Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/5927

5927 Following Jesus.... Living a life of love....

April 12, 1954: Book 64

You all should take My conduct on this earth, My life, as an example, which was purely a life of selfless neighbourly love.... Try to follow Me and only ever try to live a life of love too, then you will take the same path and surely reach the goal. I descended to earth because people were taking the wrong paths which never led upwards but only ever took them further down. And for this reason I showed you the right path and called upon all people to follow Me on this path.... And I instructed people because they failed to realise why a life of love would enable them to ascend, why they were weak and without strength and how they could remedy this weakness.... I informed them about the strength of love and gave them the evidence of truth about My teaching by proving My strength and thereby also the result of a way of life in love, as I exemplified it on earth.... I knew about people's great spiritual hardship but I also knew the means to remedy it, and thus I made a constant effort of persuading people to apply these means.... The hardship of the last days is the same, and so are the means whose use will guarantee that the human being can ascend from the abyss.... Yet people ignore what I taught them.... they don't follow Me because they don't believe in Me and My teaching. They are leading an earthly way of life which is far apart from Mine; they completely ignore love and are therefore not taking the path of ascent.... For without love there is no connection, without love there is a broad gulf between you humans and your God and Father of eternity....

Only love bridges the gulf, only love is the path to the Father's heart, and only love is the strength which lets you take the ascending path that requires strength and effort. Anyone who refuses to take the path of love will never be able to lift himself out of the abyss, and My hand cannot take hold of him to pull him up either, for he would never take hold of it as long as he is without love.... He has to follow Me of his own free will, for I do not exert any coercion if a person still resists Me. Love tolerates no compulsion yet it redeems those who are held captive.... I can only instruct you humans and strongly admonish you to practise neighbourly love, showing that you want to be able to emulate Me, so that I can help you because you have the will to follow Me. This is why you should always bear My way of life in mind and make every effort to be like Me, and then you will surely experience My help, for anyone who keeps his eyes on Me will also receive the strength to take the path of following Jesus.... and he will indeed reach the goal of being united with Me....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna