The longing of a human being to ascend to paradise after his earthly death is based on his concept of God and his creation. All true longing brings about a continuous investigation into the meaning of life on earth and of human existence. Life on earth is very challenging for a human being and thus compels him to focus his attention on material things. However, apart from that, there are repeated moments, when a perception of one's own inner nature breaks through, which is free from all earthly things and aspires to more lofty goals that are beyond the concerns of this world. The path to God makes it possible for man to connect this world with the beyond so that they may become one world. Understanding this fact leads to an exalted state of consciousness and to an increased longing to be permitted to strive towards paradise.
That which really constitutes the personality of a human being is his spirit. This spirit is surrounded by a structure, which we call "soul". Both the spiritual personality and the body of its soul can be designated as something that is "beyond" this world. The process of incarnation, with which the soul takes possession of an earthly body that is in the process of being formed, allows its entry from the beyond into this world. Through this process, the earthly body in question receives its life as a personality of its own. However, this only holds true for a limited period of time, as every earthly body is subject to the law of growth and decay, which is a law of nature. Life on earth is a special time of experience for the soul, during which the spiritual personality that dwells within it, is given the opportunity to broaden its consciousness. Recognition of good or evil, light or dark, as well as that which leads to liberation or bondage, makes impressions on the soul that leave their mark. Whatever man on earth aspires towards with his volition has an influence on him, either uplifting or burdening the body of his soul as well as his spiritual personality.
During the period of time in which the soul dwells within the earthly body and enables it to have a living existence, it is responsible for all words, deeds and thoughts that emanate from this earthly body. Its future fate is shaped entirely by the extent to which the laws of the Creator have been honoured or violated.
Individual human beings as well as entire nations have been violating the laws of God for a long time through decisions of their own volition, which resulted in them increasingly burdening themselves with guilt. With this came the growing danger of humanity inevitably sinking into an ever-darker spiritual abyss.
Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth in order to stop such a downward spiral, and he showed mankind the path of return and thus ascent towards paradise by explaining the workings of God's laws. However to this very day, many of the things Jesus Christ tried to explain to mankind are hardly being observed in the actions and thoughts of human beings on earth.
The work "In the Light of Truth", the Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin, through its explanatory words, sheds a new light on all that Jesus Christ gave to mankind as a bringer of divine Truth at that time. In order for the soul to ascend to paradise, a human being on earth must structure his life path in such a way as to bring it into harmony with the divine and natural laws. To this end the statements of the Grail Message offer informative guidelines.
Siegfried Bernhardt
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