Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7253

7253 Right use of the life force: working in love....

January 12, 1959: Book 77

Every day places new demands on you, and again and again you need strength to be able to meet these demands. And as long as your vitality is still at your disposal you will also be able to fulfil your earthly as well as spiritual task. For even the only earthly used vitality can earn you spiritual strength if your earthly activity consists of works of love. But once you have gained spiritual strength you need no longer worry about being able to fulfil your task, for through the supply of spiritual strength you will always be more stimulated into loving activity, and thus you will accomplish the change of nature for the purpose of which you live on earth. Thus not much is actually demanded of you humans other than the change from selfish love to unselfish neighbourly love. But nevertheless you need strength for this, because love is strength, and if you have not yet ignited it in yourselves you are devoid of all strength. But selfish love is not strength, on the contrary, it still robs you of strength, for it will always demand your life force for the highest achievement in order to be able to do justice to itself; selfish love demands everything for itself, and thus it also only abuses the life force for the benefit of the body, because only that is helpful to the soul which works itself out as unselfish love.... Hence, if a person uses his vitality for loving service his soul will derive the greatest benefit from it, the person will receive much spiritual strength and this, in turn, will irrevocably bring the soul to maturity, for a person who is of service with love will never refrain from this activity, the works of love will increase, the supply of spiritual strength will impel him to work with love and bring ever greater maturity to his soul. And it is such love which the human being should kindle in himself and let flare up into a bright flame, for it is divine love, whereas selfish love is an inheritance from God's adversary and therefore will not make him happy either. For although the human being strives to gain all advantages for himself and will also mostly receive them through the adversary's support, he is and remains a weak being which has no light of realization and no strength to recognize and strive for the true purpose of earthly life.... He will depart from this earth in this powerless and lightless state and enter the kingdom of the beyond in exactly the same way, whereas the loving human being already acquires light and strength on earth and enters the spiritual kingdom in a garment of light, thus he need not fear darkness or weakness because he has gathered much spiritual strength on earth, because he has used his vitality correctly to work with love. Love is strength, but without love there can be no strength either, only lightlessness and powerlessness. You humans need all strength, and if you want to fulfil your earthly task and are still powerless, then appeal to God for the supply of strength to work with love, and He will guide your senses correctly so that you make good use of your vitality and thereby acquire spiritual strength. But don't believe that you will always be left with the strength you currently still possess.... Even vitality is a gift which will be taken from you again when the hour of departure from this earth has come. Therefore make sure that you will have plenty of strength at your disposal then, that you will have gathered spiritual possessions so that you can enter the spiritual kingdom full of light and strength and then also be eternally blissful....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers