Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/8584

8584 Love for God is demonstrated through neighbourly love....

August 11, 1963: Book 90

I always keep telling you the same: take care of your fellow human being in his adversity.... help him, irrespective of whether he suffers spiritual or physical distress; practice unselfish neighbourly love and you will fulfil the purpose of your existence. For you only demonstrate your love for Me when you give love to your neighbour, who is your brother. I Am a Father to all of you; I long for your love which should apply to all My living creations who have emerged from Me. Your fellow human beings very often suffer hardship, and it will mainly concern spiritual difficulties in which you should help them, for earthly difficulties will come to an end but spiritual adversity continues and will always require help, regardless of whether they are on earth or in the kingdom of the beyond.

Spiritual adversity largely consists of unkindness and therefore the soul's imperfect composition which, however, should mature in earthly life through love.... Hence, if you love your neighbour it can awaken reciprocated love and encourage the other person to change his nature if he wants to emulate you, if you are an example to him by living a true life of love.... Giving love is the greatest help.... but you should also make the Gospel known to your neighbour, that is, you should also describe his Creator and Provider as a God of love Who is everyone's Father and therefore wants to be called upon as a Father....

You should only ever try to impart spiritual knowledge to your fellow human being, and you will help his maturation if you offer everything to him with love. Yet you should also support your neighbour in earthly adversity and thereby likewise inspire reciprocated love, for love is strength in itself and will never remain ineffective unless your neighbour still completely belongs to My adversary, then he will reject you and not experience the results of love. And you will only ever mature through actions of love.... consequently every opportunity should be used by you to act with love.... And notice should be taken of every hardship suffered by your fellow human being, you should not pass him by indifferently and leave him in distress, for then you are heartless yourselves and do not fulfil your earthly purpose which solely consists of accepting your fundamental nature again, of becoming the love you were in the beginning.

The commandment of love will always be the first and most important one, and the Gospel which teaches you to love God and your neighbour will always have to be proclaimed to people.... However, you will never show love to Me if you ignore your neighbour, no matter how strongly you are moved by your emotions.... True love for Me can only be expressed in loving activity for the next person. And thereby you also prove your love for Me. But anyone who is half-hearted and indifferent in his love for his neighbour will never feel true love for Me, for how can a person love Me Whom he cannot see, if he ignores his brother whom he can see....

Love between people has grown cold in the last days, and therefore they are also very distant from Me Who, as Eternal Love, can only unite with a person through love.... And this is why the spiritual adversity is so great, for to be heartless also means to be without faith, without knowledge and without strength.... Furthermore, it means to still be subject to the power of the one who is devoid of all love and who will always stop people from acting with love.... but who also wants your downfall by keeping you away from Me. And he is the one you have to resist, you have to try to contact Me and you will only ever attain this through loving activity.... For this reason I say 'What you do to the least of My brothers, you have done to Me....' I Myself consider your love for your fellow human being as love for Me....

How else would you be able to demonstrate your love for Me?.... If you believe in Me and that I, as a Father, grant love to all My children, then you also have to return My love as children, and then you also know that all you humans are regarded by Me as children, that you are all the same.... living beings who originated from Me, and you have to love one another and move towards Me together.... But one also has to carry the other, you have to protect the other from suffering harm, you have to help him in all kinds of difficulties, you have to stick together and establish this true relationship between brothers and then strive towards your eternal Father together. Only then will you have the kind of love for each other which I require of you humans, because you are the same in your fundamental substance.... because you came forth from the divine strength of love.

And once the relationship between you humans has changed, once all your thoughts and actions are determined by love, you will also become more perfect, you will become again what you had been before: living creations permeated by love which only ever work for each others beatitude.... For where love exists there also has to be a receptacle for this emanated love, irrespective of whether I Myself as the primary source, or you as terminals of My strength of love re-emanate this love.... there always has to be a vessel into which you can radiate your love....

And thus on earth this vessel is your fellow human being.... the person next to you to whom you give your love, which you receive from Me.... For you cannot give anything that you wouldn't have received from Me first.... I nurture the spark of love in you such that My love enlightens you consistently more and inspires loving actions, and this work will apply to your neighbour again, for you will be inclined to be constantly of assistance once My love is able to enlighten you.

And your activity of love for your neighbour demonstrates to Me that you accept My rays of love, that you open your hearts and grant entrance to Me and My love.... it demonstrates to Me that you are committed to Me in love again or you would keep your hearts closed and I would be unable to work in you. And you will always mature providing you don't lead a one-sided life but always consider your fellow human being and take a personal interest in his physical and psychological circumstances, providing you try to lead him on the path to Me and also support him in earthly adversity if he approaches you and requests your assistance. You are living together for the purpose of mutual maturing. And you will always be given the opportunity to carry out actions of helpful love.... You just have to be of good will and allow yourselves to be guided always in view of Me, your God and Creator, Whom you acknowledge as a Father and to Whom you show the love of a child.... Then you will love each other as brothers and benefit each other.... And then your soul will mature on earth and achieve its goal: through love it will unite with Me, the Eternal Love, and then you will be blissfully happy forever....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna