PRESERVING IDEALS IN A REAL WORLD
It is a reality of life in this world that heavenly ideals are only rarely attained.
Conjugial love, for instance, is said to be so rare that it is hardly known that
it exists. The New Church holds forth the promise of its renewal, but those
whose experience of life has been far from ideal may, quite understandably, be
less than thrilled by soaring descriptions of its transcendent joys.
And yet the truth that the ideal can be attained – if not in this life, then
in the next – is a beautiful and important truth that the world needs to know.
The Church has a responsibility to teach this truth, especially to young people
who are still in an idealistic state. Only in this way can we expect the ideal
to take root and grow, and so become more and more actual with each new
generation.
The Church, therefore, has a difficult task to perform. It must uphold
heavenly ideals while at the same time being sensitive to the fact that hearing
about them can be hard for those to whom heaven seems but a distant hope.
(WEO)
REALLY NOW, A MIRACLE?
When we hear about “miraculous” cures or rescues it doesn’t take long for
skeptical thoughts to arise. Often when someone survives an accident, others
did not. If their survival was a miracle, wouldn’t a better miracle have been
to prevent the accident from happening in the first place? Were not the lives
of those who did not escape injury or death equally valuable in the sight of
heaven?
It is worth noting, though, how common it is for people who have been
through some terrible ordeal to speak of having received miraculous help,
even though they would seem to have the most reason to scoff at the idea. It
is usually other people’s misfortune that skeptics hold up as evidence against
providence.
We can always find natural explanations for apparent miracles. And we
can find spiritual reasons to affirm the reality of Divine protection over our
lives even in the face of what appears to be evidence against it. The fact is, there
is always room for doubt – and there are explanations in the Writings for the
necessity of that also. It is a law of Divine providence that its operations are
hidden from us. (Divine Providence 175-190)
Anyway, it is not the things that happen – whether one has “good luck” or
“bad luck” – that cause people to believe in miracles or not believe in them. It
is the way their hearts and minds are affected by the circumstances that befall
them, whether good or bad.
Each step closer to God is a miracle, whether that step is occasioned by
something joyful or something sad.
(WEO)
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