Litnet

Ah! How Paul hated Christians previously! How he resented the Messenger of Mercy ... What then changed him into a passionate follower of Jesus?

God and His immense power is 100% present in all souls on earth, whether they know Him or not; whether they love Him or not -- the very breath and life we have, indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The mercy of God is for all. By accepting Him, we also accept this forceful divine power, and we become victors in this strife called life.

Did you know that hell is the inability to die into Life? Hell does not mean 'death' -- it means ever hurt, ever sorrow, ever pain, ever anger, ever agony, ever greed, ever hate, ever loath ... So by Heaven, I live. Thus: whether I die or whether I live is of no relevance, for God lives in me. As Paul, I am dead for hell and hell is dead for me.

Every deed has its effect. Taking a cookie before dinner when told not to, will spoil the main course. A child punishes himself by eating unwholesome. Yet, the child stays the child and loves its mother even when taking the cookie. The mother still loves the child, even though the child may not eat her lovingly prepared dish and may become underfed by having the wrong eating habits ... This simple example is a demonstration of the order of God, which is LOVE, MERCY and JUSTICE. 

Wrong deeds lead to wrong results. That is point one. Point two is: no soul is able to obey God as a result of 'own' good choices. Thirdly: obeying God as the result of fear for hell and its punishments, or as a result of feeling compelled, cannot 'save' the soul. Obeying God is a free act of love and a divine pleasure.

Let me explain it this way:

God spoke directly to Abraham and his people -- they feared God, as in real fear, not as in respect, so they added man-made rules to the commandments, in order to 'ensure' that they will not be expelled from heaven. But they missed the very important point that the commandments were given to protect man against himself, not to 'please' God. The people missed this intention of God. They saw the commandments as rules to be ENFORCED and reinforced, and which were commanded by a stern and rational and distant God. So, in order to demonstrate the LOVE which is at the core of the commandments, God made HIMSELF manifest in the form of his Son, which is He Himself. Of course He was rejected, for His message of Love was too easy and too simplistic for the people who wanted to be in 'control' of their own deeds -- who indeed were enslaved by their own deeds. For what Jesus said was thus: you cannot BUY yourself into heaven by good deeds, or by being so called 'holy' by compulsion or by fear. You are FREED by God Himself and all you have to do is to accept this gift. This message of Jesus was rejected, and He and thus God Himself died on the Cross as a demonstration of the death of sins. God thus RESURRECTED Himself, and US WITHIN Him, not only as a symbolic act, but an act of beautiful and divine Truth.

 The acceptance of this Truth, too, is a gift of God, for faith IS Love, and hope is the expectation of that which we believe to be true: an eternal Life of Love. Faith is thus a deed, made manifest by God, who is Love, and by the caring deeds of man done, inspired by this Love, which is God. When we die at the end of our lives, we thus die INTO LIFE, and then HOPE and FAITH go into final fulfillment, and LOVE remains as our divine Source and course.

Accepting this truth also implies accepting the presence and the influence of the Holy Spirit within the soul -- and accepting the Holy Spirit implies accepting the Son, and accepting the Son implies accepting the Father, for God Trinity is the 'entire God' and God Supreme.

Peace be with you, my friend. Accept his Love and your freedom, by sharing your love with all around you.

Myra Lochner