Is "One" the Loneliest Number?

[Snowfire]

I was reflecting on how Ray has said time and time again, "It's all One".
One God, one Lord, one Saviour, one parable, one faith, one hope, one love, one baptism.
And when I pondered this I wondered... Why, in the world of mathematics
when One is subtracted from Itself it equals Nothing.

How can One (God) subtracted from Himself be Nothing?
Does he cease to exist?
Is the statement "It's all One" not the sum of all truth?

And then it came to me... a truth within itself...
Without God... There Is Nothing


 

[Kat]

Hi Snowfire,

Interesting thought.
the thing that occured to me, is One will always come first.

We know 1 x 1 = 1
But this also, 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 = 1
This can go on an infinity number of times, it stays one and never changes 

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[Deborah-Leigh]

Hello Snowfire

God is Love. We love God because He loved us FIRST. ONE is FIRST. First is Supreme unbeatable and could perhaps be called Sovereign un-duplicated, original and unique.

He is the First AND Last.

Peace be to you

Arcturus

[skydreamers]

Great thoughts Snowfire and Kat!

It's also interesting to ponder how everything originates in God, including us.  He created us, our DNA.  Whether we are presently in sin and "estranged" from God, we still have our origin in Him.  So how could God even spare one thing or one person to be separated from Him (hell) or ultimately destroyed (annihilation), because He would have something of Himself missing.  He has to reconcile everything back to Himself...as I imagine He would not be Whole without that reconciliation...that's what it seems like to me.  I'm no scientist but I imagine that if an essential part of our DNA is missing...what would we be...nothing?  Does God have DNA?  Are we part of that? 

This is why I think when we lose someone dear to us we sense that a "piece" of us is missing...a piece of our hearts metaphorically speaking.  I think we will none of us feel "whole" until all humanity is reconciled and we are all one.  We all need each other, and I feel like, God likely needs us as much as we need Him.  Not with a frail or weak human kind of need, but a purposeful healthy and spiritual need.  We cannot be whole (One) without each other. 

Someone shared this kind of thinking with me recently, and at first I felt uncomfortable about it....God needs us??  How could God need anything?  But if you think of need in terms of an expression of love, it could make sense.  Need can define an aspect of Love.  Think of anyone you have a loving relationship with.  You love them AND you need...as Ray has said there are reasons why we love someone.  You don't love someone for no reason at all!  And if you love them, often you can connect it to a need...something in that person that you "need" because it makes you feel closer to complete (even if not yet totally complete).   But when the time comes and we are all connected to each other by Need and Love we can truly "complete each other" (as the famous Tom Cruise saying goes... )

Because what is more accurate to say to your loved one..."I love you"...or..."I need you"?  Love is so elusive, it's barely understandable at times.  But everybody understands Need.  So when someone says to you "I need you", doesn't it stir something inside you?  A purpose...a call...a stirring inside to reach out and connect by helping. 

Think of all the disastrous events that bring humanity together.  One day you barely say hello to your neighbor down the street, the next a hurricane hits and you are risking your life to save them, or giving your last scrap of food to feed their starving children.  People come together out of NEED.  Strangers rarely come together just to say "I love you".  But when you perceive a need in a stranger, something in that stirs the heart.

So then, is it too far to contemplate that God "needs" us in some strong spiritual way, that will eventually "stir" the heart of every carnal being to reach out to God.

We love Him, because He first loves us. (1Joh 4:19)

Could this equal:  We need Him, because He first needs us?

Could this be why Jesus washed the apostles feet?  To serve, is to fulfill a need.

So it seems to me, that if even one soul remains lost to God, He would cease to be One, and as we all know this is totally impossible.  And since he "needs" us he will not stop until he brings us completely back into harmony with Him.

I know some of these thoughts might be off the wall, but they come out of contemplating God's Oneness...so I share just for the sake of interest, not that I can back it up with anything.

Peace,
Diana

[DuluthGA]

Here's a related email from me to Ray in August 06 a few months after I started reading his material.  It's a great response from him.   

MY MIND IS BEING BLOWN ON SOME OF YOUR STUFF!!!

One thought for now, I realize God doesnt have body parts and "emotions", no real WRATH, although He's His Own worst publisher on this matter, yet you mention He is lonely.  That's an emotion.  How to wrap my mind around this one?  How for you to put it so your thoughts remain consistent....  tough one.

With joy, Janice

Dear Janice:

As to God being "lonely."  Maybe "alone" would have been a better choice of words on my part. It is difficult to write about Who and What God is in human thoughts and words. God clearly is NOT A MAN (Num. 23:19), but He talks and communicates with us as THOUGH He were a man, and He reveals Himself through His Son Jesus Christ who definately IS A MAN (I Tim. 2:5).  So where does that leave us?  It leaves us with a difficult task to try and explain the purpose of God's plan and creation.

We are assured that GOD IS LOVE (I John 4/8). But what does that mean for US?
Is love an "emotion?" Maybe our dictionaries would conclude that it is, but emotions are mental disturbances and agitations.  Does God get "disturbed" or "agitated?"  You see, it doesn't work to try and put God into our frame of thinking.
That is because His thoughts are HIGHER than our thoughts (Isa. 55:9).

So back to "love."  How is God "love?"  Love is a desire to see others prosper and be happy. But how can one (or One) make others happy if THERE ARE NO OTHERS?  Hence a creation of "others?"  I never claimed to have all the answers--I do my best to teach as God teaches me.

God be with you,
Ray

[gmik]

Great thoughts. (just reading this tonite!)

Even something like "God is Love"- milk to the churchworld

but meat here at the forum!!!

[GODSown1]

PRAISE the LORD,
                         & HIS AllmightinesS!! Awesum! Words All..
                        muchLOVE!! Pera