By C Andrew May
1. The Eternal Source
All reality begins with the One who simply is. The Creator’s existence is not stretched across time, nor measured by before and after. The Creator exists as eternal being—self-subsistent, unchanging, wholly present. This eternal identity is expressed in the declaration: “I Am.”
In this eternal mode of existence, the Creator performs a single, timeless act: the act of creation. This act does not occur at a moment within time; it is the ground of all moments. In it, the entire spacetime whole—its beginning, its unfolding, and its consummation—comes into existence as a single, complete reality.
The Creator’s being is not only the source of creation but its archetype. The creature’s ultimate form—its perfected participation in the Creator’s life—is present in the Creator’s eternal intention.
2. Creation as a Teleological Whole
Creation is not a random sequence of events. It is a teleological whole, a structured totality whose meaning is found in its consummation. The universe is shaped from the outset by its intended end.
In the Creator’s eternal act, the entire arc of creation exists simultaneously. The beginning and the end are equally present in the Creator’s eternal “now.” The creature’s perfected state is not a future possibility but an eternally present reality in the Creator’s vision.
Yet creatures do not perceive this totality. They experience creation sequentially, moment by moment. This temporal unfolding is not a flaw or limitation; it is the creature’s mode of participating in the Creator’s eternal act.
3. Time and the Process of Becoming
Time is the medium through which the creature grows into its eternal identity. The creature experiences only the process of becoming because this experience is the actuation of what is eternally true in the Creator’s intention.
Becoming is not separate from being; it is the creature’s path to apprehending and embodying the eternal reality that already exists in the Creator’s “I Am.”
Through time, the creature:
– learns,
– chooses,
– matures,
– and becomes capable of union with the Creator.
The temporal journey is the unfolding of the creature’s eternal identity within the limits of creaturely experience.
4. The Creature’s Nature and Destiny
The creature’s being is derived—contingent, relational, grounded in the Creator’s being. Its true identity is not self-invented but given in the Creator’s eternal intention. This identity is teleological: the creature is made for participation in the Creator’s life.
The creature’s destiny is not something it creates for itself; it is something it discovers. The process of becoming is the revelation of what the creature already is in the Creator’s eternal vision.
5. Freedom as Relational and Teleological
The creature’s freedom is real, but not absolute. It is relational freedom—the freedom appropriate to a being whose nature and destiny are grounded in the Creator.
This freedom is:
– genuine, allowing the creature to respond, choose, and align;
– developmental, maturing through experience, knowledge, and moral growth;
– teleologically oriented, directed toward the creature’s fulfillment in the Creator.
The creature is not free to become anything whatsoever; it is free to become what it truly is. The temporal process is the education of the will, shaping it to recognize and embrace the truth when fully revealed.
The creature’s final acceptance of the Creator’s being is therefore:
– willing but not arbitrary,
– free but not rootless,
– chosen but not self-originated.
Freedom is the engine of becoming.
6. Consummation and Participation
The culmination of the creature’s journey is a transition beyond time into perfected participation with the Creator’s being. This is not absorption or loss of identity but the fulfillment of the creature’s nature.
In this consummation:
– the creature becomes what the Creator eternally intends,
– the creature’s will aligns freely with the Creator’s being,
– the creature enters the eternal reality that has always been present in the Creator’s intention.
This is the meaning of the promise: “Thus Shall You Be.”
The creature’s temporal journey is the path by which it freely actualizes the eternal perfection intended for it. The end is not imposed; it is embraced. The creature becomes what it eternally is in the Creator’s vision.
7. The Whole Vision
“I Am Thus Shall You Be” is a metaphysical vision in which:
– the Creator exists as eternal being,
– creation is a teleological whole,
– time is the medium of becoming,
– freedom is relational and developmental,
– and the creature’s destiny is perfected participation in the Creator’s life.
The creature’s journey is the unfolding of an eternal truth. The Creator’s being is the origin and the goal. The creature’s becoming is the path. The consummation is union.
The entire structure of reality is shaped by the relationship expressed in the name:
I Am — Thus Shall You Be.