THE TRUE MEANING OF LIFE ON EARTH
Excerpts from
TRUE GOSPEL REVEALED ANEW BY
JESUS,
Volumes I, II & IV
I AM HERE, Jesus:
Life on earth is an important part of the great
eternity of living, and men should realize this to its fullest
meaning, and not think the earth a mere stopping place where the
spirit is enfolded in flesh only for the pleasures and
gratification of its
carnal appetites. This earth life is a fleeting shadow of the
spirit life, but an important shadow to the happiness which man
may enjoy in the future. It is the
most important period of man's whole existence, and the way that
such life is lived may determine the whole future life of the
man. I don't mean that there is no redemption beyond the grave,
for the mercy of the Father continues into the spirit life, but
when man fails to accept this mercy, I mean the way in which he
may become a Divine child of the Father while in the earth life,
he may never accept it in the spirit life. (Quoted
from Volume II, p.66)
I AM HERE. St Luke, of the New Testament.
Life is short and time is fleeting, even though a man
may live his alloted time of three score and ten years, and there
is no place in all God's universe where it is so important that
man should start on his way to eternal progress as in the
earth life. There the soul should have its awakening and be fed
with thoughts and strivings for the things spiritual.
When the start is thus made on earth, it is so much easier for the continuous progress of the soul in the spirit world, if not the awakening may be delayed for years, and the progress which follows it may be and generally is very slow. (Quoted from Volume I, p.325)
Solomon, of the Old Testament,
(What is the greatest thing in all the world?)
PRAYER AND FAITH ON THE PART OF MORTALS; AND LOVE -- THE DIVINE LOVE -- ON THE PART OF GOD. THE LATTER IS WAITING, AND THE FORMER CAUSES IT TO ENTER INTO THE SOULS OF MEN.
NO OTHER TRUTHS ARE SO GREAT AND MOMENTOUS TO MEN.
LET WHAT I SAY SINK DEEP INTO YOUR MEMORY, AND TRY THE EXPERIMENT. I KNOW YOU DO TRY, BUT TRY AND THEN TRY AND NEVER CEASE TRYING. LOVE WILL COME TO YOU AND WITH IT FAITH, AND THEN KNOWLEDGE AND THEN OWNERSHIP. (From Volume 1, pp 281-282)
Nicodemus, a master in Israel, and yet I did not understand this New Birth. How few understood it then, and how few now.
Oh, the long years that have gone by since Jesus told me "that I must be born again to inherit eternal life"; and how comparatively seldom this great truth is taught by the churches and the teachers of religious matters.
This truth is at the very foundation of mankind's redemption, and until a man receives this New Birth he cannot possibly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many claim to have faith in God and believe on Jesus' name and conform to all the essentials and sacraments of the churches, and yet, unless they have this New Birth, their faith and works as Christians are vain.
This I know from my own experience as well as from the teachings of the Master, and I desire to emphasize, with all the powers that I have, that it is the only important requirement to immortality.
The New Birth means the flowing into the soul of a man the Divine Love of the Father, so that that man becomes, as it were, a part of the Father in His divinity and immortality. (Quoted from Volume II, pp.111-112)
I AM HERE, Edwin Forrest:
I now pray to the Father almost continually and as I
do so, I realize that there comes into my soul that which changes
all its qualities, and makes me realize how dead I was. Oh, if I
only had known of this wonderful love on earth how different my
life would have been.
I am now so certain that this Love is a thing of reality, and so effective to make a dark, suffering spirit one of light and freedom from pain, that I can assert with all the conviction of a rescued soul, that the Love of the Father is the one thing in all the spirit world that has no uncertainty about it.
Now I feel that I can go to my mother and tell her of this wonderful Love, and the true way to light and progress, and I will go at once; and I pray the Father that my persuasion may be effective and enable me to hear my mother say to me that she will trust me and follow me in the way that I shall tell her of. (Quoted from Volume IV, pp 371-372)
I AM HERE. Samuel C. Mills:
Well, I heard what Forrest said, and I am certain that
he believes what he said to be true for I can tell you that he
has become a wonderfully bright spirit, and seems to be so happy
and joyful.
Well, it certainly is strange to me. Here am I who was in some light and comparatively happy when he came into the spirit world and went into the hells of darkness and suffering, and now he is all beautiful and happy, and I am still where I was. It certainly is wonderful! But as I told you in my last letter, I cannot now remain satisfied with my condition, and I am going to seek, and have already started, to get this love that he tells me is the cause of his wonderful change; and I will not cease seeking until I succeed in obtaining it, for I feel that if he could get the love, I can.
He has talked with me. and while he could not explain just how the change came to him, yet he says that he accepted your advice and the help of your wife, and commenced to pray, blindly and without faith, and continued until he commenced to realize that something that he had never felt before was working in his soul and continued to work the more he prayed; and he didn't stop praying until the darkness left him, and with it the most of his suffering. This is all that he could tell me. and I am following him. And I hope that before long I will be able to write to you as he did. Won't that be a wonderful thing! (Quoted from Volume IV, p.375)
Your old friend,
MILLS.
THE PRAYER
FOR DIVINE LOVE
Given by Jesus of Nazareth through
Mr. James E. Padgett.
Jesus wrote to Mr. Padgett:
The only prayer that is necessary is the prayer for the inflowing or this Love; all other forms, or real aspirations of prayer are secondary, and of themselves, will not tend to produce this love in the souls of men.
This is the only prayer that men need offer to the Father. It is the only one that appeals to the Love of the Father, and with the answer, which will surely come, will come all the blessings that men may need, and which the Father sees are for the good or His creatures.
Let your prayer be as follows:
Our Father, who art in heaven, we recognize that Thou art all Holy and loving and merciful, and that we are Thy children, and not the subservient, sinful and depraved creatures that our false teachers would have us believe. That we are the greatest of Thy creation, and the most wonderful of all Thy handiworks, and the objects of Thy great soul's love and tenderest care.
That Thy will is, that we become At-one with Thee and partake of Thy great love which Thou hast bestowed upon us though Thy mercy and desire that we become, in Truth, Thy children, through love, and not through the sacrifice and death of any one of Thy creatures.
We pray that Thou will open up our souls to the inflowing of Thy love, and that then may come Thy Holy Spirit to bring into our souls this, Thy love, in great abundance, until our souls shall be transformed into the very essence of Thyself; and that there may come to us faith -- such faith as will cause us to realize that we are truly Thy children and one with Thee in very substance and not in image only.
Let us have such faith as will cause us to know that Thou art our Father, and the bestower of every good and perfect gift, and that only we, ourselves, can prevent Thy love changing us from the mortal to the immortal.
Let us never cease to realize that Thy love is waiting for each and all of us, and that when we come to Thee, in faith and earnest aspiration, Thy love will never be withholden from us.
Keep us in the shadow of Thy love every hour and moment of our lives, and help us to overcome all temptations of the flesh, and the influence of the powers of the evil ones, which so constantly surround us and endeavor to turn our thoughts away from Thee to the pleasures and allurements of this world.
We thank Thee for Thy love and the privilege of receiving it, and we believe that Thou art our Father--the loving Father who smiles upon us in our weakness, and is always ready to help us and take us to Thy arms of love.
We pray thus with all the earnestness and longings of our souls, and trusting in Thy love, give Thee all the glory and honor and love that our finite souls can give. Amen.