Urantia, June 26, 2014 (date of transcription).
Teacher: The Beloved One.
Subject: “Brothers and Sisters on the Path to Perfection.”
Received by Lytske.
The Beloved One: “Today’s lesson is on the effort and struggle mortals go through on this first plane of eternal life, that is, if they choose to live on and attain the measure of faith allowing them to do so. In the first place, one needs to develop hope and trust that there is more to life than meets the eye. There needs to be a consciousness that there is ‘something greater’ than the self. It is a sense of belief at first which eventually will evolve into faith, for these are all matters of the heart.
“One can believe with the mind, but faith is an affair of the heart. Between faith and belief there exists an inner effort of a struggle. Belief is a dogmatic and fundamentalist approach to life, an adherence to certain creeds, laws and doctrines. Faith is born in the heart of the individual believer. No one can give faith to another person, because it is completely personal. It cannot be given away, be loaned, bought or lost. Faith, once awakened needs to grow, it needs to be nurtured with daily thoughts and prayers. It is like flexing a faith-muscle in order for it to grow stronger.
“All this entails effort and struggle, because faith demands honesty with oneself and sincerity in dealing with others. There is never any outside coercion involved. They are the dictates of an awakened and conscientious mind in the mortal, who by faith is answering the clarion call of the Divine Spark within, to become perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect. Outer perfection is secondary to inner perfection. The inner always reflects the outer.
“Once you have started out, and answered the faintest spark of hope of a new life following this present mortal life, that little spark can grow and become brighter until it bursts forth into the flame of faith, through the trials of effort and struggle. All the while the Inner Pilot, given to each thinking mortal capable of choice and decision making, struggles mightily to have It’s still small Voice heard, which can only be done if the human takes the time to sit in the Silence to commune with this Fragment from God.
“The struggle between the ‘lower’ or ‘baser’ mind starts in earnest when the ‘higher’ mind gets into gear and desires to take over, as it will influence everything the mortal thinks and does, in order to reach higher and higher levels. Slowly, bit by tiny bit, a spiritual counterpart is created in the human soul. The speed by which this comes about depends on the dedication given through effort and struggle to maintain and strengthen that connection with the God-Fragment within, as well as the active participation and cooperation you provide.
“Slowly, so very slowly, ‘the inner world mortals’ are made into the image of God, reflecting into the outer world through their yielding the fruits of the spirit in loving service, forgiveness and acceptance of all others as brothers and sisters on the path to attain perfection and attaining the perfect eternal Creator on Paradise.”
© The 11:11 Progress Group.
You lit a Flame, and it will become a Raging Fire — ABC-22.