At the dawn of Creation, it was God's plan, born out of love, to give to all souls the precious gift of freedom. This gift enables each soul to become a complete self with unqualified existence.  Without free-will, existence would be qualified as choices would not be fully open.  As such, souls would not be able to participate in the sacred Covenant with the Divine which involves the ability to choose God or to turn away - to choose to live in the presence of the sacred or to deny that presence.  Free-will allows each self to become whole and to become whole in God.

Some have wondered whether such freedom is worth the extreme pain and sense of isolation that has been part of the human experience, for the consequences of human freedom have been both glorious and tragic.  And yet without such freedom, we could not become the individuals that we are. We could not become a fully-formed self.  In order for selfhood - the individuation of Divine consciousness - to take place, freedom had to be. 

This gift of our own existence is a gift of Divine love.  It allows us to shape our own futures and to choose whatever path we wish toward the Divine.  We can also choose to turn away from the Divine, and yet there is an evolutionary 'pull' that calls each soul to the place of return.  One cannot turn away from the Divine path without ultimately turning away from one's own deepest truth. 

Historically, and especially within the western spiritual traditions, the path of return has been called redemption.  Today, the redemptive path is also called purification - the means of returning to God's sacred reality. We choose this means when we embrace the light within us while acknowledging the darkness as well.  We also choose this means when we embrace God's love as our own love for others.  This movement of awareness allows the darkness within to separate from the light while we stand in the presence of trust and love.

The power of light is the strongest force in Creation.  It can redeem all that is separated.  It is the same force through which all of Creation came into being. To participate in this healing is to align with light and not darkness.  It is to choose wholeness and love over all else that may claim one's involvement. 

The process of purification is based on our desire to live in wholeness and to serve life and God in love and truth.  Such a desire opens the way for light to begin to flow through us as we strive to become light. It leads to the overcoming of the power formerly given to darkness and separation. 

The light that we choose is a Divine light that belongs to all souls.  It has nothing to do with doctrine or belief and can be invoked, prayed to, felt, and participated in by anyone of any background. It is the light of our Divine essence as well as the light through which all things came into being.  It is this sacred light that is the heritage of all children of God and the means for returning home. 

                                                 To continue -  Light and Darkness - Part III

Related Writings:

Light and Darkness - Introduction

Light and Darkness - Part I

Light and Darkness - Part III

Writings on Light and Darkness

Article Section -  Purification