In God we live, and move, and have our being. God lives, and moves, and has His being in us. This spiritual insight leads us to a conclusion that there are no fundamental reasons for divisions among people. No group is inherently superior. No group is inherently inferior. In God, we are essentially one. Discords and enmity are possible only at the surface of human existence.

By our makeup we are different, but those differences were not meant to separate from each other. Each one of manifold expressions of God is this universe is unique, and this uniqueness is a gift to the world. All the universe has the purpose to bless us, and we ourselves have the purpose to bless the world. But for this to happen we need to accept ourselves and the world. Are we open enough to receive and to give? Are we willing to get rid of mental resistance toward certain parts of humanity?

The brotherhood of all people cannot be regarded as a side issue. The gospel of Jesus is a challenge to all doctrines of exclusiveness in any form. This is why the Master opposed Pharisees - the only group of people we know of. The spirit of a Pharisee is a spirit of division.

We should recognize that Pharisees of His time were far from being demonic creatures as they are often portrayed. Quite the opposite! They were great people in many respects, the ones who might be highly esteemed even among us. They had uncommon faith and devotion to God. They accepted high moral standards of living. It is a tragedy that their judgmental attitude and superiority complex made those virtues of no value. It is a tragedy that they became the most violent opponents of Jesus.

The law of sowing and reaping works in a case of every Pharisee. Those who wish to cut off others from the love and the grace of God, eventually cut off themselves. Those who judge, are being judged.

Condemnation is a sure indicator of inner division of a person who pronounces it. By judging, we project on others our own mental conflicts, it is a well-known psychological fact. Listening to the judgments (or so-called "opinions") of a person reveals to us more truths about him/her than about his/her surrounding.

Those people who persist in affirming divisions among people, become even more divided within. In greater and greater measure, they display the lack of wholeness. And the lack of wholeness is a sickness.

Charles Fillmore gave a vivid description of a modern Pharisee in his book "Dynamics for Living": "He who knows not himself wholly, but just his superficial, external personality, thinks that he is reformed when he conforms to moral and municipal laws. He may be filled with self-righteousness and may daily lift his voice in prayer, thanking God that he is not as other men are; but he has not forgiven men their transgressions. He looks upon every man who does not conform to his understanding of morality, religion, or finances as a transgressor, and thanks God for his supposed insight and keenness. But he is not at peace. There is something lacking. God does not talk to him "face to face", because the mind, where God and man meet, is darkened by the murky belief that other men are sinners".

The Christ spirit within urges us to greater unity. Unity already exists on the universal plane, but it should be expressed outwardly. As we move toward unity, we find wholeness, healing, and fulfillment - for ourselves and for others.

The lesson of the Master is to love our neighbors just as we love ourselves. And to those who continue to ask, after two thousand years, "who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29), Jesus answers: "The one whom you consider to be inferior, or the one whom your society rejects as an outcast". Nobody can be excluded.

The spark of divinity is within each person. And it is only through our loving attitude toward all this spark can be blazed into a flame of Christlike character we wish to see in ourselves and in others.

Let us not just read or repeat words of the Lord's prayer, but take time to meditate upon them. They will become an instrument of transforming of our consciousness toward accepting others at the new, divine level.