Conflicts In Earth Life

WED., JULY 1, 1998, 8:35 AM
A.S.C., 1ST PRES.

The story of Paul’s adventures in the Acts of the Apostles tells of many conflicts – physical, social and spiritual. Taking these next steps in the building project for your church obviously involves some conflicts, and you seem, as of now, to be in the midst of it. So let Me assure you, which is not meant to make you feel more comfortable, that conflicts of many kinds are an inevitable part of earth life, “by design.”

Because this is the way earth life is meant to be I am not often troubled by particular conflicts, and though I hear prayers for My help (and appreciate these) I don’t often radically change what is happening. As I have said, often, I do not, normally and regularly, micromanage earth life. I see the spiritual values in many of these, much more easily than you can.

Paul had been comfortable as a crusading Pharisee, and he emphasized this as he told his continuing life story. Then I, as the crucified but resurrected Christ, “did a miracle”, coming to him on his way to arrest and harass some more Christians. I called him to be My special servant, which was an enormous conflict with who he then was and what his life goals had been. I seem to have been convincing, for he did turn and begin speaking of the risen Christ… as more real and important than the Jewish laws and customs that he had been upholding. Yet as you see from these passages he felt a real conflict between his loyalty to “his own people, the Jews” and his commission to go to “the others, the Gentiles”.

He was a Jew, one of My chosen people. Yet he saw that I, as Jesus, even rising from the dead (where “his people” wanted me to be… dead), was not going to win over many Jews. He and I, as Jesus, were both Jews, with a 2,000 year history. How could this be reconciled with what I, Holy Spirit, was telling him to do.

I have not put you into a comparable conflict situation. I may… or I may not. Perhaps these Teachings shall be your legacy, and be of some to minor importance. For what you and I are doing together is potentially quite in conflict with what this Christian church of which you are an active participant (which has been developing for nearly 2,000 years) can accept as real and valid. Am I, Holy Spirit, still speaking as clearly to you as I did to Paul? Are the concerns that I voice to you more important than those gleaned from these ancient Scriptures? Which leads Me on to…

…some conflicts of this time in which you live. The earth Power of that time (of Jesus and Paul) was Rome, a Gentile, heathen nation. Today your nation, identified as a Christian nation (of mainly Gentiles), has the Power, politically, economically, and socially. The faith of which We are the Head is “in charge”. Is this as good as you would expect?

As I see it, you foment as many conflicts as you resolve. There is no major war, involving the powerful, armed nations, at this time, and your country is partly responsible for this. You enjoy relative prosperity, but there is actual and potential conflict between those who “have… much” and those who “have… little”. In your system a relative few have what their success has “earned”… and a larger portion must be satisfied with what their lack of success (in the “game” you have created”) has brought. Is this the kind of “conflict” I “want” the earth to have? Is this what a Christian culture should be proud of? Will your economic system, vaunted as it is, presently, continue to provide prosperity?