The Problem of Revealing the Father
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 will ponder our lives as we ponder the difficulty of revealing the Father.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Problem of Revealing the Father
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me." John, Chapter 14, Verse 6
One day a man decided to take a trip to a known destination. He had traveled the route many times
and was thus familiar with it. On this particular trip, he agreed to act as a guide for a person who had
never made the trip before. The new traveler had heard quite a bit about the place.
As they started out on this trip, the traveler was full of enthusiasm and confidence. His mind was
only on the final destination and the unspeakable pleasures that awaited him. From the start, the
journey was smooth and the scenery was most pleasant. The traveler beamed with hope and faith.
But as the stranger continued and time wore on, he grew weary. He was losing his faith that he'd
arrive at all. When the road became rough, the stranger grew more skeptical and questioned whether
the guide really knew the way. The stranger protested mildly at first but the more they traveled, the
more indignant the stranger became and was quite vocal in his protests, even threatening to become
violent at one point.
As the destination continued to remain outside of his reach, the stranger's spirit began to fail, and the
darkness of doubt and despair covered his soul. He despaired of ever reaching the destination and
doubted whether such a destination really existed. But throughout all this doubting and despair, the
guide was undaunted. He was unshakable in his faith and determination to reach their destination.
He knew the path too well to entertain any doubt. He had made the journey too many times to have
any doubts about the reality of its existence. He knew he had the power to endure the long trip. No
matter what the stranger said or did, there was no way the stranger could shake his faith. He knew
the way too well.
Brothers and sisters, in attempting to reveal the Father, we are in fact and truth journeying from self
consciousness to divine consciousness. The guide for this journey is the spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of
Truth. And like the story above, the journey is full of selfish obstacles and barriers that must be
overcome. While we make this journey, it is helpful for us to bear in mind that we can only reveal
that which we know. In order to reveal the Father, we must know the Father. The Father is love. To
reveal the Father is to reveal His love, which is the love of His Son, Jesus, who is the personal
revelation of the Father. And this love can best be seen in our lives, the faith sons and daughters, by
the display of divine goodness.
The revelation of the Father's love is unselfish in its manifestation. This love is not conditioned by
the response of those receiving it. Reactions of anger and resentment shut out the divine light while
reactions of love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness reveal the divine affection.
We must be unshakable in the security of our knowledge of the Father. No matter how skeptical
those around us may be, no matter how doubtful they may be, we, the faith sons and daughters of
the Father, must continue to show the love of the Father. No matter how unloving those around us
may be, we must remain firm in our resolve to do our Father's will.
When we are confronted with evil, we must respond with divine goodness. When we suffer temporal
losses, we must display our eternal gains by asserting that nothing of spiritual values is ever lost.
Every eventuality of life no matter what it may be must be met by the calm but firm reply: "Not my
will, but Your will be done." Every defeat must be turned into victory by using the very defeats as
stepping stones to higher and higher spiritual achievements---the acquirement of spiritual values and
meanings. Our power to combat evil with good must come through consistent and persistent prayer,
for goodness cannot manifest itself through a selfish person. We must overcome self. By maintaining
constant communication with the unselfish Father, we become unselfish, too. Prayer is truly
sustaining, but there is another process associated with revealing the Father's love, and that is the
spiritualization of our souls. As our souls become more and more like the Father, the quality of the
revelation of our love reaches supreme heights.
This concludes today's message on understanding the problem of revealing the Father. 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.
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By Dr. James Perry
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The Problem of Revealing the Father
