-
"In the Name of God think of those things that shape
all worlds, although at this time you can scarce perceive
one tiny sign. Eventually out of chaos something of
order was brought to pass. Those marvels from the physical
aspect, superseding the darkness of the ignorance of
the past, symbolises to all mankind a great and wonderful
truth.
-
"Accompanying the chaos of the earth, from Nature's
point of view was the bondage of the spirit within.
Those born then into the earth conditions were in the
training stages of the long journey of life. Yet they
had reached only a very crude state that represented
the darkness that had enveloped the soul.
-
"History reveals many instances when one with more
strength than others, was called by God to act as a
leader. In some cases the example of that leader had
far reaching influence. But there were many setbacks
and those leaders had everything to learn in regard
to leadership. They were trained simply by a Voice
that reached them out of the vastness. Sometimes they
were certain as to their directions. At other times
because a rain of criticism fell upon them they suffered
sorely, feeling that they had made a mistake. They
were prophets, but they were in a childlike state of
understanding. Only infrequently could the Voice penetrate
the density of the mind and bring to mankind something
of guidance for the days to come.
-
"You are reminded of Moses and the wonderful work accomplished
through that humble-hearted man. He was a reluctant
leader who felt that he was not competent or suitable
for the great responsibility that had been forced upon
him. He would have gladly been excused. But the Voice
of God was so persistent that there was no escape.
Think upon this simple fact and you will find from
studying the lives of some of the great ones who have
left their spiritual mark on time, that for the majority
there was no escape. It seemed that they were hemmed
around by a set of circumstances and by those unseen
who were determined that their footsteps should not
stray.
-
"What of the question of free will? There is the free
will of the physical mind and the free will of the
soul. Those free from the flesh who have been given
charge over someone in the body, co-operate with the
strong, driving soul within; sometimes seemingly the
steep hill to God is too hard.
-
"The sufferings of those leaders cannot be ignored.
As spiritual leaders they led those around them out
of the desert of ignorance towards the Promised Land.
Recognise the discipline imposed, the raging jealousy
that sought to stem their efforts day by day. All this
provided that which was essential to purchase the power
to obey God's injunction - Let there be Light.
-
"The Old Testament contains marvellous narratives of
human suffering. Although you may pause with sympathy
upon the persecution of the prophets, the despising
of the pure heart and of those who had heard the Voice
of God - although you may pause upon those wonderful
illustrations of the strength of human character, you
know that they were but tiny incidents leading up to
something that would bring about in the world a reversal
of everything that once had been held as law.
-
"Today you think of the Light of the World. Yet, before
you reach the stage of kneeling before the mature Presence
of the Christ, you are taken in spirit to the tiny
Child, so helpless, so utterly at the mercy of man.
God shedding His power, shedding His capacity to control
man is come in the tiny form of that infant and you
look with love upon Him because you know the journey
the little Child had to follow.
-
"Those prophets of old who had leadership thrust upon
them were grown men. To a degree they could protect
themselves. Their minds were used to the barbs of envy
and hatred that fell upon them.
-
"Now you have something entirely different; now you
have from the very beginning in a little Child the
promise of God fulfilled.
-
"How would mothers today feel if, as they looked upon
their infants, so frail and helpless, they knew that
such a one was chosen to be the Light of the World?
Yet, each child that is born into this world is intended,
according to the holy Plan, to be a little light-bringer.
-
"Try to visualise the state this world would be in
if since the time of Christ every little child had
been instructed as to his or her great responsibility.
Today, the earth would be a Paradise. You would have
no woes of the body, no sorrows of the mind and no
terrible grief to tear your hearts. If only man had
fulfilled his rightful destiny.
-
"But it is no good weeping over what is lost for you
are here to see what can be gathered up from the fragments
of life and effort and love gifted so lavishly by your
gracious Father and King. As you seek God and love
the Baby Christ, be comforted, because it shows that
you accepted the responsibility laid upon you at physical
birth. You promised to contribute your quota of light
to the Light which is needed so sorely to scatter the
darkness of this material plane.
-
"Some feel a stronger calling to service than others.
Some wonder if they are made differently from those
who find it easy to make the full surrender. Within
everyone is the same measure of Divinity. It is just
simply that one has struggled more to break the bondage
that has held Holiness. That is the only difference
and the only way there can be any difference between
the children of God. But that difference erects a barrier
of conditions.
-
"Sometimes when you speak to those who claim to be
friends you are conscious of a sense of chill. Remember
that division is due only to conditions and not to
circumstance. Conditions are represented by that little
world that God has gifted to you, entrusting you with
the task of being its builder. That wonderful world
is the aura which surrounds the physical body. Its
strength or its weakness means happiness or unhappiness.
-
"Having tried to do your best but still feeling unhappy,
remember that the body wages war against the spirit
within. Do not be deceived, children of the Light,
the happiness of the earth is not the happiness the
real 'you' desires. The real 'you' desires it so earnestly
that it is determined to allow nothing to stem its
efforts or to interfere with its holy strivings to
reach that which God has laid down for this lifetime.
-
"Be cheered at this season of the year. Focus your
thoughts upon the little Child. Impress upon your minds
that the Jesus you see portrayed in picture and in
form, is a symbol to you of that which you have within
- the Baby Christ. If you are afraid of the processes
of growth, how can the little child mature?
-
"Mary, the holy mother, bore many things in her heart.
She knew that such a Gift must exact a terrible price.
But she had heard the voice of the angel and she realised
that she must leave things in the Hand of God. So the
little Child grew up and His childhood was not unlike
your own. You too had trouble to bear and burdens you
felt too great for your young shoulders.
-
"The conditions in the home were controlled by the
poverty that knocked insistently upon the door. As
the Child grew, He was put to work. There was little
time for play for the poor in those days. Tiny fingers
were set little tasks that would save time for the
older ones. What is felt by those today, who see the
beautiful workmanship turned out by willing fingers
and eager minds, knowing that for the few pence exchanged
they had created something that would last for generations.
-
"Picture in your mind the situations in that little
home. Joseph growing old, Mary, with other children
to care for. Each of them were partakers in the toil
that continued from morning light until evening shade.
-
"Surely, your Heavenly Father understood that when
men knew of the childhood and boyhood of the Light
of the World, they would find marvellous links of sympathy.
Here was not a prince of a royal household, nurtured
and cared for over the years. In some ways He was an
outcast, yet within that Child, by processes of discipline,
gradually the Light was released that was to bring
the Light to all the world.
-
"Sometimes you pause too long on Calvary. It is not
one incident in the life of anyone that brings great
Spirit Power - it is the daily round, the common task,
the focusing of the mind on helping others, unsparing
the body because their need is greater still. That
is the only way to bring into this material plane the
power that must be, so that the darkness, through that
degree of light, may be mitigated by the light of sacrifice
and of the effort that has shone upon it.
-
"This is a direct message for those who have had hard
lives, who feel that they have been overlooked by fate.
Having asked God for patience whilst going through
suffering and finding that it is not forthcoming nor
even the grace to bear the pains of the body, you are
at a loss to know what is going on.
-
"You are being tested by the only process that can
prove to be an effective test. Remember this when you
ask God to take away your suffering, yet the suffering
still goes on. Still you hold onto your faith in God.
Surely this in itself expresses a strength and a power
that illustrates for all to see that the Divine within
is in command.
-
"Do not fear the tests. Those of you who have not experienced
these tests be very fearful if you do not exercise
all your efforts to mitigate the sufferings and sorrows
of others. This represents a greater test than words
can express. Those who are physically strong, surrounded
by happy conditions feel that the direct rays from
God's own sunshine is streaming upon them. They are
deceived. It is only the sunshine of the earth and
it represents an acid and a searching test. For the
few who can pass through these conditions rejoicing
in their happiness, there are millions trying to hold
around them the rags of protection that seem to be
falling from their shoulders through attack.
-
"You are always brought back to the loving Saviour
of mankind. He was a prophet. How was He received?
Those in authority sought to put Him to death, although
there were a few who later gained an inner wisdom.
But there were many untroubled by earthly ambition,
for poverty and suffering were their lot. They gazed
upon the loving face of the Master, they turned to
Him, knowing that there was someone Who would understand
and help.
-
"What of you who have had adverse experiences, who
know how hard it is to resist the continued weakness
of the flesh? There are those who, when trouble strikes
them, remember you. They know that you will understand
and can draw upon your strength again and again. When
giving out the word of sympathy, that word of cheer,
remind those who suffer that it takes practice to overcome
suffering and still to keep on the upward way that
leads to peace.
-
"Christmas is a time of jubilation, but not the jubilation
of the earth. Its message is for the tortured souls,
the lonely ones, those who seem to be forgotten by
those who are better placed, and its message is charged
with hope. They may not understand it, but they have
accepted the responsibility bestowed upon them at physical
birth, to be a little light-bringer. They do their
part to obey God's mighty instruction: Let there be
Light. God knows that until the Light has come, peace
and real happiness and health for the body and soul,
are impossible.
-
"Looking back on the great tribulation and all the
horror of the darkness wrought by evil, we see that
God's injunction was fulfilled in a wonderful way by
thousands of souls. They did not understand, but within
them was the instinct to do their best. They were the
light-bringers and although they have passed on into
a different kind of light than that which the earthly
mind can grasp, they left behind them light for those
who are as yet unborn.
-
"Perchance today, the change of the swing of the pendulum
has come. There are always the snatchers, those who
take advantage of the goodness of others. Once again
the pendulum will swing back and history will reveal
the lives of the light-bringers. The warriors were
prophets in their own way because without knowing it,
they revealed the truth. They laid down their lives
for their brother man. Many of them had no assurance
of that wonderful Life just across the narrow stream
of death. All honour to such as these, for the light
that shines from them shall illuminate the pages of
history. Little ones being taught about the sweetness
of sacrifice perchance shall find within themselves
the desire to contribute their portion of light, as
it is the Father's Will.
-
"There are so many gathered from the Spirit World seeking
to heal and seeking to comfort. Realise that you are
never alone. Sometimes in the darkness of the night
when sleep escapes you and your inner strength seems
at its lowest ebb, you wonder if your life is worthwhile.
From a material point of view the answer may be that
it is not because you have experienced so much trouble.
But the Divine within you has sight and understanding.
When the morning comes you are surprised to find that
courage has returned. You take up your task although
the body is weary and with astonishment, before the
day is ended, you realise that you have done more than
you deemed would be possible.
-
"Step by step each day brings you nearer to God, nearer
to that wonderful Home that is being prepared for you.
If your eyes could be opened and you could view that
other little world of yours, that world of the aura,
you would smile to think that anything so lovely could
be made out of the ugly things of the earth. Those
things of the earth that appear so attractive to the
physical eyes are the grey patches of the aura. The
gold, the blue and the rosy pink, which remind you
of the radiance of the setting sun, are there because
of your disappointments, your pains and even the unkindness
of others and because you overcame the hurt and tried
to send forth kind thoughts in return.
-
"You are wonderful weavers, hour by hour, minute by
minute. Encased in matter you see nothing of the wonders
that are going on. Yet I remind you again of history
and how as you trace back through the Holy Book, you
find that, little by little, darkness has given place
to light. Those who contributed did not understand
what they were doing, neither do you. But God has it
all under His most loving Hand.
-
"Today you are brought good news. Nothing has gone
wrong. The spirit within has seen the Star of Bethlehem
and is determined to cross the dark desert and find
the meaning of the Star, to kneel before the Baby Christ,
bringing the offerings of a contrite heart, of willing
service, of desire and determination to see the battle
through.
-
"Once again in spirit we kneel before the Baby Christ,
thanking God for this most priceless Gift and the life
that followed. Thanking Him we lay upon our hearts
the balm that it represents.
-
"The storms will beat upon for such a little while.
Then the clouds will break, the sunshine of Eternal
Love will be opened out to you with revelation transcending
your highest hopes. All that you have gone through,
every pain, will be justified. Then again in the spirit
you will kneel before the Christ, thanking Him that
the strength was given, and although you faltered you
went on up the steep hill to the glorious end.
-
"We thank the Father for all that He has bestowed,
for the honour of this mission that one day will be
revealed to you in its wide ramifications. Out of little
things great things have come to pass, but only by
withstanding the assaults of physical life.
-
"Peace and peace again. May the golden Cross of Jesus
the Christ be forever before your eyes."
