A Spiritual Interpretation of Life-Part Two
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we ponder our lives as we continue with part two of a spiritual interpretation of life.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
A Spiritual Interpretation of Life, Part Two
“ Howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself: but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak." John, Chapter 16, Verse 13.
Brothers and sisters we now continue with the conclusion of a spiritual interpretation of life. And though the journey through life is fraught with difficulty, ever requiring increasing adjustments, life must not be lived with an eye towards the path of least resistance. The path of least resistance does not involve effort, struggle, conflict, and ultimately progress. Only the persistent pursuit of my highest value leads to growth. But the pursuit of my highest value is beset by many barriers and obstacles-the barriers of selfishness and the obstacles of resentments. There is a constant clamoring of self for recognition, and there are the constant disappointments suffered by the material self as it is forced to follow the rapid changes inherent in this level of existence.
But through it all, I must keep my desire, in reality the spiritual eye, on the ever increasing meanings as they lead me up through self to divine oneness with the divine self. I must pursue these spiritual goals with all my mind, body, and soul. This pursuit must be the all consuming desire of my life. All barriers and obstacles must be overcome by the force of this divine desire.
In the pursuit of this divine urge, I encounter evil, in reality those who are unconsciously pursuing selfishness. This evil must be overcome by good. Divine goodness must be used to set the example, to reveal the divine way of doing things, and I must reveal this divine way of doing things through my life, and not by the things that I may say. I realize that sometimes it may take a very long time, relatively speaking, for those pursuing evil to embark on the course of truth and righteousness. Unfortunately there will also be those who will never choose the way of love, but who will choose the way of justice.
The pursuit of the divine urge requires that I go through all crisis without fear and panic. It requires that I understand that love is all powerful, and that love is in control of all events. It requires understanding that inherent in the pursuit of love is the knowledge that no real harm can come near me. It requires that I understand experiences make me better and stronger.
Eternal love requires that I understand that nothing of spiritual value is lost while that which does not have spiritual value is already forever lost. Infinite love requires that I trust in the goodness of love, that is, that it is creating something good, something of eternal value, even if I am unable to perceive it because of spiritual immaturity. The persistent entertainment of love, faith, and trust is eternal peace.
Love requires that I relate my self to others in such a way that they receive the maximum amount of light from my life. It requires understanding that in my personal ministry to other selves that I show love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness. It requires recognition that there are other selves who are not just yet interested in the true light of love because of the conscious pursuit of evil. But all who are true of heart and honest of purpose hear the voice of love.
Those who are not honest of heart and true of purpose should be left alone until the disagreeable experiences of a selfish life ripen them for the divine harvest. They should be treated kindly, fairly, and even mercifully, but they should be allowed to suffer the consequences of their selfish acts. That is I should do nothing to prevent them from suffering the just consequences of their selfish acts, least they misunderstand the relationship between cause and effect.
Only a clear understanding of cause and effect, act and consequence will cause the evildoer to abandon his way of life. But I should do everything within my power to help such a one who sincerely repents, and seeks forgiveness for his wrongdoing. Always should I be as wise as a serpent, but as harmless as a dove. And while I wait for the one who refuses to listen to the voice of wisdom, I must set the example so that when he is forced to hear the voice of experience he will be able to see the light which he will so diligently search for, even as I diligently sought for this light of divine love and mercy.
But where with comes the power and the wisdom to pursue all this idealistic striving? The source of all this power and wisdom is wrapped up in the technique of prayer and worship. As I pray to God the Father for power and wisdom on a regular and consistent basis, I find that he answers all of my prayers that are consistent with his divine will for my life. As I pray about a problem that I have, I find that He impresses on my thoughts the right way of solving the problem, and always is this the way of love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness. And as I continue to pray, this way grows more and more vivid. It gets brighter and brighter. And this is also the way of truth. So prayer reveals the way to walk through a problem rather than the way of removing the problem. The problem is removed by going through it. Ultimately prayer is the technique whereby I learn how to exchange my way of doing things for the divine way of doing things while worship is the technique whereby I become the will of love.
I recognize in my imperfect state, that I will not always be able to live up to all my ideals since their appearance in my mind and soul are not limited by time and space while my ability to experience these ideals are. But I further recognize that the persistence of my desire will eventually overcome all the obstacles and barriers that stand in the way of doing and becoming the will of love.
This philosophy of love also requires that I redefine my concepts of success and failure. Material success has to do with acquiring quantity, that is to accomplish some tangible task. Spiritual success has to do with acquiring quality, to accomplish some intangible task-to acquire divine values. So true success then becomes a measure of my ability to do the Father's will during any and all experiences. In fact it appears that divine values are acquired easier after material failure. Too often material success blinds one to the true values of life. The true rewards of life after all are spiritual rather than material.
The pursuit of love, faith, and hope carries me up to trial, through trial, and through the aftermath of any trial. The conscious pursuit of these qualities imparts peace in the very midst of material turmoil, imparts joy in the midst of material sorrow, creates a consciousness of success in the midst of material failure, and enable me to master life, all according to the Father's will.
This concludes part two of today’s message on a spiritual interpretation of life. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about while you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
A Spiritual Interpretation of Life-Part Two
