The Light of the Father's Love
Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the meaning of the light
of the Father's love.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Light of the Father's Love
Jesus said: "I am come as light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide
in darkness." John, Chapter 12, Verse 46.
There is a power failure; the light goes out. A man stumbles in the dark looking for a candle to
light. There is a brilliant light followed by a loud explosion. He lit a stick of dynamite. He grabbed
the wrong thing. Now there is silence and darkness. "My, it is dark in here. Where is the real light?"
Brothers and sisters, let us walk in the true light.
Jesus is that true light that shines in the darkness to illuminate all who seek the light of the Father's
love. "Seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened." Jesus is the way for all who
would escape the pitfalls of the errors of selfishness. Jesus is the light of the Father's love for all who
would escape the imperfections of life, and gain the perfected spiritual life in the process.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus has the power to do this because we have potentials of perfection
concealed in our souls. In the darkness of our actual state, much of the potential of goodness remains
concealed in within our souls. By the technique of submitting to the Father' will, Jesus becomes the
pattern whereby we may copy and actualize this potential of spiritual perfection in the process. The
secret to making this a spiritual reality is the whole hearted pursuit of the Father's will, as revealed
in the character and life of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, consider this example. If you or I have the potential to become a carpenter, we
must be exposed to an environment that requires these potentials to be brought out. No amount of
sitting or thinking about carpentry will cause skills to appear. Only by taking action—grappling with
the necessity to become a carpenter—will these skills appear. We must watch others work, must
study their work, and then must practice our newly acquired craft until in the fullness of time, the
potentials become real. We become a carpenter. And when we finally become a carpenter, we will
know the full meaning of what it means to be a carpenter, and we will also know every step of the
way from the beginning to the end, even though finality of achievement does not equal finality of
experience. True success is realizing one's best efforts.
Brothers and sisters, to follow Jesus means to become like him. If we would become the immortal
sons and daughters of the Father of love, we must become like Jesus, must be created in His
image. But like the example of the carpenter, these potentials for becoming Godlike, like Jesus, must
be actualized. Again the Godlike qualities will not manifest themselves unless there is first a desire,
and then second there are circumstances that require their appearance. The qualities of truth, beauty,
and goodness of the Father's love are concealed within our souls waiting for desire and
circumstances to make their appearances.
Brothers and sisters, by nature we are selfish and fearful, but our spiritual nature is courageous and
unselfish, even loving. We must experience the absence of love in our lives, must experience hate
and its soul-destroying consequences before we can pursue divine love with our whole heart and
soul.
Brothers and sisters, we must experience the devastating effects of impatience before we consciously
cultivate patience. We must suffer the bitterness of the pain, sorrow, and disappointment of injustice
before we can comprehend the true meaning of forgiveness. We must experience the disquieting
effects of disharmony in our lives before we crave the quieting effects of beauty-the unification of
our lives with the Father's love. And we must taste the small sweetness and the large bitterness of
error before we pursue the pure sweetness of divine truth.
And as strange as it seems, brothers and sisters, these disagreeable experiences lead to the birth of
everything that is true, beautiful, and good, even love. Brothers and sisters, are we becoming more
loving every day? Are we becoming more truthful every day? Are our lives becoming more beautiful
every day? If we are, than the light of love has found us and is leading us out of the darkness of self
and fear into the light of unselfishness and courage, even love.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of the light of the Father's love. We
hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until
next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Light of The Father's Love
