I Appeal to You
... through Bertha Dudde  - 09.04.1940 

1377   Ceremonies .... Childship to God ....

Think of the people who are always trying to be righteous and just but who do not belong to any particular school of thought. Their will is directed towards God, thus towards good, they merely lack the correct understanding, but this has to arise from deep within their hearts, and as with them, so also with every member of a particular school of thought. And this inner understanding is absolutely necessary for every human being, an outwardly manifested faith is of no use to him without it, alternatively however, inner understanding without such faith will also establish the person’s correct relationship with God, the child’s relationship with the Father. And this has to be striven for first. Although this requirement can probably be more easily understood and fulfilled due to the religious dogma of a church, non-affiliation to a particular church will not exclude it. Thus it should also be understandable that this relationship to the Father has to be established first in order to speak of a childship to God .... that the latter is not ensured by an affiliation to this or that church, but that the deep inner feeling of heart is always the crucial factor.

The concept of ‘affiliation’ can be very flexible but it cannot depend on mere appearances, such as the fulfilment of commandments which were added by people to the divine commandments .... the regular church visit, the stereotyped prayer, and the attendance of an act which can only have symbolic value unless it is brought to life by the most profound unity with the Father. However, it is considerably more valuable if the human being has a longing for God without being impressed by such formalities, because it will be easier for him to come closer to the Father. Trustingly, like a child, he will hand himself over to Him. He will not need to remove as many barriers as rigid teachings and mystical actions establish before a person’s spiritual eye, which give rise to the sense of distance from God in the first place, that God can only be reached in a roundabout way ....which is not easily overcome, when, in fact, a heartfelt thought of and the desire for Him will already give the earthly child the blessing of His loving affection. And besides, innermost emotion alone will reduce or increase the separation from the Father and not external actions which could also lack personal feeling ....

Amen