The Mirror of the Father's Love
Greeting, 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 ponder the mirror of the Father's Love.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Mirror of the Father's Love
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know even as also I am known." First Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 12.
Brothers and sisters, worship is the mirror that reflects the perfect image of the Father's character
to our souls. As our souls view this image--the revelation of the Father's character-- they attempt
to conform to it. This image is a supreme value, and it is this value that our souls grow toward.
After all, our souls are created in the image of God. Worship is the process whereby we the sons
and daughters of the Father observe what the Father is doing, learn what the Father is doing, and
as it were do what the Father is doing-that is display these spiritual values in our ordinary lives.
During worship our souls observe the Father's love, the truth, beauty, and goodness of it. Our
souls observe gentleness, meekness, temperance, love, faith, goodness, and long-suffering, peace,
and joy. During the prayer process, these divine qualities of love, faith, and goodness are
personalized by the divine son, Jesus, into gentleness, meekness, and temperance; during loving
service the Holy Spirit translates gentleness, meekness, and temperance into long-suffering,
peace, and joy.
There is a feedback mechanism that allows our souls to make adjustments. As our souls try to
implement what they have learned from the Father, they are sure to encounter failure. This failure
is manifested by the loss of long-suffering, peace, and joy. As worship is the mirror that displays
the perfect self, failure is the mirror which portrays the true state of our souls, progress wise.
Failure actually represents the farthest edge of growth of our souls. Beyond that edge lies the
underdeveloped and unrealized growth of our souls.
When our souls return back to the worship process, they are able to more clearly see which area
of spiritual value they need to further observe in the Father. Our souls observe whether they need
more of the truth, beauty, and goodness of his love. Most of the time, our souls need additional
work in all areas. Because of our experience with failure, the Father is able to reveal a clearer
concept of goodness to our evolving souls. Every struggle with evil enlarges the capacity of our
souls to perceive divine goodness--love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness.
During the prayer process as our souls seek forgiveness for their failures--in reality a new
endowment for further growth--our souls receive new power to display long-suffering, peace, and
joy. Our souls better understand that the instant the attitude of long-suffering changes, right there
and then the way is opened for the destruction of peace and joy. Long-suffering is essential to
enjoy everlasting peace and eternal joy. The exchange of everlasting long-suffering for temporal
patience also causes eternal peace and joy to be exchanged for temporal peace and joy, and these
qualities are related to the material world with its ups and downs. As the material world goes, so
goes the temporal qualities.
During the prayer process, our souls increasingly learn that it is the attitude that counts, for out of
the attitude our wills act. If our attitudes are one of long-suffering, then will our wills act in
harmony with that. It is futile for us to have an attitude of impatience and expect that our wills
will act in harmony with patience. Such a position is contradictory not to mention untruthful.
During prayer, our wills are powerized to act out the divine attitude.
During the worship process, our souls further refine their efforts to be what it does rather than
trying to do something that it is not. The goal set for our souls is nothing short of divine
perfection. As our souls continue to view the mirror of love, it appears that the Father is
changing, but the Father is changeless, infinite, absolute, and eternal. What does occur is our
souls comprehend larger and larger aspects of the Father's character. Since our souls are not
conscious of this ongoing process, it naturally appears that the Father is changing. This is very
similar to a person riding on a train viewing the landscape, and as he views the landscape, it
appears that the landscape is rushing by him. But of course the landscape is not moving at all.
And finally during our loving service activities, gradually the thoughts of self change as more of
the thoughts that represent the attitude of the Father increase. And as the will chooses these acts
associated with the divine thoughts arising out of our ever increasing divine altitudes, the selfish
thoughts diminish, as do the selfish acts that follow such selfish thoughts. Gradually the mirror of
love increasingly teaches our souls what they should be and powerizes them so that they can
display the divine qualities of Jesus more faithfully in loving social service.
This concludes today's message on the meaning of the mirror 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 Mirror of the Father's Love
