some people have become so good at these techniques that they have indeed been able to get all that they have desired in life. But getting, while a legal and acceptable form of acquiring and accumulating, does not bring us fulfillment and happiness. On the contrary, it usually robs our peace to such an extent that we find it tough to live with ourselves.
Taking goes even further. Getting is generally acceptable behavior, since everyone is doing it and there are no laws against it. But taking often crosses over the line of acceptability and gets us in real trouble. In our society we envy those who become masters at getting, but we castigate and shun those that we judge to be takers. In fact, we even do not hesitate to incarcerate them. Thus the truly clever takers learn how to carry out their agenda under the guise of getting. They are really takers at heart, but they tone down their approach to where it appears that they are merely doing what everybody else is doing—that is, getting.
Of course, neither getting nor taking are spiritual approaches. They are strictly human and carnal. And for this reason they do not promote peace, harmony, or rest. Only the spiritual posture of receiving does this, and that was why John, through the example of his own life, taught his followers to utterly renounce getting and taking and instead become receivers.
As receivers, we may not get everything we thought we wanted in life. But we will always get what we need. The problem is that we have been so thoroughly trained in the proactive approaches of getting and taking that most of us have difficulty believing that even our needs will be met if we give them up. "What does it mean to receive from heaven?” we ask ourselves. "How does that work out in practicalities? Do things just beginning falling from the sky into our lap?" Of course not. But like all spiritual principles, we will never know if and how it works unless we go out on a limb and try it.
The kind of receiving that John spoke of is not just a singular act; it is a spiritual posture. Therefore it works according to universal law. It is not meant to manipulate a personal God up in heaven into giving us what we want. Rather it is recognized by the universe according to law, which then sets in motion the response of manifesting what we need. It is not a posture that we temporarily adopt when we feel like it, but rather one that we have arrived at based on our own spiritual work and consciousness evolution. In other words, John was not manipulating anyone; he had become a receiver as part of his spiritual state of being. And we know from his words that he had experienced receiving on a regular basis in other areas of his life, such as supply and health. But he had not received the calling of being the Messiah. That calling was meant for someone else.
John intended for his words to be an encouragement to other spiritual aspirants on the journey. But he would have been quick to point out their responsibility in this dynamic. In other words, he would not have advocated that people try to act like they are in a receiving mode. Why? Because that is simply another form of manipulation. No, what John advocated was that we all do the spiritual work needed to move forward on the journey to the place where becoming a receiver happens naturally—where it is not something we do pretentiously or force to happen. Receiving our good from the storehouse of the universe is the way of blessing, fulfillment, and happiness. But remember, the universe is not mocked. Universal law does not respond to human counterfeits. It recognizes the real deal. And that was the kind of receiving John was talking about. Does it really work? Yes, but only when it is the real deal.
That was why John was not tempted by the thought of trying to rival Jesus. He had ceased to be a getter and a taker. He had become a receiver, and the universe had already been activated toward giving on his behalf. This is what delivers us from the persistent sense of neediness. John had already experienced having his needs met, without having to strive, fight, manipulate, deceive others, etc. He had let go of that entire Adamic orientation to life. And he had found peace and rest for his soul.
John had become a passive receiver and had come to experience the blessedness of that posture, but he had only come to that place by doing the spiritual work that was needed, in order to be recognized by the universe as the real deal. So he had not always been passive. He had worked for it, and probably along the way he had done his share of proactive getting too. And what did this work consist of? It was the conscious undertaking of letting go. What did he consciously let go of? All that was of his carnal human self—all of its neediness, desires, fears, and habitual techniques for getting what he wanted. As a spiritual master in his own right, he had let go of all within him that was unspiritual and mortal. He had consciously released these aspects of his human self, in order to become his higher spiritual Self. He had done the work of letting go, only to then discover that it was actually an inviolable spiritual principle at work in our universe—that when we let go of our own insecure attempts at fending for ourselves we do not become destitute and bitter; rather just the opposite happens. Sufficiency and even abundance begin to come our way. Thus he was now able to enter the Sabbath rest of God and experience the peace that surpasses understanding—a flow of blessing that comes only when we let go and assume the posture of receiving.
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