The door to the Straight and Narrow Way is the FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT when it is LIVED.
This First and Great Commandment is also the very Path, which Christ trod and left the map for. One travels this Way of Holiness, this Highway to Zion, or to the complete purification of the heart, through perfecting love right within himself. To love God with all one's heart purifies the heart and removes its hard, iron bars of unbelief. It also holds the keys to the very gates of heaven.
All mortal laws are fulfilled in the living of this dynamic Command. All Spiritual laws are fulfilled in this most powerful invitation as the method of seeking God is fully revealed. And this great offering of love is not for God at all. God does not need it or demand it for Himself. This love is required for the benefit of man. In learning to develop and to release this love one is glorified completely as his heart, soul and mind are opened to the vision of a new realm of unutterable beauty and fulfillment.
As one loves God with his whole being it is a most natural thing to become thankful -- even in ALL things. Love is a part of gratitude. Gratitude mingled with love embraces that refined attitude of appreciation, which releases that ecstatic vibration of singing, joyous praise. It is in the pure gift of appreciation that joy and ecstasy are fully released. And these gifts contain the deepest happiness of life.
The gift of divine appreciation is the very perfecting of love and obedient acceptance of all that comes or goes in one's life, with all the powers of the soul alerted and singing in sublime, joyous ecstasy. This condition is not a dead, dull, stupid acceptance of misfortunes and evils. It is a condition of dynamic power as love is released. This attitude holds no possibility of self-pity. It is a power which exalts every calamity and dismay and evil as they are totally disarmed of their destructive forces. And "ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD, TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD!" This "being thankful in all things," holds no resentments, no groveling, cringing attitude of abuse. It contains the dynamic powers of godhood released through a mortal being as he lifts himself above the grubbiness of mortal adversities and sends his song of glory singing out across the universe. This is power in action. And this is man's privilege to use at all times to dispel the darkness until it is completely overcome in his life.
As any individual advances into this knowledge, or begins to live it so that he actually PROVES Christ's words, he lays hold of the powers of eternity and begins to "evolve from the man kingdom into the God Kingdom." And he learns that every adverse condition is but a privilege or a stepping stone into the higher realms of existence.
"HE WHO IS THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS SHALL BE MADE GLORIOUS!" It is as one perfects this law of appreciation that he becomes attuned to the enfolding glory of God and begins his advancement into the everlasting realms of Light. He truly becomes GLORIOUS! And within himself is released the singing love and gratitude and praising ecstasy of heaven.
These are the PROMISES of Almighty God and they cannot fail. As one practices that Great Command, to love God with his entire being he will receive the fulfillment of every PROMISE. Nothing will be impossible to him. He will not only learn to BELIEVE, he will reach the point where Faith is made perfect and becomes knowledge as his mind opens to comprehend all things. "Then he will be assuredly wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and will be caught up to dwell with Him!"
Another of God's dynamic PROMISES, which can be easily PROVED by the LIVING of this glorious Command is: "If your eyes be single to my glory your whole bodies shall be filled with Light: and there shall be no darkness in you. And that individual will not only be filled with Light, he will behold the Face of God and be given a comprehension of all things." And in this work man is instructed to "SANCTIFY HIMSELF!" No one can have "eyes single to the glory of God" without loving God. It is only through the great love that any of His dynamic, breath-taking PROMISES can be fulfilled. And it is up to man to PROVE THEM.
The great unveiling of the Face of God to any individual is the final end of that Straight and Narrow Path! It is Life Eternal! It is glory unutterable! It is everlasting beauty and joy and perfection! And the command is and has always been: "Seek me diligently and you shall find me!" "Seek me early and you shall find me!" Then one truly KNOWS GOD and will need none to teach him. He does not merely know ABOUT GOD! He actually KNOWS HIM! "And this is Life eternal, to know Thee, the only True and Living God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou has sent!"
As one loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, that one, of necessity, becomes Spiritualized, and will be "Born of the Spirit" with all of its powerful, exalting perfection. And "He will be able to come and go as the wind," even as Christ bore witness to Nicodemus. The cells of the flesh and the atoms thereof will be transmuted into the Spiritual radiance of divine loveliness. This is being born of the Spirit, and unless one has received this power to be able to "come and go as the wind" in a supreme service of divine love, he is boasting in vain and is but a grubby mortal.
This being "Born of the Spirit" is the completion of all righteousness. And to complete the explanation, Nicodemus was asked, "If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how can you believe if I told you heavenly things?"
This being "born of the Spirit" is an achievement which must be accomplished while in the flesh, for as Christ testified, it is an earthly accomplishment. Or, in other words, it is only in and through the flesh that one can OVERCOME to this extent. It is a privilege and a possibility open to anyone who will take upon himself the responsibility of PROVING the words and PROMISES of the Lord Jesus Christ. And His words were: "Live the laws and you will KNOW of their power."
Those who receive this purifying glory and are given the power to "come and go as the wind" are performing the GREATER WORKS for they will be opened unto him. Such a one will be able to travel in the invisible, to appear as required or requested, to administer love and blessings and healings according to the needs and faith of those he is sent to assist. And such service will more often be rendered without WORDS. "For MY KINGDOM IS NOT IN WORD, BUT IN POWER, saith the Lord!" There will be no personal demonstrating or worldly acclaim. It will be a work and a benediction of outflowing, selfless love and Light.
These silent, glorified ministrations are the GREATER WORKS upon this earth. And as yet few have advanced to the point where they can have any part in this wonder because few have accepted that First and Great Commandment, to prove its power and its dynamic glory. Those who advance into this perfect love and POWER of being able to perform the GREATER WORKS, will be unannounced, and unacclaimed -- and POWERFUL! Without waiting to receive credit or to be acknowledged or praised or thanked such a one will leave his blessing of everlasting power and will be upon his way, and no one will know from what service he came or to what service of divine love he has gone. The childish, immature desire to receive praise and acknowledgement will have been OVERCOME. It is overcome in the journey along that Straight and Narrow Way of perfected love.
As one perfects this divine, holy love, "The clearer are his views and the greater are his enjoyments, until he OVERCOMES the evils of his life and loses every desire for sin, and reaches the point of Faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him!" This is true and faithful! The PROMISE cannot fail! Only man can fail as he refuses to believe the Words of Almighty God and His divine and Holy PROMISES.
As one perfects the great love for God he naturally leaves the evils of his life behind. All the evils of mortal life are contained in the flesh, with its physical cravings and wanton, corrupted desires, which are often self-developed. As one perfects the love for God the claims of the flesh are overcome and the very flesh becomes spiritualized. And one is automatically "Born of the Spirit!" He is made perfect in his entire physical being as he overcomes the evils of his life.
Anyone who lives and fulfills that First and Great Commandment will have his belief in God not only strengthened but confirmed as his faith is developed into absolute KNOWLEDGE. And he will naturally be able to fulfill Christ's breathing PROMISE of being able to do the GREATER WORKS.
And in this exerted, exercised love one learns of the perfection of Christ's everlasting, standing invitation to all, regardless of background or degree of righteousness or accepted church affiliation, for the PROMISE is: "Come unto me, all you who labor (either with physical work or mortal weaknesses) and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, WHICH REST IS THE FULNESS OF MY GLORY!" This glorious PROMISE was left out deliberately by wicked and designing men who wished to hold men's attention upon themselves instead of upon God. Then to continue with Christ's glorious words of mercy: "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy (for it is LOVE) and my burden is LIGHT -- even the great Light of eternal glory!" Could any PROMISE be greater than this? And it belongs to every man regardless of race, color or creed. It is an eternal, everlasting invitation and can be PROVED by anyone who will take hold of it.
As one lives the lesser laws, whether physical, temporal or spiritual, with a sincere heart, he will be automatically drawn into the glory and power of this greatest of all Commands if he only seeks to KNOW the TRUTH, not thinking he already possesses it all. This sacred First and Glorious Commandment fulfills ALL the others. As one practices this dynamic, perfect, powerful admonition he becomes all the living glory it contains. His doubts and fears are forever banished, for "perfect love casts out all fear." He becomes more and more powerful as his vision is opened to behold the increasing wonders of Almighty God.
Man is then instructed to "Pray with all the energy of heart that he might be POSSESSED of this great love, that it might be well with him at the last day." As one becomes POSSESSED of this great love, that love not only fills his being, it owns him. He becomes so filled with love, so enfolded with love that no evil could possibly come near him. He becomes clothed in Light and the divine love of God so that he can literally walk through the exploding terror of an H Bomb and be unharmed. And no experience of destruction could be so devastating or disastrous as to be able to harm or touch him. And these dynamic destructions will be poured out to the extent that "The wicked will become ashes under the soles of your feet." But -- "If one is possessed of this great love IT WILL BE WELL WITH HIM AT THE LAST DAY!" The day of destruction. This is the PROMISE.
"To pray with all the energy of heart," simply means to center the desires of the heart upon achieving or upon the receiving of the gift of perfect love. And ALL WILL BE WELL WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL. The First and Great Commandment automatically fulfills this desire. No one can exert himself in prayer to develop this love until he is possessed of it, or by it, who would not be exalted and glorified by its fulfilling.
"And the Fruit of the Tree of Life is the love of God, which is shed forth through the hearts of the children of men." It is the very power of LIFE and as one opens his heart to receive its fulness no power on earth can take his life from him. As one exerts his own little trickle of love he releases the seals upon his heart and as these are removed God begins to send His great, boundless, powerful, limitless love through that heart as "THE FOUNTAINS OF LIVING WATER." To "Come and partake of the fountains of living water -- FREELY" -- is an invitation which has been offered to mankind from the beginning. "Yes, Come and partake of them, WITHOUT PRICE!" This love contains all healing for the physical, aging body, all the blessings of abundance and the boundless, ecstatic joys of the soul along with the great gift of ETERNAL LIFE!
Now, to "Pray with all the energy of heart" means simply to focus the desires of the inner being upon so great a gift as Pure, Divine, Christ-like LOVE. Desire it! Exercise love! Use it constantly and pray for it with all the energy of heart and the PROMISE of God is that you shall be possessed of it and it will be well with you. Such a one will indeed receive the very fulness of the divine gift of love, insomuch that he will be literally possessed or owned and controlled by this divine and holy love at all times and all occasions. "And It never faileth!" It increases with use. In such a condition only beauty and happiness and understanding could possibly come into the life of such an individual. The song or vibration of joyous, glorious love would forever fill his entire being and then flow forth from him to bless and heal and glorify all that he contacted either in thought or casual passing. And especially those whom he concentrated that love upon, in prayer, would receive the blessing it held.
As one takes hold of this First and Great Commandment and PROVES its unspeakable POWERS, he will clothe himself in its glory. In it is contained the key to the doors of heaven as he completes his journey along "That Straight and Narrow Way, which leads to Life Eternal!" Or to the unveiling of the Face of God!
This First and Great Commandment is the door that opens up and reveals the Straight and Narrow Way so that one may begin to travel that glorified Highway of Holiness, to the complete purification of his heart."
As one enters that sacred doorway to the Straight and Narrow Way he also learns that that First and Great Commandment is not only the door but is also the very Way itself. As one brings forth and perfects that LOVE within himself he is literally walking with God. This greatest of all privileges, this opportunity to live and fulfill that greatest of all glories, the perfecting of love within oneself, he will find the power of his own divine completion and perfection. Within that holy, divine bit of instruction is contained all that heaven holds as it is perfected in the heart and soul and mind of man. And man becomes that LOVE, pure, glorified, powerful and dynamically eternal. He is no longer a mere mortal. "He has evolved from the man kingdom into the God Kingdom" as he has traveled that Straight and Narrow Way that leads to Life Eternal.
"God is love!" As one becomes POSSESSED of this great love he is literally "Born of God" as is PROMISED in the epistles of Saint John. "And he can henceforth commit no sin!"
The GREATER WORKS which Christ talked about were not the ones performed in words, but in POWER, unheralded and unspoken in most instances -- and unacclaimed as love is released and poured out to heal and to bless and to glorify.
In Matthew, chapter four, is given the account of the great exploits and seeming miracles which will be performed by those who are evil and wicked and who are the workers of Satan's kingdom, as "They go forth to deceive even the very elect, if possible!" Many will be deceived by their words and their demonstrations and miracles. These deceived ones will rush to and from one acclaimed prophet or false Christ to the next. Or it may be that they will be so blinded by the show of false power they will yield their beings, minds, bodies and souls to "The worshipping of the beast."
"At the time of the end," the angel informed Daniel; "Many shall be purified, and made white and tried" (to see if they, like Christ, can resist the temptation to manifest their powers and so prove that they are actually of God, as they suppose). "And the wicked shall do wickedly' and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." (Dan. 12:10).
"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Dan. 12:3-4). And though "Knowledge is increased they will never be able to come to a knowledge OF THE TRUTH!"
Only as one "LIVES THE LAWS CAN HE POSSIBLY KNOW OF THEIR TRUTH AND THEIR POWER!" As one lives that First and Great Commandment he will have fulfilled ALL the laws and the PROPHETS. He will no longer be under the laws and will have advanced beyond them. Having fulfilled all things he will have OVERCOME the world, even as Christ did. He will also be doing the works which Christ did, in POWER rather than in WORDS. And he who OVERCOMES to this extent will naturally OVERCOME DEATH-- THE LAST ENEMY.
And those who OVERCOME to the extent that death is required to back down before them will find that they have fulfilled all things. They will be joint-heirs or co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, for such is the PROMISE. In other words they will be co-equal with Him. "And they will sit down with Him on His throne!" (Rev. 3:21). They will have fulfilled that dynamic admonition of Saint Paul, "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God!"
As the great love is perfected the little, ego, mortal-self is put aside. And with eyes solely "single to the glory of God," and with nothing but love flowing forth from one's entire being that individual will go forth, "Born of the Spirit" and in the power and majesty of Almighty God, to render the greater service and to do the GREATER WORKS. He will literally be a member of the Kingdom of God, not a self-acclaimed, bragging, preaching individual, but one clothed in Power and Light. "For My Kingdom is not in WORD, but in POWER, SAITH THE LORD!"
These GREATER WORKS, which Christ promised, will be performed in POWER -- not in words. One "Born of the Spirit will have the POWER to come and go as the wind," to render service according to the need as he blesses, performing some act of love and comfort and healing. Then, without fanfare or waiting to bask in praise or thanks or self-acclaim or acknowledgement, he will go on to some other assignment and the one whom he has just assisted will not know from what assignment he just came, or where he has gone. These will be the GREATER WORKS -- works without fanfare or demonstrating and often without WORDS.
Those who have not perfected love, who are still following the little, ego, mortal-self will want it to be made known and proclaimed aloud that it was through them that the healing was accomplished, the miracle performed, the need supplied -- and they will be but the workers of darkness.
Those who cannot relinquish such desires for credits and acknowledgements will never have part in the GREATER WORKS. These, like Christ, will be tempted to make a great demonstration of the power vested in them as being something personal, and may, unlike Christ, fail to resist such a temptation. They who cannot relinquish their cravings for outward show will seek to exalt themselves in a flame of self-righteous demonstrations and so will join the miracle workers who will have power to even "call down fire from heaven."
These pitifully misguided ones will be the individuals who will flock to the false prophets and the false Christs and to those who shout and contort and do UNSEEMLY things insomuch that they will not only be deceived themselves but will assist in "deceiving the very elect, IF POSSIBLE."
The elect will be those who love God with their entire beings, their hearts, souls, minds and strength. They ARE HIS SHEEP! And they will know His voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. Their very love will exalt them to the status of the "ELECT" -- The "Sons of God!" "And they are called Sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God." And the keys of the Kingdom, which is POWER, will be placed in their hands. And they will be co-heirs with Christ -- to reign forever and ever in the Light of Eternal Truth!"
Thus, the GREATER WORKS can only be performed by those who have OVERCOME. They will be performed in silence, not in WORDS. Their Fruits will continually manifest and bear witness of their status and worth. And no matter how the wicked may manifest the gifts of the Spirit and their proclamations testify of their being chosen of God the evil within them will be made apparent to those who truly love God. The very Spirit they carry will be repulsive and abhorrent to those who love the Lord and who are His elect. And it is the righteous, or the "elect" only who will be endowed with that most gracious, wonderful gift called the "Spirit of Discernment!" This gift of discernment holds the keys of being able to discern between the righteous and the wicked.
As those who are truly servants of the Living God perform some great work of mercy and blessing and then go upon their way, not waiting to receive either praise or acknowledgement or credit, the power of God will be continually increased upon them. They have, within themselves, become the very least, or servant of all, which is required in order to become the GREATEST.
This greater glory and these GREATER WORKS of everlasting value pertain only to those who have "eyes single to the glory of God" and not to their own aggrandizement. And those who wish to demonstrate will find this holy Path is not for them. These Greater Works can only be performed by those who have OVERCOME all things, "even as he overcame!" And the OVERCOMING is of the little, mortal, egoself with its evil cravings for glory and recognition and importance.
Not having sought for glory or acclaim, those OVERCOMING, love-filled individuals will be glorified. Having developed "eyes single to the glory of God, they will take on that glory and be filled with Light and comprehend all things!" They will "Shine forth as the firmament and be as the brilliance of the stars forever and ever."
The power of God will not be made manifest in either WORDS or in UNSEEMLY demonstrations, or even in the gifts, as Paul proclaimed in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, "for these former things will be done away -- these childish things -- when that which is perfect is come." And it is true that those who truly love God, and who perfect that Love, will have grown into manhood. They will have left the milk and the breasts and the out-grown crib and the childish, rattling brass toys with the clanging cymbals for they will have progressed into the status of son-ship and perfection. They will no longer behave like children or be beguiled by childish enticements and noisy demonstrations. They will be free! Powerfully, dynamically free -- free from all inferior ways and mortal, childish demonstrations. They will walk with God, their Father, in power and majesty.
This First and Great Commandment is indeed the road of glory as one travels it, along that Straight and Narrow Path of unspeakable joy to Life Eternal. And this Way is not a hard, arduous Way as the unrighteous may suppose. It is a Way of singing, joyous ecstasy. One becomes the singing, triumphant glory.
But "He who puts his hand to the plow, or sets his mind upon the fulfilling of an invitation as great as that First, divine Commandment, then looks back, is not fit for the Kingdom." He who looks back to repeat or to retell some individual experiences, in which he had been touched for a moment with the finger of inspiration, is not fit for the Kingdom. This Path is the way in which the individual learns to glorify God, by developing "eyes single to His glory!" It is only in this manner or in this developing of the great attitude of gratitude, which is LOVE made manifest, that one can possibly become glorious. As one glorifies God for each supreme moment of enlightenment he must then pass on and leave it behind in order to hold that living contact in the eternal NOW! God's kingdom is not in Words -- or in repeated retellings or in hammered exhortations, but in POWER. And the POWER is in the PRESENT. Learn to carry or hold that contact with God Now and you will become powerful!
The miracles, or the divine gifts of God, will automatically "follow THOSE WHO BELIEVE!" They will be as natural and perfect as breathing and living. They will follow in the wake of those who let the perfected love flow forth through their beings, and that LOVE always leaves a divine blessing upon those that are contacted. And from one's very robes the power to heal will be made manifest.
It is through the living of that First and Great Commandment that the Promises are unveiled and the powers of Almighty God are released into one's life. Every dynamic PROMISE ever given, when fulfilled, leads one to that great DOOR beyond all mortal concepts. The very boundaries of mortality are dissolved and one becomes a translated being, truly "Born of the Spirit," "Ordained literally of God" and filled with Light insomuch that he comprehends all things! Every PROMISE blends into this promised fulfilling of everlasting OVERCOMING AND ETERNAL POWER, beyond the boundaries of mortality.
This record is sealed with the power of God, and no man can loose its seals. He who will attempt to do so shall himself be destroyed.
And the power and the grace of God will be upon you chosen ones who understand, for you shall be clothed in Light and in the power of fulfilling. "But the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand."
And he who offers to God the great burden of his own anguished weaknesses will be given the power to let go of them, if so be he loves God more than he loves his weaknesses. The greatest offering one can give to God is his own intense misery as he refuses to be held in bondage by the cravings of the flesh. And in that supreme anguish he shall be given the power to overcome. "I gave man weaknesses that they might become strong!" They become strong and mighty and glorified in the anguish of their own overcoming. And the anguish is transmuted into eternal strength and glory! Such anguish as is held on one's mortal relinquishing is very short, when that suffering is offered freely to God. It may be but momentary. At the most it will be but for a few days, for as one relinquishes it to God then God will lend His strength to the accomplishment, or to the OVERCOMING. And it is true that the length of one's endurance will be measured by his own intensity of desire as he reaches for perfection. In the flesh this testing is but the relinquishing of the cravings one has established in the cells of his mortal flesh. If permitted to remain they are carried on by the spirit into the realms beyond the grave.
It is in the OVERCOMING of those evil, little, personal cravings, or developed dynamic ones, of one's inferior habits that one becomes strong and mighty and the anguish, which could have endured for ages in the next world, have right here, on this earth, been transmuted into eternal power.
As one offers the anguish of his physical cravings and desires to God his very flesh will become spiritualized. Such a privilege and opportunity is boundless. As one lets go of his intense cravings of the flesh, God will accept his offering and the very angels will rejoice over him. "Come unto Me, all you who labor with your mortal weaknesses and physical lusts, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST -- WHICH REST IS THE FULNESS OF MY GLORY!" As one, through his own intense desiring to serve God and to perfect himself is thus offered to Christ, his grubby, mortal, physical cravings will be transformed into spiritual strength -- the divine, eternal strength and power of OVERCOMING. This is the very wonder and marvel and the breath-taking privilege and power of OVERCOMING. It transforms weaknesses into STRENGTH. It transforms a mere mortal into a radiant, divine being with the power to fulfill all things.
Every person on the earth has the power to transform his body into beauty and youth and perfection, or as the Writer of the Odes of Solomon expressed it: "I clothed myself in Light and acquired a body free from sorrow, affliction or pain" or from all ugly, physical, degenerate lusts and cravings and habits.
One can partake of the waters of the "Fountain of YOUTH!" He can bathe himself in those waters. Yes. "Come and partake of the waters of LIFE -- freely!"
As one trains his mind to think only thoughts of love and mercy and compassion and to mentally bless all whom his thoughts enfold and those he contacts, he will soon establish those vibrations in his living emotions and they will become a very part of his entire being. They will become the habitual feelings which are but himself in expression. In this process of retraining oneself to think and feel only the most beautiful things possible one becomes one of the most beautiful beings possible. And it is in this process of transforming himself into a love-filled being that one passes beyond mortality into immortality.
As one is transformed by his own thinking and feeling habits into a radiant, beautiful person he truly "becomes a new being," filled with love and light and joyous youth. Every cell of one's body can thus be transformed from a physical cell into a spiritual one. And when one has, by the very power and privilege of his own thinking and feeling, completed this conversion, he will be matured spiritually and will "BE BORN OF THE SPIRIT!"
This holy transition belongs to every human being who will only BE-LIVE and who will but exert himself to prove that First and Great Commandment -- the key of eternal glory. In the LIVING of that law are held all the keys and the powers of Eternal, unspeakable, everlasting beauty and perfection and glory.
"Come! Partake of the waters of life -- FREELY!" For they are yours.