Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/6984

6984 Meaning of a love life....

December 4, 1957: Book 74

God's admonitions will only ever result in a life of love.... Precisely the importance of a life of love is little known to you humans, and yet a life of love is the sole factor which secures your beatitude, an eternal life. And people don't think of that, and they pay more attention to everything else than their own attitude towards the most important thing in earthly life, love.... They go about their earthly duties day in and day out but they do everything more with their intellect than with their heart.... They consider all pros and cons, they try to work and create advantageously and to carry out earthly work dutifully, but they don't account for the extent to which the heart is involved, to what extent love is the determining factor in their actions. And yet, every work done without love is useless.... And even the daily work must show a degree of love for the people for whom it is done. Yet only few people are aware of this, and therefore for many their whole life can be an idle one if a slow transformation of the human being has not taken place.... a transformation from self-love to neighbourly love, or also: a reshaping to the former being, which was love. For the most part, every deed is only done for the sake of a certain advantage, but selfless activity of love is rare, and only the latter is of value for the human being's soul. And people should once give an account of what they have done during the day in complete selfless love.... It will be extremely little, for selfish love is still too predominant or such a state could not exist on earth as it undeniably does. People should also give account to themselves as to what extent they themselves are still capable of love, i.e. how they are touched by their fellow human being's fate and willing to help him. Every person only thinks of his own fate and tries to improve it if possible, but no one thinks of his fellow human being who is in need. And thus no human being may be self-satisfied if he only fulfils his duty. His spiritual state will always remain on the same level, for only an act of love will improve it, only loving activity will bring spiritual maturity to his soul. Therefore, what use is it to you humans if you also provide yourselves with all the comforts of life, if you dutifully do everything in order to gain such a life of well-being, what use are all your efforts and endeavours in earthly life if they were made without love and you have not progressed one step further in your development at the end of your life if you have only taken care of your earthly well-being? The soul could only recover and mature through works of love, and it is the soul alone which will remain when you have completed your earthly course. The soul can only attain its original form through loving activity, and it is precisely this loving activity which you grossly neglect, you rather add unloving works to it and therefore burden the soul extraordinarily.... And thereby you render your earthly life completely useless, you don't live according to purpose and will one day feel bitter remorse that you left a gift of grace unused and thereby missed out on a glorious fate in eternity. But you humans are also inaccessible to teachings about the meaning of a life of love.... You have already sunk so low through your selfish love that your spirit is darkened and you no longer recognize the light which shines towards you when the divine teaching of love is brought to you. Love has grown cold amongst people, and this also means that earthly life is useless for the souls, that the purpose of earthly life is misunderstood and that people's spiritual state has become darkened. And only the one who makes an effort to live a life of love himself also recognizes the disaster which threatens humanity, which lives without any love.... Only he knows that the prince of darkness then also has power over an unloving humanity, that it is in bondage to him and is in his power from which it can only free itself if it uses the weapon of love against him, for he who kindles love in himself will be avoided by the adversary because in his vicinity is God Himself, Who is eternal love and Whom he flees who is devoid of all love....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers