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I AM HERE. Jesus.
The Divine Love was never conferred upon man as a perfect and completed Gift,
either at the time of his creation or since my coming to earth, but as a Gift
which is waiting for man's own efforts and aspirations to obtain. Without his
efforts, It can never become his, although It is always close to him and is
waiting to answer his call.
It must be understood that the Divine Love of the Father is an entirely distinct
kind of Love from the love which the Father bestowed upon man at the time of his
creation, and which man has possessed in more or less condition of purity ever
since that time.
Then, understanding what this Love is, and that man must seek for It, and what
Its effect upon the soul of man is, it becomes very important that man should
make the obtaining of It the one great object of his aspirations and desires.
For when he possesses It to a degree that makes him at-one with the Father, he
ceases to be a mere man and becomes of a nature of soul existence that makes him
divine. He incorporates many Qualities of the Father, the chief of which is, of
course, Love. And this also causes him to absolutely realize the fact of his
immortality.
MERE MORAL GOODNESS, OR THE POSSESSION OF THE NATURAL LOVE TO ITS FULLEST
DEGREE, WILL NOT CONFER UPON MAN THIS DIVINE NATURE THAT I HAVE MENTIONED; NOR
WILL GOOD ACTS, CHARITY, OR KINDNESS, OF THEMSELVES, LEAD MEN TO THE POSSESSION
OF THIS LOVE. BUT THE POSSESSION OF THIS LOVE, IN TRUTH AND IN FACT, WILL LEAD
TO CHARITY AND GOOD DEEDS AND KINDNESS, ALWAYS UNSELFISH, AND TO A BROTHERHOOD
OF MEN ON EARTH THAT THE MERE NATURAL LOVE CANNOT POSSIBLY LEAD TO OR CAUSE TO
EXIST.
I know that men preach about the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,
and urge men to attempt to cultivate the thoughts and deeds of love and
self-sacrifice and charity in a way to bring about the greatly-to-be-wished-for
unity of life and good purpose on the part of men. And by reason of this natural
love, they can, themselves, do a great work in bringing about this brotherhood.
Yet, the chain that binds them together cannot possibly be any stronger than the
natural love which forges it. And when that becomes overshadowed by ambition and
material desires, the brotherhood will become greatly weakened, or disappear
entirely. And men will realize that its foundation was not built upon a rock,
but rather upon the infirm sand which could not sustain the superstructure when
the storms arising from men's ambition and desires for power and greatness, and
many other material things, beat upon it. So, I say, there is a great necessity
for something more than man's mere natural love to help him form a brotherhood
that will remain steadfast and firm under all conditions and among all men.
So, this natural love, under the most favorable circumstances to preserve the
constancy of man's happiness and freedom from sin and error, proved itself to be
not sufficient to maintain that condition. Then, what may be expected of it when
circumstances are such that this love has degenerated from its pure state and
has become defiled by all these tendencies of men to do that which is in
violation not only of God's Laws but also of everything that would otherwise
help men to realize a true brotherhood?
As I have heretofore said in my writings, there will come a time when this
natural love will be restored to its original state of purity and freedom from
sin, and when this brotherhood may exist in a degree of perfection that will
make all men happy.
Yet, that time is far off and will not be realized on earth at all until the New
Birth and the New Heavens appear. And, in the meantime, men's dreams of this
great brotherhood will not be realized.
I know that men expect that, sometime, in the far distant future, by means of
education and conventions and preachments of moral truth, this dream of an ideal
brotherhood will be established on earth, and all the souls of hatred and war
and the oppression of the weak by the strong will disappear. But I tell you that
if men depend upon this mere natural love, and all the great feelings and
impulses that may arise from it to bring about this condition so much desired,
they will find disappointments and lose faith in the goodness of men. And, at
times, a retrogression will occur, not only in that love but also in the conduct
of men towards one another and in the treatment of nations by one another.
I have digressed somewhat from my subject, but I thought it best to show to man
that his dependence upon himself, which is his dependence on this natural love,
is not sufficient and adequate to bring him into a condition of happiness, even
on earth, and therefore totally inadequate to bring him into the Kingdom of
Heaven.
THE DIVINE LOVE THAT I SPEAK OF IS, OF ITSELF, NOT ONLY ABLE TO MAKE A MAN AN
INHABITANT OF THE FATHER'S KINGDOM BUT ALSO IS SUFFICIENT TO ENABLE HIM TO BRING
ABOUT, AND REALIZE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF HIS DREAMS, THAT GREAT BROTHERHOOD,
EVEN WHILE ON EARTH.
THIS LOVE OF THE FATHER'S OWN SELF IS OF A NEVER CHANGING NATURE, AND, IN ALL
PLACES AND UNDER ALL CONDITIONS, IS WORKING OUT THE SAME RESULTS IN CONVERTING
THE SOULS OF MEN ON EARTH, AS WELL AS OF THE SPIRITS IN THE SPIRIT WORLD, INTO
NOT ONLY THE IMAGE BUT ALSO THE SUBSTANCE OF THE DIVINE NATURE. IT MAY BE
POSSESSED IN SMALLER OR GREATER DEGREE, DEPENDING UPON MAN HIMSELF; AND THIS
DEGREE OF POSSESSION DETERMINES THE CONDITION OF THE SOUL AND ITS NEARNESS TO
THE FATHER'S KINGDOM, WHETHER THE SOUL BE IN THE FLESH OR IN THE SPIRIT.
MAN DOES NOT HAVE TO WAIT TO BECOME A SPIRIT IN ORDER TO SEEK FOR AND OBTAIN
THIS LOVE. FOR THE SOUL ON EARTH IS THE SAME SOUL AS WHEN IN THE SPIRIT WORLD,
AND ITS CAPACITY FOR RECEIVING THIS LOVE IS JUST AS GREAT IN ONE PLACE AS IN THE
OTHER. OF COURSE, ON EARTH, THERE ARE MANY CIRCUMSTANCES AND SURROUNDINGS AND
LIMITATIONS ON MAN THAT PREVENT THE FREE WORKINGS OF THE SOUL, IN THE WAY OF
ASPIRATIONS AND FAITH, THAT DO NOT EXIST AFTER MAN BECOMES AN INHABITANT OF THE
SPIRIT WORLD. BUT, NEVERTHELESS, AND NOTWITHSTANDING ALL THESE DRAWBACKS AND
STUMBLING BLOCKS OF THE EARTH LIFE, THE SOUL OF MAN MAY RECEIVE THIS DIVINE LOVE
WITHOUT LIMITATIONS AND TO AN ABUNDANCE THAT WILL MAKE HIM A NEW CREATURE, AS
THE SCRIPTURES SAY.
THE POSSESSION OF THIS DIVINE LOVE ALSO MEANS THE ABSENCE OF THOSE DESIRES AND
LONGINGS OF WHAT IS CALLED THE NATURAL MAN, WHICH PRODUCE SELFISHNESS AND
UNKINDNESS AND OTHER QUALITIES WHICH CREATE SIN AND ERROR, AND WHICH PREVENT THE
EXISTENCE OF THIS TRUE BROTHERHOOD WHICH MEN SO EARNESTLY DESIRE AS THE
FORERUNNER OF PEACE AND GOOD WILL. AND THE MORE OF THIS DIVINE LOVE THAT ENTERS
INTO THE SOUL OF MAN, THE LESS THERE IS OF EVIL TENDENCIES AND DESIRES, AND THE
MORE THERE IS OF THE DIVINE NATURE AND QUALITIES.
THE FATHER IS ALL GOODNESS AND LOVE AND TRUTH AND FORGIVENESS AND KINDNESS, AND
THE SOULS OF MEN BECOME POSSESSED OF THESE QUALITIES WHEN THEY RECEIVE AND
POSSESS THE DIVINE LOVE. WHEN MAN IS SINCERE AND FAITHFUL AND POSSESSES THESE
QUALITIES, THEY NEVER LEAVE HIM OR CHANGE. AND WHEN THIS BROTHERHOOD SHALL BE
FOUNDED ON THEM, IT WILL BE BUILT ON A ROCK, AND WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE AND
BECOME PURER AND FIRMER IN ITS BINDING EFFECT. AND IN THE GREAT RESULTS THAT
WILL FLOW FROM IT WILL BE THE DIVINE NATURE OF THE FATHER FOR ITS FOUNDATION
STONE, WHICH IS WITHOUT VARIABLENESS OR CHANGE AND NEVER DISAPPOINTING.
A BROTHERHOOD SO CREATED AND JOINED TOGETHER IS, AS I SAY, THE ONLY TRUE
BROTHERHOOD THAT WILL MAKE FOR A MAN A KIND OF HEAVEN ON EARTH, AND BANISH WARS
AND HATRED AND STRIFE AND SELFISHNESS AND THE PRINCIPLE OF MINE AND THINE. THE
MINE WILL BE CHANGED TO OURS, AND ALL MANKIND WILL BE TRULY BROTHERS, WITHOUT
REFERENCE TO RACE OR SECT OR INTELLECTUAL ACQUIREMENTS. ALL WILL BE RECOGNIZED
AS THE CHILDREN OF THE ONE FATHER.
SUCH WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THE EXISTENCE OF THIS LOVE IN MEN'S SOULS ON EARTH;
AND, WHEN SUCH SOULS LEAVE THEIR ENVELOPE OF FLESH, THEY WILL FIND THEIR HOMES
IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD—PARTS OF THE DIVINITY OF THE FATHER AND PARTAKERS OF HIS
IMMORTALITY.
BUT ONLY THIS DIVINE LOVE WILL FIT THE SOULS OF MEN FOR THIS KINGDOM BECAUSE ALL
THINGS PARTAKE OF THIS DIVINE NATURE IN THIS KINGDOM, AND NOTHING WHICH HAS NOT
THAT QUALITY CAN POSSIBLY ENTER THEREIN.
So, men must understand that no mere belief or ceremony of church or baptism, or
any of these things, is sufficient to enable a soul to become an inhabitant of
this Kingdom. Men may, and do, deceive themselves in their beliefs that anything
short of, or other than, this Divine Love can ensure them an entrance into the
Kingdom.
Beliefs may help men to seek and aspire to the possession of this Love; but
unless, and until, this Divine Love is actually possessed by the souls of men,
they cannot become partakers of the Divine Nature and enjoy the happiness and
peace of the Father's Kingdom.
When the Way to obtain this Love is so easy, and the joy of Its possession is so
great, it is surprising that men will be satisfied with the husks of formalism
and the satisfaction and delusion of mere lip worship and intellectual beliefs.
As I have said, this Love is waiting for every man to possess who sincerely
seeks It with true soul aspiration. It is not a part of a man, but It surrounds
and envelops every man. At the same time, It forms no part of him, unless his
longings and prayers have opened up his soul so that It may flow in and infill
him with Its Presence.
Man is never compelled to receive It, as he is never compelled to do other
things against his will. But, as in the latter case, when he refuses to let the
Divine Love flow into his soul in the exercise of that same will, he must suffer
the penalty of the utter and absolute deprivation of any possibility of becoming
an inhabitant of the Kingdom of God, or Celestial Kingdom, and of any
consciousness of the fact of his immortality.
LET MEN TURN THEIR THOUGHTS AND ASPIRATIONS TO GOD AND, IN TRUTH, SINCERELY AND
WITH FAITH, PRAY TO THE FATHER FOR AN INFLOWING INTO THEIR SOULS OF HIS DIVINE
LOVE, AND THEY WILL ALWAYS FIND THAT THE FATHER WILL BESTOW HIS LOVE UPON THEM
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EXTENT OF THEIR ASPIRATIONS AND LONGINGS. THESE LONGINGS
ARE MEDIUMS FOR OPENING UP THEIR SOULS TO THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH,
AS I HAVE BEFORE WRITTEN, IS THE MESSENGER OF GOD FOR THE CONVEYING OF HIS
DIVINE LOVE FROM HIS FOUNTAINHEAD OF LOVE TO THE SOULS OF THE PRAYERFUL AND
ASPIRING MEN.
In no other way can the Divine Love be possessed by man. It is always an
individual matter between the particular man and the Father. No other man or
body of men or church or spirits or angels can do the work of the individual. As
to him, his soul is the only thing involved. And only his aspirations and his
prayers and his will can open up his soul to the inflowing of this Love, which
makes him a part of Its own Divinity.
Of course, the prayers and kind thoughts and loving influences of good men and
divine spirits and angels can, and do, help the souls of men in turning to God's
Love, and in progressing in Its possession. But, as to the question: “Will a man
become a possessor or not of this Love?” it depends upon the man.
So, my dear brother, I will say, with all my love and blessings, good night.
Your brother and friend,
JESUS.
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About James E. Padgett
 Born August 25, 1852, Mr. James Edward Padgett
practiced law in Washington, D.C. Subsequent to his wife's, Helen,
passing in February, 1914, James learned from a psychic that he had
the gift of automatic writing. Based on the promptings of the
psychic and with a desire to reach his dearly departed Helen, he
commenced take messages from the spirits in the spirit world. At
first, James denounced the messages as merely coming from his mind,
driven by a strong desire to reach his departed wife. Eventually,
however, James could not deny the fact that information he was
receiving could not have possibly come from his own mind - for the
content of the messages surpassed his own education and knowledge.
Before his passing in March, 1923, James had accumulated hundreds of
messages from spirits and celestials in the spirit world.
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