Why do people prefer the spectacular above the Divine?
When the spectacular appears, it allows for the indulgence of the lower self (micro). But when the Divine comes, He pushes for the highest pleasure – God’s Will (macro).
Fear chooses the spectacular over the Divine. But faith would rather decrease than see the Divine depart. For when the spectacular superimposes, the Divine reposes. Fallen mankind may respect the Divine but it loves the spectacular. They recognize the inherent superiority of the Divine above the spectacular but they would rather vote in the spectacular because man does manipulate the spectacular but the Divine does not bow to man. Rather, man submits to the Divine – it cannot happen any other way.
Most flock to the spectacular and bring to its feet a thousand gifts. But at the Divine they wave from afar, walking on by. To them, the Divine is an idyll that they admire like a masterpiece hung on the wall in an art gallery – it is out there but not on the inside of them; they find it beautiful but not practical – very much like the idea of Communism. The spectacular is a demonstration of the Divine, but the Divine is the knowledge of the Divine.
Even some of the few who dwell in the lofty domain of the Divine have stooped, deserted and descended into the muddy valley of the spectacular – and that mostly because of the gnarling of the belly. They realise that they are admired, almost as a relic but not sought after like the spectacular.
The Spectacular is the gift, but the Divine is the Giver. The Divine is the Creator from on high but the spectacular is His manifested creative work. The Divine is the Way but the spectacular is His wonders.
The spectacular cannot cure the spiritual and cosmic sickness of humanity; only the Divine can save. The spectacular has the capacity to neither save nor change man. The spectacular can only overawe man and maybe give him some sense of temporary happiness. But the Divine alone affords true lasting joy without the implementation of flattery.
The spectacular announces a man to his fellow men. But the Divine reveals God to man. The Spectacular may be exploited by man to establish his own empire upon the heads of his fellow men. But the Divine transposes the kingdom of heaven to earth through the hearts of men.
The spectacular (works of God) is capable of shocking man into fearing God. But the Divine only can reveal the nature of God and thereby strike the fire of the love of God in man. “I have come that they might know You the true God”, says the Divine. What you do not know you cannot love. The spectacular is in the state of becoming, but the Divine is perfection.
The Jews some two thousand and something years back lost the Divine while looking for the spectacular. They were expecting a temporal deliverer who will cater to all their immediate material and carnal wants. They were so blinded by their fixation on their own peripherals that they could not see the Lamb of God in their midst who had come to cure them of the terminal disease ravaging their spirit and mental pattern.
They lusted after the carnal with murderous rage; they became incapable of spiritual reasoning and they entered into a losing battle with the Creator. But the new wine must be poured into a new skin; and the dilapidated must first be demolished before the perfect architecture can be established. One who seeks the spectacular above the Divine cannot stay upright for long.
It is possible to have the Divine and the spectacular at the same time. And blessed is the reader who is able to hear.