Anyone can go to heaven, no matter what church they go to, no matter what doctrines they are taught, so long as they try to shun evils and live a life of charity. So why do people join the New Church if salvation isn’t “on the line”? To relieve suffering.
The Lord is Love, and so He wants nothing more than for us to be happy. Yet, there is a lot of suffering in the world. We all suffer at one time or another, and if we’re not suffering now, it’s not hard for us to find someone around us who is. Some suffering is small, some is very great. And so, the Lord provides us with a way to be healed.
The Book of Revelation ends with a beautiful image of the heavenly city New Jerusalem. In its midst grows the Tree of Life, about which we are told, “The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The city is an image of what the Lord’s New Church is meant to be like here, today. This final chapter of the Bible also presents an image of what each one of us is meant to be like. The “leaves of the tree” are the rational truths of the New Church, and “the nations” are all those people who suffer because of evil desires and false beliefs. Who of us does that not describe? So these “leaves”-these new, rational truths of the New Church-have the power to heal us when we suffer. This is no empty promise, as anyone who has experienced this in their own lives can tell you.
So if you are suffering, turn to these new truths, and you will find relief. And if you have experienced the healing power for yourself already, then go out, and be a healer. The Lord has anointed you to preach the good news and heal the brokenhearted.
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