THE GREATER WORLD CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALIST CHURCH

THE ZODIAC MESSAGES

" CHARITY "

1. "FATHER, we commend ourselves to Thee tonight, and we ask Thee to so draw in all Thy little children, that they may feel the effect of the world and its disharmony no more.

2. "Father of Love, we are indeed in want of Thy most tender consideration - of that understanding and uplifting power which Thou ever pourest out upon those who stand in need. And we ask Thee to give tonight - over and above that which Thou hast given always, so willingly and so graciously, to this little gathering - to those who are seeking to pierce beyond the shadows of the earth-life, and to enter into something of the Light of the Spirit.

3. "O God, we know that Thou judgest not; we know the realisation is Thine own - that to those who have sought to undertake the task of entering into the Great Beyond - that Thou knowest the way is difficult, that many enemies beset the path. But even as Thou hast promised, to all pilgrims who would seek and find Thee the protection is complete - complete in that far-reaching way which neither we, nor those on earth, can fully comprehend. Yet, Saviour Christ, we see on all sides Thy infinite Love, Thy over-seeing care, Thy unlimited patience which never fails and never changes.

4. "Help us tonight to go one step forward; help us also to forget the past, to allow the old wounds to heal up, to endeavour - yes, and with Thy aid to accomplish that which Thou hast entreated; to live under the Light of Thy countenance; when darkness, and all the real and imaginary horrors it holds, will be forgotten banished from memory for evermore.

5. "Tonight then, once again we hand ourselves over into Thy charge; just as little children approaching a loved and most loving Father; and we are certain that Thou wilt help us, will strengthen us and will give us that vision - the absence of which makes so terrible a difference to those who wish to climb, who wish to see the Glory which is Beyond.

6. "Thanking Thee, O Father, we commence our work - thanking Thee that Thou hast made this possible, and that this good gift shall not be taken away, because the price has been paid in full. Amen.

7. "Well, my children, I am very happy to be here again with you, and if some of you think that I have inclination to scold then I would banish that thought at once.

8. "You see, my little ones, you are my children and your sorrows are my sorrows, your sadnesses my sadnesses too, and so if I begin to scold, then, I must scold myself as well.

9. "My dear children, the whole trouble has come about because you understand so little about love; indeed, on going back on your lives, love is represented to you as something closely connected with disillusionment and disappointment and, in some cases, anguish too deep for words. Love has not been presented to any of you as it is God's will.

10. "It is a very terrible thing to us - who see on all sides such evidence of gigantic love - to realize that those who are indeed of our heart have never been permitted, during their physical existence, to see even the outer garments of that which is glorious within. Therefore, dear ones, how can I blame you, how can I scold you because you fail to grasp my love, and, worst of all, that perfect love which the Father has given to each one and which never, under any circumstances whatever, will be taken from you!

11. "I know, dear children, it is like talking to you in an unknown language to dilate upon the Father's love for you, individually. Theoretically, you know it and admit it, but the facts of your physical experiences seem to show the other side of the shield so plainly that the imagination fails in the task of realizing that that shield is bright and clear and shining if you had but the strength to turn it.

12. "I want to get this quite clear; I want you to understand God's side as much as you can, and I want you to be able to speak to others, who have chosen the hard and rough road, with certainty and with conviction.

13. "Love, dear children, is a very beautiful thing. It has so much power and strength and vitality in it. And those who have only been confronted with selfish love - I use that phrase in the earth sense but, of course, that word 'love' is desecrated by such a connection - but those who have come only into touch with that twisted, malformed, hideous misrepresentation of love are to be pitied indeed - pitied with that complete understanding which turns the pity into the sympathy which is Divine.

14. "My children, there is so much to be brought in in connection with love - of the brightening of life, of the sunshine and the flowers which are all allied to that condition - but I refrain. You have first to grasp this one important fact: That love knows no change, that it changes not when others alter, it retreats not one step when those who would come in between have been successful - in the sense that they have blocked out the memory of the love which is your own.

15. "I feel, dear children, that in speaking thus perhaps I have overdrawn the picture. What has happened is simply this: That the enemies of the body, working on the mind, have, as it were, built up a little wall around some of the children, and this being of a resisting nature, unfortunately, kept out some of the love and comfort which we were endeavouring to get through to them. Yes, it is nothing more than that, and now I have dispelled that wall I can say, with so much happiness, that the only damage has been to that unity between mind and spirit, which is absolutely essential if happiness - relative happiness - is to be your own. I am glad we have worked through thus far, and I want you to understand this glorious fact: That because you are my children (Zodiac Circle), because we have worked and suffered together for so long, there is nothing strong enough to do more then erect a temporary barrier between our love and understanding; and this love and understanding is going to expand, is going to assume such proportions that, in the near future, these enemies will retreat, knowing that we are stronger than them all.

16. "My children, I have taken up a little time over the explanation, but, indirectly, it is part and parcel of the subject I wish to discuss with you this evening - which is in regard to the acquirement of that greatest gift of all which, for the want of a better name, has been given as 'Charity'.

17. "If you turn to your Scriptures you will find that charity, or love - it matters not what you call it - you will find that this quality holds chief place. Other gifts are enumerated but they are all classed as secondary to that great gift of charity.

18. "You will recollect that one inspired by God said in a most decisive way, that if he had all knowledge, all faith and yet had not charity he was nothing. And that statement and its immense implication has caused considerable thought in the minds of students of the Holy Word, and so tonight I think I will give you in miniature, the spiritual view and the interpretation which I ask you to put upon these words in future.

19. "From the outside it would seem unjust that the acquirement of so much, so many gifts and qualities - all denoting effort and concentration - that these should be swept aside, should be powerless to stand alone in the absence of that thing called 'charity'. And I can understand that, to the reader, the thought must come that there is some discrepancy, some miscarriage of that perfect justice which all like to associate with the things which are of God.

20. "Yet dear children, looked at with the eyes of the Spirit it is absolutely clear, perfectly reasonable and, once the Life Beyond is understood, the only thing that could be.

21. "I take you back to this: There have been many who have travelled far and wide, in a physical sense, exploring this little world of yours; and also, to a greater extent, there are those who have roamed from the east to the west and from the north to the south, mentally. I do not say 'imagination' because in this connection it is somewhat out of place, remembering the explanation I gave you of imagination a little while ago.

22. "Children, in these travels much can be acquired, many useful tools, much that is gain both to themselves and to others. It is agreed that to travel is an education in itself; and whether that travelling is of the mind alone, or of the mind and body, it does not alter the truth of the statement that to travel is an education in itself.

23. "Yet I must say this: That there is the education of the mind and there is the education of the soul, and they do not always march hand in hand. You see, dear children, when the body is laid aside, sympathy - that capacity for putting yourself in the place of another, of, as it were, being able to get inside the vibrations of their life and of their thought - this is essential before you can be used to work for God in a way which will count.

24. "Do you understand? Cannot you see what he who loved God was trying to convey? And I would like to add here that those who speak under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are not able, always, to take in the full meaning of what they prophecy or teach. The physical mind is the barrier. The Spirit of God, using the instrument of the physical mind for the time being, is able to push aside its borders and barriers and to get through that which dawns upon the speaker but gradually in the days to come. You will find this has been worked out in a very comprehensive way in regard to these sacred evenings - to the Message which I am trying to give; to the Light of God which I am trying to reflect to those who will pause and heed.

25. "But let me get back. You see, when Paul said: '...Though I have the gift of prophecy...all knowledge...all faith, and have not charity, I am nothing', he was referring to love - that love which understands; that sympathy without which love is but half itself; that ability to place oneself in the position of others and, by that wide charity, not to judge but to help them.

26. "You have been told that the physical mind is laid aside with the physical body; and some of those who have acquired much learning during their earthly sojourn are appalled when they come here to see the knowledge which must be their own before they too can be used by God to help and to raise.

27. "Dear children, it has been said by some that 'life is what you make it', and I should like to say that this is true in a far greater sense than the mind of man can grasp; but, on the other hand, it is a very dangerous thing for anyone to say who is without that precious protection of sympathy.

28. "In the first place, life is indeed what each one has made it. It is the spirit's choice; it is the deep consideration of that bigger, nobler self within, who lays down the path which must be trodden during the time the body is worn. And here, dear children, I should like to tell you what is so common a thing, and what you will find it rather hard to understand...During the day many are hard-pressed by physical conditions, and the weariness grows so great that they pray God that their burdens may be taken from them; yet the weeks go on and, apparently, their prayers are unanswered.

29. "Children, do you know what happens during the sleep state? I tell it to you because it applies to you as well as to those harassed ones...The spirit, being imbued with love for God, seeing the future - the glorious possibilities of that future - that spirit, free from the body which would retard, implores us and implores God that the burden should not be removed. My little children, if you could hear yourselves it would silence those questions of the physical mind for ever. It is as this: Free from the body, you limit us as to the help we are to give in the day to follow; and, as I have told you before, we dare not interfere with free-will, with the quest of the spirit, with its aspirations to that which is of God.

30. "This, dear children, is not fancy, it is fact: that not only are we commanded by you to stand aside, but also the Saviour, the Compassionate Father is asked to do so as well. Yet, dear children, I must add this: Because the Father is Love, Divine, unlimited, unceasing, there are times when He says to the strong spirit: 'This is enough', and He protects, He lifts out, ignoring - yes, sometimes, dear children, ignoring the bravery of that which is Divine within His children. The Father's Heart is unable to watch them suffer so and, just as you would with your own, He takes on the burden Himself so that that which is so weak, and yet so strong, may take a well-earned rest.

31. "That is one side of the statement that 'life is what you make it', and it is a beautiful thought - a thought which should hearten you in contemplating the sorrows of others - but only to the extent that you know the spirit within will not be gainsayed, that the spirit within defies suffering, sorrow and the blows of physical life, because it's love for God dominates it through and through.

32. "Then, dear children, I turn to the earth aspect, which is unlovely, in many cases, because self obtrudes in a definite manner.

33. "There are those who are well-placed - so far as material conditions are concerned - who are apt to dismiss, in a very careless way indeed, the troubles, the perplexities and the anxieties of others. The phrase comes up again and again: 'Life is what you make it', and the inference is that these misfortunes are their own fault - are the result of something which is lacking in themselves.

34. "And while, dear children, I have to admit that many misfortunes are self-inflicted - inflicted by that lesser self - yet I should be denying the working of the Spirit of God amongst humanity if I allowed you to think for one second that those who are in dire trouble, those who are experiencing the bitter pangs of want - if I allowed you to think that this is the result of their own weakness when I know it is the direct result of their strength.

35. "That is a point I want to drive home: Say not lightly - I speak to all - that this or that one's lot is self-created, in the sense that it is the harvest of the sowing of mistakes. It is a terrible thought to us that there should be quite a number who throw off responsibility, both of thought and of action, in this way.

36. "This is what awaits them: When they come here they will have ample opportunity of proving the truth of the statement that life is what you make it because, as I have tried to explain before, the long road of experience is not escaped by any, and those who have never worked until the body was aching and breaking, those who have not gone through the sharp pangs of physical suffering, those who have evaded those destructive enemies of poverty and partial starvation - these, when the body is laid aside, will have to come back (as a spirit and accompany those in the flesh) and go through, with thoroughness indeed, each pang which these experiences bring. It is the only way of teaching the self-centred. It is not that earth-born craving to 'let others go through what you have suffered yourself', but it is the necessary preparation for progress, the only means for providing those essential tools of service, without which joy in the Spirit is incomplete indeed.

37. "I want you to get this quite clear. In regard to sympathy, it should be developed with determination and concentration. The mere fact that, instinctively, you feel sympathetic over a certain case means, dear children, that before you took on the physical body you had passed through that same experience and now you know what it is like - the physical mind, to a certain extent, blurring the remembrance, it is true.

38. "On the other hand, those who are unable to enter into the lives of others shows quite clearly that these particular experiences have not yet been made their own, and they lie in front.

39. "We have got a little away from Charity, you may think, but in order to express my meaning I had to show you that, after all, we have come back to the point from which we started.

40. "It is summed up in this: That 'exclusiveness' has got to go, either in this world or in the many worlds beyond - that sense of exclusiveness has got to be lost - has got to be fought and killed.

41. "You see, dear children, as you have been told before, in order to construct, in order to help, you must first be able to get inside the vibrations of the object. This applies, more than anything else, to the lives of your brothers and sisters who are going through their physical experiences; bound to the earth in many ways, yet the spirit functioning always in the place where it belongs.

42. " - Though I have all knowledge and have not charity I am nothing - and when the body is laid aside this is worked out down to the last degree. In the measure that you have understanding and sympathy for others, so is your rate of progress; but if you have not that charity - that love - then indeed, in a spiritual sense, you are without anything with which to work.

43. "I want you to promise yourselves that, in addition to those deep feelings of sympathy which go out so readily to those who are in sore distress, you will try and extend that sympathy in regard to the opinions, the attitude of mind of those who are not quite in agreement with you.

44. "This is my point - and when you are free it will seem so clear and simple: Children, there are many in your world who love God and who work for Christ; and because the human mind functions in different ways, so you get an enormous number of what you call 'sects', and each work for God in their own particular way; and, sad to say, amongst these sects the element of charity is, sometimes, missing in a very noticeable way.

45. "Once you have seen the workings of God's Mind, as portrayed in the beauty of the spiritual conditions which are around you all, you will marvel that anything so trivial as a slight divergence of opinion could ever have been strong enough to erect barriers between children of the same Father, workers for the same Christ.

46. "And yet it is so, and much sadness comes as a result, and the destructive forces of disharmony strike to the right and to the left.

47. "I want you, dear children, to endeavour, in regard to this great Truth, to over-ride any little coldness or feelings of reserve which has sprung up between you and those others who have not yet been able to make this truth their own. It is difficult, I know. One's very loyalty - the remembrance of the effort, of the piecing together of the tiny fragments until a very respectable machine has been set into working order - all these thoughts are hard to fight against when, as it seems to you, others are disinclined to make very much effort even to find out whether your treasure is true or false.

48. "Still, dear children, it is God's Will - it is His most loving injunction that you should be united in your wish to serve, if not entirely united in the way in which you regard His truth.

49. "You were told that exclusiveness in regard to faith has the effect of erecting formidable barriers, even when the body was laid aside, and I would remind you of the little incident of the worshippers who had, in the Spirit, built up a wall - even as of Babylonia - around them, shutting out their fellow creatures who also had passed out of physical life.

50. "As you know, these were quite happy in their little centre of interest on earth; they were certain they were the only ones to the 'saved', and when they passed out, still holding tenaciously to the conviction that God had revealed Himself only to them, so they were prisoners indeed; prisoners in a pleasant land because of their wish to do the right thing, but prisoners, shut off from the countless thousands who had long since left the plain and who were mounting and mounting towards the glories which have no end.

51. "I bring in this little incident as a warning to all who are exclusive in their attitude, be it towards their fellow creatures on earth who are less favourably placed than themselves, or be it in regard to their worship - their attitude towards God.

52. "Over here, dear children, exclusiveness is unknown. In this happy land of freedom there is neither 'mine' nor 'thine' - it is 'ours', and ours is God's; and we see so plainly that only by unity, only by the closest comradeship that could be conceived, is it possible to rout and despatch the destroying forces that would attack.

53. "Oh, I beg all who read these records to take to heart my simple words; to be certain that in God's sight the wish to know Him, the wish to serve Him is all He ever asks from anyone; and if they allow barriers or obstacles or divisions to be reared up between themselves and those other children of the Father, in that measure they are denying the Love which they wish to proclaim.

54. "There is no getting away from facts. Underneath what I have said is the strong desire to impress upon all the absolute necessity of trying to understand the lives and points up view of others - literally to put themselves, mentally, in the place of the other - to consider their physical conditions, their burdens and responsibilities, and to say to themselves: 'How should I act if my life was the same?' If that question is put and answered fairly, then condemnation would be withered down to its roots.

55. " - Though I have all knowledge and have not charity, I am nothing - When the body is laid aside the revelation will come of something of the gigantic meaning which charity represents - something of the love, something of that compassionate understanding - and with the tool of charity you shall work for God for evermore.

56. "Now, dear children, I will leave you. I have spoken at length tonight because it was urgent that this particular statement should go out as soon as possible, in order to put the children of the earth a little more on their guard, in order to show them something of God's way and of that immutable rule which is in the Spirit - of cooperation, of comradeship, of fellowship one with the other... 'And the greatest of these is love' - that love which some call charity, but which means just the same to those who have God in their hearts. And now I leave you."

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Other highly recommended reading...

“Life Beyond The Veil”
“Paul and Albert”
“Spiritual Realms”
“The Ministry of Angels”