By Sola Adeyegbe
This essay is to put in perspective some lessons the man of today can learn from the earth Life of Jesus. The guidance for this effort is taken from the work In the Light of Truth-The Grail Message and the accounts of past events which came into existence along with it. Many people wonder whether The Grail Message speaks of Jesus. The answer is an emphatic yes!
This presentation therefore opens with a statement by the author of The Grail Message. He says and I quote:“With my words I lead to God and also to Jesus! However, in a more vital way than has been known in the past, and not as people have trimmed it through their propensity for spiritual comfort!”[1]
Abd-ru-shin started speaking of Jesus right from the first lecture of The Grail Message where he referred to Jesus as “that great example on the true path to the Light”.[2]
Before we proceed, let us first state the reason for His coming! The book of Mathew records that as Jesus began His Teaching, He declared to men: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17) Then during His transfiguration, the scripture tells us that a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!” Please note that the voice did not say we are to kill Him. The voice said we are to listen to Him. (Luke 9:35). Towards the end of His life on earth, the accounts in the book of John tell us that He declared before Pilate the reason why He was born as follows:“In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”(John 18:37)
Now, through The Grail Message, we come to appreciate that the sacred Mission of the Son of God lay in His Word. Jesus brought the Truth from Heaven in order to show mankind their way to God. Before the Coming of Christ, the road to spiritual understanding had been closed to men because the way mankind developed previously made it impossible for them to walk the road of true knowledge![3]
Before we delve into our topic, I will like to pose a question: We may wish to take this as THE BIGGEST QUESTION FACING BELIEVERS TODAY! This directed to all those who consider themselves as believers in the Message of Jesus and who profess to be His followers. This is a poser that has been overlooked, neglected and probably even forgotten over the centuries. Yet it is serious and will separate the wheat from the chaff! It goes to the root of your faith and what you hold today as sacred. It challenges one and all to examine what they hold today as faith. Is your faith genuine? Are you a believer of the Message of Christ or a believer in the doctrines and tenets of your church? Is the Message of Christ still being proclaimed today in the sense in which Christ gave it?
The question was attributed to no other person than Jesus Himself and is to be found in the book of Luke, Chapter 18, verse 8. It goes like this: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Permit me to repeat it: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
Let each of us solemnly conduct our own self-examination in this regard.
We now go back to our subject. What we can and should learn from the Life of Jesus are uncountable!
When we talk of the Lessons from the Life of Jesus, you may think perhaps that we will dwell on His personal life, how He was born, His earthly parents and relatives, His Disciples and how He died. Indeed, every second Jesus spent on earth is sacred. But then what He gave to us is Himself as the Word of God in the flesh! Therefore, we will be taking more of our lessons from His Word which is the Essence of Jesus. Jesus was the Word of God in flesh and blood so, The Grail Message tells us: “Jesus was the Word of God become flesh! Thus he who absorbed His Word aright also received Jesus Himself. And if a man lets this Word of God that is offered to him come to life within himself so that it becomes an integral part of himself, of his thoughts and his actions, he thereby lets the Spirit of Christ come to life within himself, for the Son of God was the incarnate living Word of God!”[4]
Again, The Grail Message tells us: “When Christ says: “I am knocking”, He means that the Word of God embodied in Him is knocking at the door of the human soul, not begging to be admitted, but demanding admittance! The Word in its entirety, as it has been given to man, is to be received by him. His soul is to open its door to admit the Word and have the table within itself prepared for it! The word “table” is here identical with altar. If the soul complies with this demand, the physical actions of the earthman will naturally accord with what the “Word” demands.”[5]
So, in this presentation, we remember Jesus and in doing this we bring to our remembrance the Word of God that was mediated to us by Him!
In this first part of the essay, let us take just fourlessons we can learn from the Life of Jesus. They are as follows:
- Avoid the limitations imposed by creeds
- Strive for spiritual freedom and ascent with the love you give to your neighbour!
- Let your speech be simple and true.
- The Teachings of Christ on prayer.
- FOUR LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS ON EARTH
- Avoid the limitations imposed by creeds!
Very early in The Grail Message, we are told that the Great Bringer of Truth, Christ Jesus, the personification of Divine Love, did not concern Himself with creeds.[6]Creeds are actually meant to control blind followers. They also fulfil man’s desire and love of what is easy to do. After all, it is easy to convince oneself that by attending a meeting of believers on a particular day set aside for this, one has fulfilled the Commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is also easy to assume that one has attained a high level of purity simply by avoiding pork! However, Jesus advised long ago that we should look deeper than outward actions. It so happened that one day a Pharisee came to report to Jesus that His disciples had not only transgressed the Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, they did not observe the times of fasting and they neglected the prescribed ablutions. In response, Jesus made it clear that we need to look for the real and spiritual values in what we do and not just cling to the outward forms only. So, He responded that man can actually have the Sabbath every day. Ablutions point us to the need to purge our souls and fasting is not just about abstaining from food. On that occasion, Jesus declared: “The man who communes with himself in a quiet hour, who frees himself from all base, everyday thoughts, who does not indulge his lusts, and humbly approaches his God in prayer, keeps the Sabbath. He hallows it! He has cleansed himself of all impurities, and have fasted by eating only what his body needed.”[7]Let us live our lives in a simple way devoid of the constraints of dogmas and creeds. The Grail Message tells us to do away with spiritual enslavement and reminds us of the exhortation of the Great Master that we should “Become like children!” It goes further to show us the simple way to the Almighty devoid of dogma. Here is it: He who bears within himself the firm volition for what is good, and strives to give purity to his thoughts, has already found the way to the Almighty! All else will then be added unto him. This does not require that you study or memorise the contents of big books. It does not need spiritual stress or becoming a prayer warrior; neither is compulsory abstinence from some foods and drinks a requirement. You do not even need to go into seclusion. But when you do only what is good and give purity to your thoughts, you will become sound in body and soul, freed from all pressure of melancholic thinking; for all exaggeration is harmful.[8] Free yourself therefore from dogmas and creeds today and set free within you the firm decision to do only that which is good in your thoughts, words and deeds! You will then be happy and you will find true peace.
2. Strive for spiritual freedom and ascent with the love you give to your neighbour!
Are you striving to be free from sin and wish to ascend spiritually? The Grail Message reminds us that Jesus has already shown us the simple way and the key leading unerringly to freedom and ascent which is: “Love thy neighbour as thyself!” [9] When we love our neighbour we will not do him any harm but instead we will work towards his welfare. That way, we will not incur fresh debts that need atonement and we will build treasures for ourselves above. Indeed, we will be on the path of spiritual ascent!
In addition to aiding our ascent, this love can be our surest way of helping our neighbours in the truest sense! And when we help others, we actually also help ourselves since we reap what we sow. The love which Jesus spoke of is exemplified in the consideration and respect we voluntarily offer to our neighbour so much so that it helps our neighbour and enables him to change himself or ascend further. You try and preach repentance to your spouse, your grown-up children or someone who is really familiar to you and you will see how futile your efforts will be. This is because they know you too well. But these same people will respond more readily to how you treat them. In this regard we can achieve success when we make true love the basis of all our actions. In the Life of Christ, we find a great example of this in how He gave Himself to us in His Word. Many people approached Christ with questions, asking His advice about this or that. Gladly He advised them out of His great Love, which never failed, because He was and also today still is Living Love! For example, He asked us to separate the mundane from the Spiritual and yet demanded our fulfilment towards both. The fact that you are striving to fulfil your spiritual goals does not mean you should forget your earthly tasks and goals. This is clear from the statement of Jesus: “Render unto the Emperor that which is due to the Emperor, and unto God that which is due to God!”[10] So, feel free to set for yourself high earthly goals but be sure that you are not one sided in this. Let there be a balance by also setting for yourself spiritual goals which includes living in accordance with the Laws of God. Strive also to make continuous progress in understanding the workings of this wonderful Creation which alone guarantees your overall welfare.
Years after the Birth of Christ, the memory of the Star of Promise also faded in His earthly mother Mary who then had to struggle with her doubts which was aggravated by motherly anxiety for her son in the face of mindless attacks from religious leaders of that time. This led to the very sensitive relationship Jesus had with His earthly mother. Jesus however did not relent in the consideration and love He gave to Mary. Therefore, prior to His departure from the flesh, Jesus entrusted the care of Mary to John, one of His disciples telling him to stay with His mother. Of course, John pledged to do so.[11] Despite the agonising pain He was going through during the dreadful hours of the crucifixion, Jesus still managed to reiterate His earlier instructions when on seeing Mary with John mourning Him under the cross He said gently: “Behold, this is thy son, and this is thy mother John!”[12] Deep love and selflessness exemplified! The Grail Message gave us the good news that the recognition of Christ’s Mission, and with it belief, finally came to Mary right there at Golgotha ![13]
3. Let your speech be simple and true
A major lesson for us today which we can learn from Jesus is that we should keep our words simple.
He told His Disciples: “Live without many words, keep silent and listen to your inner voice, so that you see yourself as you are!” He added: “Let your speech be simple.” “Let your speech be yea or nay!”[14]
Do you know that we human beings are meant to work through the language?
I am sure you have felt the effect of the speech of others on yourself. The words spoken by someone can have an uplifting effect or the exact opposite. That is not the only effect of the human word. The human word is also like a seed which we sow each time we speak. They germinate and grow to form a garden around us, either beautiful or ugly depending on the nature of the kinds of words sown. Some of us cannot drive for more than two minutes before raining curses on other road users. We cannot converse with friends, family or colleagues without abusive words (even if we claim or deceive ourselves that they are used in jest only). I have heard some who boast openly that they can say words to others that would make them angry enough to jump into the Lagoon!
From what we observe in our world today, definitely majority of us have sown poison through the word and the harvest is now with us to taste. Not really palatable.
But we have never been left without guidance in these matters. If only we follow our deep inner feelings, we would engage in only up-building conversations. Don’t we feel heavy after having a session of gossip and backbiting no matter how much we enjoyed the pointless conference? That tells us that empty chatter is of little benefit to us. Many also have the Name of the Almighty on their lips at every drop of the hat, swearing by It and calling on the Holy Name to bear witness or confirm their statements in the most trivial matters. Most times when you hear a market woman or man say “before the Almighty and man”, such words are followed by a big lie about the price of the goods. Really audacious and careless if you think of it!
Let us advise ourselves in all humility that being able to speak at all is a great gift from our Maker that comes with a duty that we use it aright. It was given to us in love so that we can work with it to attain our required maturity. We are to use it for peace and progress and to achieve all that is good. We therefore need to heed our word, pay attention to our speech and speak only when, where and how it is required! We should never forget the warning Voice of Jesus, the Son of God, Who already at the time He walked the earth said: Let your communication be yea or nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil! In all simplicity this is the same as saying that we should keep our conversation simple and true![15]
4. The teachings of Christ on prayer
Christ gave us an immeasurable lot when it comes to prayer. Just like He taught us to keep our speech simple, He mentioned that this Commandment applied to prayer as well. He told men: “Let your speech be yea or nay! And when you pray, obey the same commandment! Do not pray in order to hear your voice, but pray because your inner being demands it. Dare to pray only when your soul stirs, be it in joy or sorrow. But every prayer out of presumption or habit is sacrilege to God! Let His Name be too holy for you to have It on your lips on every occasion!”[16]
Jesus also gave us The Lord’s Prayer. This Prayer alone provides everything for the seeker if he penetrates into it deeply and grasps it aright. The Grail Message says that The Lord’s Prayer is the very essence of Christ’s Message. It says further that The Lord’s Prayer shows man the whole gospel in concentrated form and is the key to heaven for him who knows how to experience it rightly. It can be both a staff and a torch for the advance and ascent of everyone! [17] This is also the reason why we are not meant to rattle it off as if we are rendering a nursery rhyme.
Unlike the usual begging list men are used to, The Lord’s Prayer contains mainly promises man makes to his Creator. These sentences: “Our Father Who art in Heaven!”,“Hallowed be Thy Name”, “Thy Kingdom come”, “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” – each of these sentences – is an actual promise to the Almighty which we should take seriously as carelessness in this regard would have dire consequences.
The very first petition “Give us this day our daily bread!” comes only after the vows. And The Grail Message gives the true meaning of this petition thus:
“When I have fulfilled what I promised, let Thy Blessing rest upon my earthly work so that, in attending to my physical needs, I may always retain the time to live according to Thy Will!”[18]
Also, see the workings of the Law of Sowing and Reaping in the petition: “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us!” When you pray this way, you express your confidence in the Law of Sowing and Reaping ordained by the Will of God. You are agreeing that the forgiveness of your own sins is conditional upon your having previously forgiven all the wrongs inflicted upon you by your fellow-men.[19]
Therefore, The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to live in accordance with the Laws of God and how to ask and what to ask for with the guarantee of being heard from Above.
Paramount in our prayer should be a yearning to become pleasing to God and to attain the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us remember that the Lord Jesus told us 2000 years ago to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and Its righteousness and all the rest shall be added unto us. That should be our goal. And a vivid example of how this works is provided by the story of the two thieves nailed to the cross along with Jesus. This is a familiar Scriptural story[20] of what happened on that momentous Friday afternoon when two thieves were crucified along with the Holy One. One of them said to Christ: Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! The other rebuked him saying: Do you not fear God? … we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but Jesus has done nothing wrong. This penitent thief then pleaded: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Let’s label them the wise and foolish thieves. I am of course drawing here from the Parable of Jesus on the wise and foolish virgins!
We can liken the two thieves to the two types of believers on earth today. All are thieves in that all have sinned. We are all in need of salvation and redemption.
Just like the foolish thief, a part of the present-day believers do not have the true faith. Such believers hold that Jesus can do the unnatural for example – suddenly coming down physically and unaided from the cross. Such believers will even assert that Jesus can turn stones to bread or jump down from a hill with no harm coming to Him. They would not take a lesson from the fact that Jesus refused to fall for such acts when they were suggested to Him while He was on earth. The suggestions were even described as temptations in the scriptures. That should show us that such actions are unlawful and cannot be carried out by the Son of God. What these people desire or better said, what they demand from their Saviour are arbitrary acts which they call “miracles”. They expect to be delivered suddenly from all kinds of earthly difficulties that they themselves have brought about through their stubbornness and reckless behaviour. These types of believers always approach the Almighty with a shopping list whenever they pray to Him. Some have even stepped over all boundaries by attempting to “command” their Creator, asking Him to prove Himself by doing this or that for them! This attitude reminds one of the insults of the foolish thief who said “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us”.
The wise thief on the other hand (epitomising the attitude of a true believer) realised humbly and declared openly that he was in the wrong and was paying for his wrongful behaviour. He did not demand any quick fix to his problem nor seek a temporary earthly advantage: for example, possible release from his pains on the cross just like the expectation of the foolish thief. Instead, he longed for the Heavenly Kingdom reminding us of one of the admonitions of Jesus that we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Similarly, true believers realising that they are responsible for their thoughts, words and deeds will constantly strive to give purity to their thoughts based on their firm decision for only what is good. The Grail Message assures us that such have already found the way to the Highest! [21]
In the end, the foolish thief got no visible advantage while the wise thief got a firm promise of a place in Paradise! One can decide the path to follow. It is either the path of those who make self-serving earthly demands and expect arbitrary actions from the Creator, or the path of repentance that pleads humbly for God’s forgiveness and strength for spiritual ascent. May we have the strength to always consider what is of benefit to our spirit. Amen.
- CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I will like to point out that we are only able to draw lessons such as the foregoing because we are blessed to be witnesses of the present closing of a cycle which began with the Holy Night in Bethlehem! The closing of this particular cycle is an occurrence that is taking place in our time and it removes all the legends and inaccuracies woven around the earth Life of Jesus in the earlier transmissions and replaces those man-made inventions with the Truth! [22] These indeed are the years in which spiritual enlightenment is to come to all mankind. Therefore, the knowledge we are permitted today on earth, brings to us anew the true Teachings of Jesus,frees us from the shackles of dogmas and creeds, shows us the meaning of true love, teaches us to keep our speech simple and true and guides us on how to pray!
The new knowledge mediated to mankind gives us insights into matters which we have neglected up till now. Certainly, many of us know of the story of the three Kings who gave gifts to Jesus at the stable in Bethlehem and then went their way. Is that all they were meant to do? Next week, part of the discussions would address the duties that the three Kings were meant to fulfil but which were tragically ignored. We would contemplate two of the Parables of Jesus. We would take some time to compare how we conduct ourselves today as believers with what is recorded in the Gospel of Mathew as the Teachings of Jesus in the well-known Sermon on the Mountain. Perhaps many will through this come to the true recognition of the Mission of Christ! Perhaps you will be able to give fervent thanks for that Love of God that made it possible for Christ Jesus to be sent to us so that those who believe in His Word and live accordingly will not perish but have everlasting life!
[1]Abd-ru-shin, In the Light of Truth The Grail Message, 1990, Stiftung Gralsbotschaft, Germany: Believers merely out of habit
[2]Id: What seek ye?
[3]Id: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!
[4]Id: This is my body! this is my blood!
[5]Id: This is my body! this is my blood!
[6]Id: What seek ye?
[7] From Past Millennia, 1993, Stiftung Gralsbotschaft, Stuttgart, page 269
[8]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: What seek ye?
[9] Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: Ascent
[10]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: Christ Said …!
[11] From Past Millennia, supra note 6, pages 290-291
[12] Id.page 342
[13] Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: The Star of Bethlehem
[14] From Past Millennia, supra note 6, page 279
[15]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: The human word
[16]From Past Millennia, supra note 7 page 279.
[17]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: Prayer.
[18]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: The Lord’s Prayer.
[19]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: The Lord’s Prayer.
[20] The Bible English Standard Version, Luke 23:39-42
[21]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: What seek ye?
[22]Abd-ru-shin, supra note 1: The Star of Bethlehem
