June 5th 1966
"No man cometh to the Father, except through me." It matters not the position in which a man finds himself in the world. A man may be born a King, the highest in the land, with everything that a man could want materially and physically, but this man without Christ, without the development of the seed within himself, cannot in any circumstances or conditions, come unto the Father.
And yet, a beggar, asking for alms, with nothing but a pavement for his bed, can become enlightened, through humility, and through going without the material things, because he is not only poor in body, and in the things appertaining to the material, to the physical, but perhaps through his longing and searching for the things of the world, and because those things have been withheld from him, he finds one day that in the midst of his poverty, he is rich. Because, suddenly, a peace will rise up from within himself. And he will look on the troubled expressions on the faces of those around, in their carriages, with their bags of gold, with their palaces, and their rich and expensive raiment. And he will see that they are troubled. That they have many anxieties. And he will realise that not only his poverty but his very wanting, his many desires that have remained unsatisfied, have brought him to the gate, have brought him that peace which passeth all understanding.
At this time this man could be given all the riches of the world, all the great palaces to abide in, and the raiment of satin, silk, and velvet, and these things would not harm that man, because he has found the Christ. He feels the love in his heart. He knows that he can go on without the things of the world. And because of this, through Christ, through humility, through love, and because of this he feels that he can enter into the chamber of the Creator of all creation. And he will be acclaimed as the child, the son, the one.
And so, beloved, think you unto this. Search your heart and your mind. What are the longings and the desires that you see therein? Do you crave for the things of the world? Or do you realise that these things come unasked? Because of that greater longing, that greater desire in you heart for God. Do you remember, do you remember when Christ was a glorious vision, but at the same time someone, something which you could not understand? You sent another being, a great soul far above you, far removed from your everyday life, and you wondered if this or this was just a myth. And the, through the years of pain and suffering and searching, through the years of spiritual poverty, when, like the beggar, you received a little bit of comfort here, a little bit of knowledge there, until the day dawned when you realised that within yourself the seed was buried deep.
And then came the long years when with only this tiny seed, this tiny spark, the real work began. The searching, the trying to understand, the service to others, the helping, the sympathy, the compassion and the great longing, the great desire to help, to take away pain, to unloosen the stiffened joints, to see the expression on another person's face when the pain was eased. All this was Christ, coming to o life, beginning to take control of your very own heart and mind.
Only through these experiences, only through these longings and desires to serve, to give, to bring peace, to bring happiness, only through these things can you enter into the chamber where God Himself, the Father, abides.
The king on his throne, with all the worldly possessions at his disposal, can walk every day up to the alter with the ornaments, with the priests, with the great books containing all the so-called knowledge of the ages, he can kneel, he can pray, but if he has not humbleness within himself, true humility, the priests, the gold ornaments, the rich carpet, will be of no avail.
And you see them. The no-called kings and the so-called beggars, all around you. There are they who go to the various churches, who talk glibly of the love of God, who talk of Christ, who say they worship at His shrine, who think of Him as their saviour and who are content to believe that His blood and His suffering saved them for over and ever. They are sorry that He had to suffer so, but they accept the fact that He did so, to save them. And they pay their tithes, they collect, they do their good deeds, they visit the poor, they try to help the sick, but their thoughts and their prayers are very different from the beggars who have suffered long years of want and poverty and pain because they are willing to wait willing to learn the hard my. Willing to starve. Because they know, deep in their hearts, that one day the table will be laid in the proper place. They have the gift of patience, wanting and longing, yet still willing to wait.
And only in these conditions can the true Christ be found.
And this is an absolute must. It comes first. Without the finding, without the bringing into being of the Christ Spirit no man can come to the Father.
The Father has all knowledge, has all experience, has all wisdom, all understanding, all love. He is the head, at the very, very top. All gentleness, all compassion, Those that are poor in Spirit go to Him at all times, quietly, reverently. And He will beckon you, and He will place His hands upon your head, and He will know you, and He will whisper, "My child, do what thou wilt, do what thou wilt, for no man can force entry into the chamber where I am. When once you have made your entry through this door, take what you will, kiss my feet, go back into the world and take of my light. It will guide everything you do, everything you say, and your every thought.”
Neither wealth nor status can buy nearness to God, and neither poverty nor suffering automatically produces it either. What matters is whether "the seed within" has been developed — and that seed grows specifically through longing, unmet desire, and service, not through comfort.
The beggar, stripped of the things he wanted, he finds, unexpectedly, that his very want has carried him to a peace the wealthy around him visibly lack. Riches given to such a man afterward could no longer harm him, because the finding, not the lacking itself, is what matters; poverty is the occasion, not the cause.
Allowing the Christ-spirit in gives freedom. This is very similar to St Augustine's line, “love, and do what you will". If love is genuinely rooted within, whatever comes from it will be right. This isn't the reward for good behaviour; it's what naturally follows once the Christ Spirit itself is guiding "everything you do, everything you say, and your every thought."