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I AM HERE. St. John (Apostle of Jesus).
I come to-night to say only a few words and these in reference to love--the Divine Love of the Father which He rebestowed upon mankind at the coming of the Master.
This Love is the greatest thing in all the world, and the only thing that can make man at one with the Father, and change the soul of man as it has existed since his creation, into a Divine Substance filled with the Essence of the Father. There is nothing else in all the universe of God that can cause man to become a new creature, and an inhabitant of the Father's Kingdom; and when men possess this Love, then they possess everything that will make them not only the perfect man but the divine angel.
Then men will understand the moral precepts of brotherly love and also the Father's oneness, and they will not have to seek for other help in order to bring into the life of the human race those qualities that will bring to it peace and good will.
Then will every man know that every other man is his brother, and be able to do unto each as he would have the other to do unto him, and this without effort or sacrifice on his part, for love worketh its own fulfillment and all its beneficence floweth towards the fellow-man as falls the dews from heaven. Envy and hatred and strife and jealousy and all the other evil qualities of man will disappear, and only peace and joy and happiness will remain.
IT IS SO ABUNDANT THAT IT MAY BE POSSESSED BY ALL MEN BY THE MERE SEEKING AND THE SINCERE LONGING FOR ITS INFLOWING. BUT MAN MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS NOT HIS BY MATTER OF RIGHT, NOR IS IT EVER FORCED UPON HIM, BUT COMES ONLY IN RESPONSE TO THE SINCERE EARNEST PRAYER OF A SOUL THAT IS FILLED WITH LONGINGS FOR ITS COMING.
This Love comes not with observation of mere moral rules, or with good deeds and the exercise of the natural love of a man towards his fellows, because no man can possibly merit it by any deeds or acts or kindness of heart that he may have.
All these things are desirable and they work out their own rewards, and bring the happiness and peace that result from good thoughts and kind deeds; but all these do not bring unto the soul of man this Great Love. It is the Father alone, and only when the soul is opened up to its reception can it possibly find its home in that soul.
It is greater than faith or hope, because it is the real substance of the Father, while faith and hope are the qualities which a man may possess by his own efforts, and which are given him that he may realize the possibility of obtaining this Love. They are merely means--it is the end and fullness of their exercise.
But men must not believe that all love is the Divine Love for it is very different in its substance and qualities from all other loves.
All men have, a part of their possessions, the natural love, and they need not pray for a bestowal of that, although since it has become defiled by sin it needs to be purified and freed from this blight, and the Father is ever willing and ready to help men obtain this purification.
But this Divine Love is not a part of man's nature nor can he obtain or possess it, except he seek for it. It comes from without and is not developed from within.
IT IS THE RESULT OF INDIVIDUAL ACQUIREMENT, AND NOT THE OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL POSSESSION. IT MAY BE POSSESSED BY ALL; IT CAN BE POSSESSED BY ONLY A FEW; AND EACH MAN MUST DETERMINE FOR HIMSELF WHETHER IT SHALL BE HIS. WITH GOD THERE IS NO RESPECT OF PERSONS; NEITHER IS THERE ANY ROYAL ROAD TO THE OBTAINING OF THIS LOVE. ALL MUST PURSUE THE SAME WAY AND THAT WAY IS THE ONE THAT JESUS TAUGHT: THE OPENING UP OF THE SOUL TO THIS LOVE FINDING A LODGMENT THEREIN, WHICH CAN RE BROUGHT ABOUT ONLY BY SINCERE PRAYER AND LONGING FOR ITS INFLOWING.
THIS LOVE IS THE LIFE OF THE CELESTIAL HEAVENS AND THE ONLY KEY THAT WILL UNLOCK THE GATES, AND WHEN THE MORTAL ENTERS THEREIN, ALL OTHER LOVE IS ABSORBED BY IT. IT HAS NO SUBSTITUTE, AND IS OF ITSELF, A THING APART. IT IS OF THE ESSENCE OF THE DIVINE, AND THE SPIRIT WHICH POSSESSES IT IS DIVINE ITSELF. IT MAY BE YOURS, IT MAY BE ALL MEN'S AND IT MAY NOT. YOU MUST DECIDE THAT QUESTION FOR YOURSELF, NOT EVEN THE FATHER CAN MAKE THE DECISION FOR YOU.
IN CLOSING LET ME REPEAT THAT IT IS THE GREATEST THING IN ALL GOD'S UNIVERSE AND NOT ONLY THE GREATEST, BUT THE SUM OF ALL THINGS, FOR FROM IT FLOWS EVERY OTHER THING THAT BRINGS PEACE AND HAPPINESS.
I will not write more to-night, and with my love to you, and the blessing of the Father, I will say good-night.
Your brother in Christ,
JOHNVol. I, p. 34
