The Spiritual Philosophy of Eternal Life
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 seek to understand the meaning of the spiritual philosophy of eternal life.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Spiritual Philosophy of Eternal Life
Jesus said, “ I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish and neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John, Chapter 10, Verse 28.
Brothers and sisters, in today’s broadcast, we explore the meaning of eternal life. Jesus said, "He who believes in me shall never die." And thus Jesus bestows life without end on all those who believe in Him. And this eternal life begins here and now, even while we live our lowly life in the flesh.
But what is eternal life? Is eternal life determined by the kind of body that we have? Is eternal life determined by the level of universe reality that we exist upon? Or is eternal life determined by the divine values and meanings that we pursue? Lets see if we can arrive at some understanding with the help of the Spirit of Truth.
The body that we have is in an analogous sense similar to the clothes that we wear. Life is to the body as the body is to clothes. We are given a body at birth. As our bodies develops, we identify more with them. In fact we are inseparable from them. The prospect of something happening to our bodies fills us with fear. In our material minds when something happens to our bodies, it is perceived that a part of our life has been destroyed or injured. Often times this injury or destruction to a part of our bodies cripples or handicaps us in our reactions to material life.
We become filled with depression, and a sense of uselessness and helplessness. Life for such a one suddenly becomes gray or even black, and the individual sometimes sees no reason to continue to live. We read about such individuals all the time, who following some irreversible injury to the body take their life, or arrange for something else to do it for them. But when we identify with our spiritual nature, after a brief adjustment, we do not feel that a part of our life has been destroyed just because of physical handicaps.
We still views ourselves as whole. We adjust to other activities that have as much meaning and value as the now lost previous ones. After all the spiritual nature is primarily concerned with quality. And quality is a reality that can be enjoyed in the absence of all physical manifestation. As long as we posses the power to reason and think, along with the power to worship, we can experience quality. And it is the experience of quality that gives meaning to life. Without the experience of quality in the life, life reverts to the purely animal level. Life then becomes a series of conditional reflexes, i.e., hungry-eat.
And now let us consider the possibility that eternal life is determined by the level of universe reality that we reside on. That which is created in eternity is eternal by inherent origin, but not for all others. All others have a beginning, though they may not have an ending. Thus immortality must be differentiated from the concept of the eternal. Immortality may be potential or actual. In the potential state, immortality is maintained on all super material levels by intellectual identification in the material being and spiritual identification in the spiritual being. That is the being can live on indefinitely as long as intellectual and spiritual identification are maintained with a spirit or mind that is eternal. In the actual immortal state, the being has achieved immortality by joining/fusion with some eternal spirit. Joining with an eternal spirit creates the potential eternal state, but as long as the being remains a time creature, he continues to experience those sequences characterized by the consciousness of duration. Thus eternal life transcends the consciousness of time.
Finally, let us consider if eternal life is determined by the divine values and meanings that we pursue. All material things that we pursue have a beginning and an ending. This is the primary characteristic of a temporal and material purpose. The material purpose is constantly changing. This is so because the material is constantly changing, undergoing the metamorphosis of change, ever seeking some eternal destiny. Being a material creature with a temporal existence, it is natural for us to pursue temporal and material goals, but flesh and blood can never last, and neither can the material and temporal goals last. Always must they give way to the never ending changes.
But to pursue an eternal and spiritual purpose gradually makes us like the purpose that is pursued. In eternity the creature is the personification of an eternal purpose. Their very existence is the essence of an eternal purpose, and so closely identified with this purpose that they have no consciousness of beginning or ending. The time bound and material origin creature may become eternal by the pursuit of the eternal Will-the Father's will. This is truth because even the temporal and the material must be included within the infinite and the eternal. The pursuit gradually leads to merger and fusion with the eternal, and makes it possible for the creature to function with comprehension in the absence of time and space-on the Isle of Paradise.
The Father's will is manifested in our lives as love, and is reflected in all reality as truth, beauty, and goodness. It is not always possible to see the manifestation of divine love in others at all time, since others may not be pursuing the Father's will at all times, or they may not pursue it at all. The same holds for truth, beauty, and goodness. But we can always experience this divine love by allowing it to flow through us.
The analogy is similar to an object and its shadow. To follow the shadow is to suffer confusion since the shadow will at various times exchange its position in relationship to the object, or may disappear all together at times depending on the circumstances, but to follow the object is never to lose sight of direction no matter what happens to the shadow. For after all eternal life is the pursuit of infinite and eternal values followed by the comprehension of eternal and infinite meanings as they are revealed by the divine spirit which is eternal. And all this can be accomplished now, though there are delays of time and handicaps of space. But these barriers can never prevent those who are whole heartedly dedicated to doing the Father's will from achieving the highest spiritual attainment-even the attainment of eternal life.
This concludes today’s message on the spiritual philosophy of eternal 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
The Spiritual Philosophy of Life
