The Paradox of Life
Greetings and good morning 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 shared many revelations of spiritual truth with me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we seek to understand the paradox of life.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Paradox of Life
Jesus said, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Luke, Chapter 17, Verse 33.
"He who shall seek to save his life shall lose it, while he who loses his life shall save it" is a seemingly paradox, but nevertheless true. In the material mind, truth cannot always be presented without causing profound paradoxes.
Brothers and sisters, the absoluteness of this truth makes it impossible of understanding in its entirety, but understanding of it can be approached. The truth has its origin in the heavenly Father. When he created all that is, in doing so, he gave everything of himself that it is possible to give, thus escaping from a solitary existence in unqualified eternity and infinity.
Thus all spiritual reality bears this stamp of unselfishness, set into motion by the heavenly Father. Spiritual life is based upon unselfishness. Unselfishness does not diminish the content of our selves, but rather increases it by enriching and diversifying all experiences. For prior to separating himself from an unqualified existence in infinity, the Father was a solitary figure with no one to relate to other than himself. By separating himself from this solitary existence, by giving himself to his Son, he overcame this limitation. Without this unselfish divestment of himself, there could be no Son, not even a mortal son. By taking this step, the Father becomes Father to the Son, and to all other sons, including his mortal sons, us.
Thus it is seen that in taking these unselfish steps, he enriches his own personal existence with new meanings and new values. Again this becomes an impossible truth for us mortals to comprehend. We just can not even begin to understand how an absolute, infinite, and eternal being can increase in value and in meaning. Suffice to say that all things are possible with God
Just as the heavenly Father infinitely enriches his existence through added meaning, so does the mortal enriches his life in proportion to his degree of unselfishness. So we see that this paradox is essentially a statement of unselfishness by the heavenly Father, and is the driving motive behind all creation. There are many applications of this truth. Let us examine this truth as it applies to the solution of certain moral and spiritual problems.
The essence of the moral life is responsibility, discharged by making moral decisions. As we progress through life, we are confronted with moral problems of ever increasing complexity. The kinds of decisions that we make when solving moral problems determine the growth of the moral nature-character. And this is because every time we make a moral decision, we allow the heavenly Father to spiritualize our souls to that degree. Essentially the problem faced by us is this: Shall we resolve this moral problem by choosing the good, or shall we resolve it by shrinking away from our moral responsibilities? Moral decisions are always unselfish decisions. It is next to impossible to solve a moral problem by being selfish.
On the physical level of reality, if we give away physical things, the amount is decreased. On the moral and spiritual level, there is no decrease, but an increase in moral and spiritual value. On the physical level, we should teach the brother how to fish, rather than giving him a fish. The rewards of giving unselfishly are moral and spiritual, an increase in moral and spiritual status. That is the more we give of ourselves, the more conscious we become of the heavenly Father through his Spirit of Truth, the spirit of Jesus.
Through prayer and worship, we reach an understanding of the moral and spiritual problem, and receive that insight that allows us to make the decisions that benefits the greatest good, even the decisions of love. It is the same in the spiritual arena. To become more conscious of the Father's love, we must love our brothers and sisters as Jesus loves us. The Father requires us to become like him. Divine reality is unselfish. A selfish person simply cannot comprehend the Father because he is not like the Father even a little bit, and neither can he live the spirit filled life that is revealed in mortal experience by the Father of spirits.
Never forget that the vast majority of reality is spiritual, and the achievement of the spiritual state is our eternal goal. All of this striving and struggling is to attain free spirit existence. Sometimes brothers and sisters, it may appear that this philosophy of living is nice to talk about, but is not very practical to live. But that is the material point of view. The spiritual eye constantly validates this philosophy as the highest and most real of all realities. Again, after all the real rewards of living are spiritual.
This concludes today’s message on the paradox of living, We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr James Perry.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
The Paradox of Life
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
