April 9, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here. Luke.
I desire tonight to write for a short time on the text that, "The sins of the parents are visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generations."
I know that usually the explanation of the text has been that the material sins, or rather the sins which result in material injury or affliction. are visited upon the children and to a very great extent this is true. But that explanation is not what was intended by the declaration.
Man is not only a material or physical being, but is more largely a spiritual being, having a soul and spirit which never ceases to exist, and which are just as much a part of him while on earth, as when he becomes a spirit; that is after he has left the vestments of flesh and blood.
These real parts of man are of more importance to him and his real existence than is the physical part, and the sins which man commits are not the results of any primary physical action, but of the operations of the powers which form or have their real seat in the spiritual part of his being.
The physical part of man is not the originator of sin, but merely manifests its effects, and it (sin) almost always manifests itself on and in the physical body and leaves its scars apparent to the consciousness of men upon such body; and, hence, as man is able in his ordinary condition to perceive the effects more plainly on this body, he thinks that the meaning of the text must refer to the sins that affect and are shown upon his body, and at the same time ignores or is not sensible of the fact that the great effect or injury of sin is upon and to the spiritual part of man. As the physical body is affected by the results of these sins being carried into operation, so much more so is the spiritual part of man affected by the fact that these sins had their creation in that spiritual part of man.
It may be asked, "In what way can the effect of sin upon a man that is upon his soul and spirit, have any injurious effect upon the spirit and soul of his child, so that the child may suffer from the sin of the parent?"
Well, when a child is conceived and gestates and is born, he not only partakes of the physical nature of his parents, but also of the qualities and condition of the spirit and soul of the parents. This may seem improbable, but it is a fact that the spirit and soul that enters into the child when it is conceived comes from the great universe of soul and spirit, wholly independent of the parents and is not in its nature or qualities a part of the parents as is the flesh and blood which build up and produce the physical body of the child. But while this is true, it is also true that this spirit and soul of the child is susceptible to and in a way absorbs the influence of the spirit and soul of the parents, not only at the time of conception but also during the period of gestation, and even for years afterwards, and to such an extent that this influence continues beyond the mere earthly existence of the parents and into the life of the progeny to the third and fourth generation, as the text says.
The spirit part of the child is more susceptible to the influence and evil effects of these sins than is really its physical body, for as I have said, the spirit part is the originator and breeder of the sins, if I may so express it, while the body is merely the recipient of the exercise of the sins and the objects of their manifestation.
The influence of spirit upon spirit is more extensive and certain than mortals can possibly conceive of, and the results of that influence are not so apparent or known to the consciousness of the succeeding children, or to the respective parents, as men suppose, and as a fact they do not understand or become conscious of the fact that such influence is operating upon the spiritual parts of their children. They see and realize that the effects of such sins become manifested in the physical body, and as their ordinary natural senses cannot perceive the condition of the spirit, they conclude that the text can only mean that these sins are visited upon the material bodies of their children.
But I must tell them that, while great and deplorable injury is inflicted on these material bodies, yet greater and more lasting and more grievous - in the way of manifestations - injury is inflicted upon the spiritual nature of the children; not only because this nature continues to live, but because men, not realizing that this nature has been injured, make no attempt to find and apply a remedy as they so often do in the case where these sins manifest themselves in the physical body.
And besides, there are many sins that do not affect the mere material body, but which do great injury to the spiritual nature, and which to the senses of men are never perceptible.
A man is not only the parent of a child's material body but in a secondary way is also the parent of its spiritual nature, and the condition of the parent's spiritual nature influences and determines to a large extent the qualities and tendencies of the child's nature for good or evil, not only while it is a mortal but frequently after it has ceased to inhabit the veil of flesh. So let parents know that they do not live to themselves alone as mortals but that their evil thoughts and deeds have a greater or lesser influence upon the spiritual natures of their children, especially at the time of conception and during gestation. Then how important that every parent during these times particularly, and at all times, should have their spiritual natures in that condition of purity and freedom from sin, that their children may be conceived and born in a condition of soul purity, which will not reflect any evil that they can charge their parents with being the creators of.
If men would only realize these facts and live their lives in accordance with the truths, which I here declare, how much sooner would the human race be brought into harmony with God's Laws and the souls of men be freed from sin and evil.
I know it is often said that it is unjust and not in accordance with the justice of an impartial God that the sins and penalties arising from the disobedience of our first parents should be visited upon mankind who were and are their progeny, as such mankind had no part in that disobedience. But when it is remembered, and it is a fact, that God did not create sin or evil or impose such upon the first parents for their disobedience, but that they themselves created evil and sin, and men have been creating these in-harmonies ever since, it will be seen that an impartial God, who is our only God, is not responsible for either sin or evil and the consequent penalties which they impose. And, as has been written you before, the abolishing of sin and evil and their penalties is in the power of man and his will.
As these first parents created these evils, as I have explained, and in the manner that I have pointed out to you, their sins, by the influence which they have upon the spiritual nature at the time of conception and birth become, as it were, a visitation and that is the spiritual desires and tendencies and inclinations toward that which is evil (sic), and this influence continues with the child for years after its birth, according as the child and parents are closely associated together in their earth lives. And as each succeeding generation caused the visitation of its sinful influence and tendencies upon the succeeding generation, you can readily see how men, all men, became subject to the sins and evils and penalties which were brought into the world by the first parents.
Instead of God being the creator of these things or visiting them upon the children of man, He declares that their existence is contrary to the harmony of His creation and must be eradicated before man can come into that harmony and an at-onement with Him. And as He gave to man the great power of free will, without any restriction upon its exercise, except as a man's understanding of the harmony of the operations of God's Laws might influence him to exercise this great power; and as man in the wrong exercise of that power brought into existence these things of evil and sin, so man, as he perceives this plan of God's harmony, must exercise that will in such a way as to free himself from these things which are not part of God's creation, and are out of harmony with His plans for the creation and preservation of a perfect universe, of which man is its highest creation.
God never changes. His Laws never change. Only man has changed from the perfection of His creation; and man must change again before that perfection will again be his.
Now from all this it must not be inferred that man is left to his own efforts to bring about this great restoration, for that is not true, because God's instrumentalities are continuously at work influencing man to turn again to his first estate and become the perfect man, as he ultimately will become. I am not here referring to the workings of the great Divine Love which, when a man possesses in a sufficient degree, makes him more than the perfect man.
So, "the sins of the parents are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation," means the tendencies and inclinations toward that which is evil (are created) not by God, but by man himself, solely and exclusively.
And oh man, could you see the results of these sins upon the spiritual natures of your children, as you often see them upon their material bodies, you would hesitate in your sinning and think, and thinking would see the way by which the great blot upon the happiness and salvation of humanity could be removed and its progress to the "perfect man" be hastened and assured.
Well, I have written enough for tonight, and hope that what I have said may be understood and meditated upon by all who may read it. I will not detain you longer, and with my love and the blessings of one who is now not only the perfect man, but a possessor of the Divine Nature of the Father and an inheritor of immortality, say good night.
Your brother in Christ,
Luke
**********
Luke makes some corrections in the previous message.
April 10, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.
I am here, Luke.
I desire to make some corrections in my message of last night and will thank you to receive them.
I desire to say, that when I spoke of the sins of the parents being visited upon the children at the time of conception and birth, I meant that these sins, by the influence which they have upon the spiritual nature of the child, became, as it were, a visitation. I did not mean that any part of the real sin of the parents became a part of the spiritual nature of the child, but only that the influence of the parent's sins upon the child is sufficient to give the spiritual desires and tendencies of the child an inclination towards that which is evil; and this influence is continuous with the child for years after its birth according as the child and parents are closely associated together in their earth lives.
Let this point be made plain so that man may not quibble about the meaning of what I wrote. Otherwise, the message is true and just as I intended it should convey to you the truth of the meaning of the text.
I will not delay you longer tonight, but with my love and blessings say,
I am your brother in Christ,
Luke
Showing posts with label God's Laws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Laws. Show all posts
Monday, July 1, 2013
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saul Writes About the Old Testament; Many Things Therein Declared Never Had Any Existence
April 7, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Saul.
I very much desire to write a short message tonight as I promised you a short time ago. I will not detain you very long and will try to make my message as succinct as possible.
I know that many men look upon me, as depicted in the Old Testament, as having been a great sinner and violator of God's Laws. Well, that is largely true, for I did not let God's Will control me as I should have done and, consequently, I became in discord with His Will, and did many things that were contrary to His Laws. Of course, my knowledge of these Laws was limited to the teachings of Moses and the prophets, as they were given to me by tradition and word of mouth.
The books which are part of the Old Testament were not written in my time, and many of these Laws came to me by tradition. The Old Testament contains many sayings which were written long after the times that they purport to have occurred, and many things therein declared never had any existence, except in the minds of men who, at much later periods, conceived that it might be wise to write these things. Many alleged incidents connected with my life never had an existence and were merely the fictions written by subsequent writers.
We had very few writings in the shape of manuscript in my time, and men depended upon tradition and memory.
Well, the history of my life and doings was not written at the time it purports to have been written. I was a real person and a king, and some records of me and my people were actually written, but they were very few and, as time went, by the imagination and ingenuity added to them in the way of tradition, and then those books relating to me, as they are now contained in the Bible, were compiled from some of these writings and from tradition.
The story of my experience with the "Witch of Endor," as she is called, was not written at the time; but it is a fact that I had visited her and had an experience somewhat similar to that related in the Bible. I had with me at the time of my visit some of my followers, and they saw and heard what took place, and after my death, they repeated and described what had taken place to my countrymen, and also to the followers of David; and some parts of this occurrence became inscribed on the materials which we used to preserve some of the occurrences of those times. But there was not kept any accurate history of the scene. The people of those days had retentive memories, and for long years afterwards this incident of my life was handed down from generation to generation, and some parts thereof were written by some scribes and other parts by other scribes.
I merely write you this to show that you need not give credit to the supposed truths of many sayings of the Old Testament, for many of these accounts had no existence.
I know that what I have written is not of much importance, but while you are receiving these truths, you had as well learn something of what was true in my life.
I will not write more tonight, so thanking you, I will say good night.
Your brother in Christ,
Saul
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Saul.
I very much desire to write a short message tonight as I promised you a short time ago. I will not detain you very long and will try to make my message as succinct as possible.
I know that many men look upon me, as depicted in the Old Testament, as having been a great sinner and violator of God's Laws. Well, that is largely true, for I did not let God's Will control me as I should have done and, consequently, I became in discord with His Will, and did many things that were contrary to His Laws. Of course, my knowledge of these Laws was limited to the teachings of Moses and the prophets, as they were given to me by tradition and word of mouth.
The books which are part of the Old Testament were not written in my time, and many of these Laws came to me by tradition. The Old Testament contains many sayings which were written long after the times that they purport to have occurred, and many things therein declared never had any existence, except in the minds of men who, at much later periods, conceived that it might be wise to write these things. Many alleged incidents connected with my life never had an existence and were merely the fictions written by subsequent writers.
We had very few writings in the shape of manuscript in my time, and men depended upon tradition and memory.
Well, the history of my life and doings was not written at the time it purports to have been written. I was a real person and a king, and some records of me and my people were actually written, but they were very few and, as time went, by the imagination and ingenuity added to them in the way of tradition, and then those books relating to me, as they are now contained in the Bible, were compiled from some of these writings and from tradition.
The story of my experience with the "Witch of Endor," as she is called, was not written at the time; but it is a fact that I had visited her and had an experience somewhat similar to that related in the Bible. I had with me at the time of my visit some of my followers, and they saw and heard what took place, and after my death, they repeated and described what had taken place to my countrymen, and also to the followers of David; and some parts of this occurrence became inscribed on the materials which we used to preserve some of the occurrences of those times. But there was not kept any accurate history of the scene. The people of those days had retentive memories, and for long years afterwards this incident of my life was handed down from generation to generation, and some parts thereof were written by some scribes and other parts by other scribes.
I merely write you this to show that you need not give credit to the supposed truths of many sayings of the Old Testament, for many of these accounts had no existence.
I know that what I have written is not of much importance, but while you are receiving these truths, you had as well learn something of what was true in my life.
I will not write more tonight, so thanking you, I will say good night.
Your brother in Christ,
Saul
Monday, June 10, 2013
Jesus Writes About What it is That Makes a Man Divine?
March 15, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I wish to write tonight on the subject of: "What it is that makes a man Divine."
When man was created, he was given the highest qualities that could be bestowed upon a mortal, and yet he was mere man, but the perfect one, and with these qualities was given him the possibility of becoming in his nature Divine like the Father; but this gift was never possessed by him in its enjoyment of full fruition until after my coming to earth and making known to man that such a possibility existed.
The first created man never possessed this gift in its fulfillment, but merely had the possibility of receiving it, on condition that he continued in his obedience and made the effort to receive it in the way that the Father declared was the only way. You have been told in detail what this gift was, and how the first parents forfeited the enjoyment of it by their disobedience and ambition to possess it in a way that was not in accord with the Father's way.
As I have said, man lost this possibility at the time of the first disobedience, and thereafter became gradually a man with his moral nature sinking lower and lower until he got almost to the condition of the beasts in the field. And from that condition man has been gradually improving or progressing towards his first state of purity.
But a great many men have ceased to know, or have never known, that God is the Creator of all things, and that all creation is dependent upon Him for its very existence, and in their assurance and self importance they have assumed and professed to be true that their progress or salvation depends upon their own efforts, and that these efforts are sufficient to bring about this state of purity or harmony with God's Laws and desires.
But in this men are mistaken, for there is nothing in them that is Divine, and there never will be when they depend upon their own selves to progress to that state of perfection. The Divine Nature of the Father is not in man and will never become a part of him until he pursues the way which is absolutely necessary for him to accept and follow in order to become anything more than mere man.
I will not write more tonight as I think it best not to do so. I understand that you could not prevent your condition of sleepiness, and I do not blame you, but I think it best to wait until later to finish what I desire to write.
Well, my dear brother, believe that I have only love for you, and will get close to you as we progress - so I say, don't worry. I will say good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I wish to write tonight on the subject of: "What it is that makes a man Divine."
When man was created, he was given the highest qualities that could be bestowed upon a mortal, and yet he was mere man, but the perfect one, and with these qualities was given him the possibility of becoming in his nature Divine like the Father; but this gift was never possessed by him in its enjoyment of full fruition until after my coming to earth and making known to man that such a possibility existed.
The first created man never possessed this gift in its fulfillment, but merely had the possibility of receiving it, on condition that he continued in his obedience and made the effort to receive it in the way that the Father declared was the only way. You have been told in detail what this gift was, and how the first parents forfeited the enjoyment of it by their disobedience and ambition to possess it in a way that was not in accord with the Father's way.
As I have said, man lost this possibility at the time of the first disobedience, and thereafter became gradually a man with his moral nature sinking lower and lower until he got almost to the condition of the beasts in the field. And from that condition man has been gradually improving or progressing towards his first state of purity.
But a great many men have ceased to know, or have never known, that God is the Creator of all things, and that all creation is dependent upon Him for its very existence, and in their assurance and self importance they have assumed and professed to be true that their progress or salvation depends upon their own efforts, and that these efforts are sufficient to bring about this state of purity or harmony with God's Laws and desires.
But in this men are mistaken, for there is nothing in them that is Divine, and there never will be when they depend upon their own selves to progress to that state of perfection. The Divine Nature of the Father is not in man and will never become a part of him until he pursues the way which is absolutely necessary for him to accept and follow in order to become anything more than mere man.
I will not write more tonight as I think it best not to do so. I understand that you could not prevent your condition of sleepiness, and I do not blame you, but I think it best to wait until later to finish what I desire to write.
Well, my dear brother, believe that I have only love for you, and will get close to you as we progress - so I say, don't worry. I will say good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Jesus Writes on How a Soul Must Receive the Divine Love of the Father in Order to Become an Inhabitant of the Kingdom of God
February 28, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I desire tonight to write you on the subject: "How a soul must receive the Divine Love of the Father in order to become an inhabitant of the Kingdom of God, and realize that immortality of which I have written you."
In the first place, it must be understood that the Divine Love of the Father is an entirely distinct kind of Love from the love which the Father bestowed upon man at the time of his creation, and which man has possessed in a more or less condition of purity ever since that time. This Divine Love was never conferred upon man as a perfect and completed gift, either at the time of his creation, or since my coming to earth, but as a gift which is waiting for man's own efforts and aspirations to obtain, and without which it can never become his, although it is always close to him, waiting to answer his call.
Then in understanding what this Love is, and that man must seek for it, and what its effect upon the soul of man is, it becomes very important that man should make the obtaining of it the one great object of his aspirations and desires. For when he possesses it to a degree that makes him at-one with the Father, he ceases to be a mere man and becomes of a nature of soul existence that makes him Divine, with many qualities of the Father, the chief of which is, of course, Love; and also causes him to absolutely realize the fact of his immortality.
Mere moral goodness, or the possession of the natural love to its fullest degree will not confer upon man this Divine Nature that I have mentioned; nor will good acts and charity and kindness, of themselves, lead men to the possession of this Love, but the possession of this Love in truth and in fact, will lead to charity and good deeds and kindness, always unselfish, and to a brotherhood of men on earth that the mere natural love cannot possibly lead to or cause to exist.
I know that men preach about the Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man, and urge men to attempt to cultivate the thoughts and deeds of love and self-sacrifice and charity in a way to bring about the greatly to be wished for unity of life and purpose on the part of men; and by reason of this natural love can, themselves, do a great work in bringing about this brotherhood. Yet the chain that binds them together cannot possibly be any stronger than the natural love which forges it; and when that becomes overshadowed by ambition and material desires, the brotherhood will become greatly weakened, or disappear entirely, and men will realize that its foundation was not built upon a rock, but rather upon the infirm sand, which could not sustain the superstructure, when the storms arising from men's ambition and desires for power and greatness, and many other material things, beat upon it. So I say, there is a great necessity for something more than man's mere natural love to help him form a brotherhood that will remain steadfast and firm under all conditions and among all men.
So this natural love, under circumstances the most favorable to preserve the constancy of man's happiness and freedom from sin and error, proved itself to be not sufficient to maintain that condition, then what may be expected of it when circumstances are such that this love has degenerated from its pure state and has become defiled by all these tendencies of men to do that which is in violation not only of God's Laws, but of everything that would otherwise help men to realize a true brotherhood.
As I have heretofore said in my writings, there will come a time when this natural love will be restored to its original state of purity and freedom from sin, and when this brotherhood may exist in a degree of perfection that will make all men happy. Yet that time is far off and will not be realized on earth at all until the New Birth and the New Heavens appear and, in the meantime, men's dreams of this great brotherhood will not be realized.
I know that men expect that sometime in the far distant future by means of education and conventions and preachments of moral truth, this dream of an ideal brotherhood will be established on earth, and all the souls of hatred and war, and the oppression of the weak by the strong will disappear. But I tell you that if men depend upon this mere natural love and all the great feelings and impulses that may arise from it, to bring about this condition so much desired, they will find disappointments and lose faith in the goodness of men, and at times a retrogression, not only in that love, but in the conduct of men towards one another, and in the treatment of nations by one another.
I have digressed somewhat from my subject, but I thought it best to show to man that his dependence upon himself, which is his dependence on this natural love, is not sufficient and adequate to bring him into a condition of happiness even on earth and, therefore, totally inadequate to bring him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Divine Love, that I speak of, is of itself not only able to make a man an inhabitant of the Father's Kingdom, but is sufficient to enable him to bring about and realize to the fullest of his dreams that great brotherhood even while on earth.
This Love of the Father's Own Self is of a never changing nature, and in all places and under all conditions is working out the same results and converting the souls of men on earth as well as of the spirits in the spirit world, into not only the image but the substance of the Divine Nature. It may be possessed in smaller or greater degree, depending upon man himself; and this degree of possession determines the condition of the soul, and its nearness to the Father's Kingdom, whether the soul be in the flesh or in the spirit.
Man does not have to wait to become a spirit, in order to seek for and obtain this Love, for the soul on earth is the same soul as when in the spirit world, and its capacity for receiving this Love is just as great in one place as in the other. Of course, on earth there are many circumstances and surroundings and limitations on man that prevent the free workings of the soul in the way of aspirations and faith that do not exist after man becomes an inhabitant of the spirit world but, nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these drawbacks and stumbling blocks of the earth life, the soul of man may receive this Divine Love without limitations and to an abundance that will make him a new creature as the scriptures say.
The possession of this Divine Love also means the absence of those desires and longings of what is called the natural man, which produce selfishness and unkindness and other qualities which create sin and error, and prevent the existence of this true brotherhood which men so earnestly desire as the forerunner of peace and good will, and the more of this Divine Love that enters into the soul of man, the less there is of evil tendencies and desires, and the more of the Divine Nature and Qualities.
The Father is all Goodness, and Love, and Truth, and Forgiveness, and Kindness; and these qualities the souls of men become possessed of when they receive and possess the Divine Love. And when man is sincere and faithful, and possesses these qualities, they never leave him or change; and when this brotherhood shall be founded on them, it will be built on a rock and will continue to live and become purer and firmer in its binding effect, and in the great results that will flow from it, for its foundation stone will be the Divine Nature of the Father, which is without variableness or change and never disappointing.
A brotherhood so created and joined together is, as I say, "The only true brotherhood that will make for man a kind of Heaven on earth, and banish wars and hatred and strife and selfishness, and the principal of mine and thine. The mine will be changed to ours, and all mankind will be truly brothers, without reference to race or sect or intellectual acquirements. All will be recognized as the children of the one Father."
Such will be the effect of the existence of this Love in men's souls on earth, and when such souls leave their envelope of flesh, they will find their homes in the Kingdom of God - parts of the Divinity of the Father, and partakers of His Immortality.
But only this Divine Love will fit the souls of men for this Kingdom, because in this Kingdom all things partake of this Divine Nature and nothing which has not that quality can possibly enter therein. So men must understand that no mere belief or ceremony of church or baptism, or any of these things are sufficient to enable a soul to become an inhabitant of this Kingdom. Men may do and deceive themselves in their beliefs that anything short of or other than this Divine Love can ensure them an entrance into the Kingdom. Beliefs may help men to seek and aspire to the possession of this Love, and other ceremonies may also assist, but unless and until this Divine Love is actually possessed by the souls of men, they cannot become partakers of the Divine Nature and enjoy the happiness and peace of the Father's Kingdom.
When the way to obtain this Love is so easy and the joy of its possession is so great, it is surprising that men will be satisfied with the husks of formalism and the satisfaction and delusion of mere lip worship and intellectual beliefs. As I have said, this Love is waiting for every man to possess who sincerely and with true soul aspirations seek it. It is not a part of, but surrounding and enveloping every man, but at the same time forming no part of him unless his longings and prayers have opened up his soul, so that it may flow in and infill him with its presence.
Man is never compelled to receive it, as he is never compelled to do other things against his will, but as in the latter case, when in the exercise of that same will, he refuses to let the Divine Love flow into his soul, he must suffer the penalty, which is the utter and absolute deprivation of any possibility to become an inhabitant of the Kingdom of God, or Celestial Kingdom, and of any consciousness of the fact of his immortality.
Let men turn their thoughts and aspirations to God and in truth and sincerely pray to the Father for an inflowing into their souls of His Divine Love and have faith, and they always find that the Father will bestow His Love upon them in accordance with the extent of their aspirations and longings, which are mediums of opening up their souls to the workings of the Holy Spirit, which, as I have before written, is the messenger of God for the conveying of His Divine Love from His Fountainhead of Love to the souls of the prayerful and aspiring men.
In no other way can the Divine Love be possessed by man, and always it is an individual matter between the particular man and the Father. No other man or body of men or church or spirits or Angels can do the work of the individual. As to him, his soul is the only thing involved, and only his aspirations, and his prayers, and his will can open up his soul to the inflowing of this Love, which makes him a part of its own divinity.
Of course, the prayers and kind thoughts and loving influences of good men and Divine Spirits and Angels can and do help the souls of men in turning to His Love and in progressing in its possession, but as to the question, "Will a man become possessor or not of this Love?" It depends upon the man.
Well, I have written enough for tonight and must stop. So my dear brother, I will say with all my love and blessings, good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I desire tonight to write you on the subject: "How a soul must receive the Divine Love of the Father in order to become an inhabitant of the Kingdom of God, and realize that immortality of which I have written you."
In the first place, it must be understood that the Divine Love of the Father is an entirely distinct kind of Love from the love which the Father bestowed upon man at the time of his creation, and which man has possessed in a more or less condition of purity ever since that time. This Divine Love was never conferred upon man as a perfect and completed gift, either at the time of his creation, or since my coming to earth, but as a gift which is waiting for man's own efforts and aspirations to obtain, and without which it can never become his, although it is always close to him, waiting to answer his call.
Then in understanding what this Love is, and that man must seek for it, and what its effect upon the soul of man is, it becomes very important that man should make the obtaining of it the one great object of his aspirations and desires. For when he possesses it to a degree that makes him at-one with the Father, he ceases to be a mere man and becomes of a nature of soul existence that makes him Divine, with many qualities of the Father, the chief of which is, of course, Love; and also causes him to absolutely realize the fact of his immortality.
Mere moral goodness, or the possession of the natural love to its fullest degree will not confer upon man this Divine Nature that I have mentioned; nor will good acts and charity and kindness, of themselves, lead men to the possession of this Love, but the possession of this Love in truth and in fact, will lead to charity and good deeds and kindness, always unselfish, and to a brotherhood of men on earth that the mere natural love cannot possibly lead to or cause to exist.
I know that men preach about the Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man, and urge men to attempt to cultivate the thoughts and deeds of love and self-sacrifice and charity in a way to bring about the greatly to be wished for unity of life and purpose on the part of men; and by reason of this natural love can, themselves, do a great work in bringing about this brotherhood. Yet the chain that binds them together cannot possibly be any stronger than the natural love which forges it; and when that becomes overshadowed by ambition and material desires, the brotherhood will become greatly weakened, or disappear entirely, and men will realize that its foundation was not built upon a rock, but rather upon the infirm sand, which could not sustain the superstructure, when the storms arising from men's ambition and desires for power and greatness, and many other material things, beat upon it. So I say, there is a great necessity for something more than man's mere natural love to help him form a brotherhood that will remain steadfast and firm under all conditions and among all men.
So this natural love, under circumstances the most favorable to preserve the constancy of man's happiness and freedom from sin and error, proved itself to be not sufficient to maintain that condition, then what may be expected of it when circumstances are such that this love has degenerated from its pure state and has become defiled by all these tendencies of men to do that which is in violation not only of God's Laws, but of everything that would otherwise help men to realize a true brotherhood.
As I have heretofore said in my writings, there will come a time when this natural love will be restored to its original state of purity and freedom from sin, and when this brotherhood may exist in a degree of perfection that will make all men happy. Yet that time is far off and will not be realized on earth at all until the New Birth and the New Heavens appear and, in the meantime, men's dreams of this great brotherhood will not be realized.
I know that men expect that sometime in the far distant future by means of education and conventions and preachments of moral truth, this dream of an ideal brotherhood will be established on earth, and all the souls of hatred and war, and the oppression of the weak by the strong will disappear. But I tell you that if men depend upon this mere natural love and all the great feelings and impulses that may arise from it, to bring about this condition so much desired, they will find disappointments and lose faith in the goodness of men, and at times a retrogression, not only in that love, but in the conduct of men towards one another, and in the treatment of nations by one another.
I have digressed somewhat from my subject, but I thought it best to show to man that his dependence upon himself, which is his dependence on this natural love, is not sufficient and adequate to bring him into a condition of happiness even on earth and, therefore, totally inadequate to bring him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Divine Love, that I speak of, is of itself not only able to make a man an inhabitant of the Father's Kingdom, but is sufficient to enable him to bring about and realize to the fullest of his dreams that great brotherhood even while on earth.
This Love of the Father's Own Self is of a never changing nature, and in all places and under all conditions is working out the same results and converting the souls of men on earth as well as of the spirits in the spirit world, into not only the image but the substance of the Divine Nature. It may be possessed in smaller or greater degree, depending upon man himself; and this degree of possession determines the condition of the soul, and its nearness to the Father's Kingdom, whether the soul be in the flesh or in the spirit.
Man does not have to wait to become a spirit, in order to seek for and obtain this Love, for the soul on earth is the same soul as when in the spirit world, and its capacity for receiving this Love is just as great in one place as in the other. Of course, on earth there are many circumstances and surroundings and limitations on man that prevent the free workings of the soul in the way of aspirations and faith that do not exist after man becomes an inhabitant of the spirit world but, nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these drawbacks and stumbling blocks of the earth life, the soul of man may receive this Divine Love without limitations and to an abundance that will make him a new creature as the scriptures say.
The possession of this Divine Love also means the absence of those desires and longings of what is called the natural man, which produce selfishness and unkindness and other qualities which create sin and error, and prevent the existence of this true brotherhood which men so earnestly desire as the forerunner of peace and good will, and the more of this Divine Love that enters into the soul of man, the less there is of evil tendencies and desires, and the more of the Divine Nature and Qualities.
The Father is all Goodness, and Love, and Truth, and Forgiveness, and Kindness; and these qualities the souls of men become possessed of when they receive and possess the Divine Love. And when man is sincere and faithful, and possesses these qualities, they never leave him or change; and when this brotherhood shall be founded on them, it will be built on a rock and will continue to live and become purer and firmer in its binding effect, and in the great results that will flow from it, for its foundation stone will be the Divine Nature of the Father, which is without variableness or change and never disappointing.
A brotherhood so created and joined together is, as I say, "The only true brotherhood that will make for man a kind of Heaven on earth, and banish wars and hatred and strife and selfishness, and the principal of mine and thine. The mine will be changed to ours, and all mankind will be truly brothers, without reference to race or sect or intellectual acquirements. All will be recognized as the children of the one Father."
Such will be the effect of the existence of this Love in men's souls on earth, and when such souls leave their envelope of flesh, they will find their homes in the Kingdom of God - parts of the Divinity of the Father, and partakers of His Immortality.
But only this Divine Love will fit the souls of men for this Kingdom, because in this Kingdom all things partake of this Divine Nature and nothing which has not that quality can possibly enter therein. So men must understand that no mere belief or ceremony of church or baptism, or any of these things are sufficient to enable a soul to become an inhabitant of this Kingdom. Men may do and deceive themselves in their beliefs that anything short of or other than this Divine Love can ensure them an entrance into the Kingdom. Beliefs may help men to seek and aspire to the possession of this Love, and other ceremonies may also assist, but unless and until this Divine Love is actually possessed by the souls of men, they cannot become partakers of the Divine Nature and enjoy the happiness and peace of the Father's Kingdom.
When the way to obtain this Love is so easy and the joy of its possession is so great, it is surprising that men will be satisfied with the husks of formalism and the satisfaction and delusion of mere lip worship and intellectual beliefs. As I have said, this Love is waiting for every man to possess who sincerely and with true soul aspirations seek it. It is not a part of, but surrounding and enveloping every man, but at the same time forming no part of him unless his longings and prayers have opened up his soul, so that it may flow in and infill him with its presence.
Man is never compelled to receive it, as he is never compelled to do other things against his will, but as in the latter case, when in the exercise of that same will, he refuses to let the Divine Love flow into his soul, he must suffer the penalty, which is the utter and absolute deprivation of any possibility to become an inhabitant of the Kingdom of God, or Celestial Kingdom, and of any consciousness of the fact of his immortality.
Let men turn their thoughts and aspirations to God and in truth and sincerely pray to the Father for an inflowing into their souls of His Divine Love and have faith, and they always find that the Father will bestow His Love upon them in accordance with the extent of their aspirations and longings, which are mediums of opening up their souls to the workings of the Holy Spirit, which, as I have before written, is the messenger of God for the conveying of His Divine Love from His Fountainhead of Love to the souls of the prayerful and aspiring men.
In no other way can the Divine Love be possessed by man, and always it is an individual matter between the particular man and the Father. No other man or body of men or church or spirits or Angels can do the work of the individual. As to him, his soul is the only thing involved, and only his aspirations, and his prayers, and his will can open up his soul to the inflowing of this Love, which makes him a part of its own divinity.
Of course, the prayers and kind thoughts and loving influences of good men and Divine Spirits and Angels can and do help the souls of men in turning to His Love and in progressing in its possession, but as to the question, "Will a man become possessor or not of this Love?" It depends upon the man.
Well, I have written enough for tonight and must stop. So my dear brother, I will say with all my love and blessings, good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
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