it will give us an overall picture of
the Lord and His kingdom.
When we have questions
about how to act, we will find that
if we look to the Lord the answers
will become clear to us. They may
not come immediately, but the
answers will soon be there and, if
we are honest with ourselves, we
will know what the Lord wants us
to do.
The New Church is new
because the Heavenly Doctrines
show us not how to make our body
happy but how to make our spirit
happy – and the spirit is the real person, the real us. We have bodies but we are
spirits: we are feelings and thoughts; loves, ideas and delights.
The Heavenly Doctrines show very clearly that it is not just what we do that
counts (although that is important); why we do things is what really matters.
The Heavenly Doctrines open up a new way to understand the real us; they
explain how we can be brought to God and be made happy forever. Deep
down, doesn’t everyone want that?
So read the Word, learn these doctrines, try to begin to live them, and
then you will see what is truly new.
The New Church is new
because the Heavenly
Doctrines show us not
how to make our body
happy but how to make
our spirit happy – and
the spirit is the real
person, the real us.
The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough is retired and
lives in Two Harbors, Minnesota, with his wife, Ruth
(Parker). He serves as visiting pastor in the Northern
Rocky Mountains. He had previously served as Dean
of the Bryn Athyn College Theological School and
as President of the Academy of the New Church.
Contact: [email protected]
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