We live in an age of enlightenment. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion give everyone the opportunity to study and learn what he considers necessary. We have an abundance of all kinds of information, and if we desire, we can learn anything. Our historical era is called the information age. Information technologies amaze us with their achievements. Each of us has a smartphone with which we can find, learn, hear, and see almost anything the soul desires. Some use information to enrich themselves, some to improve their professional skills, and some for spiritual growth. Others reject these opportunities, consider all these inventions empty, and regard the abundance of light and knowledge as unnecessary. Such a person may be called ignorant.
Ignorance is defined as a lack of knowledge and upbringing, a lack of culture and hygiene—that is, a deficiency in something possessed by civilized society. And, as a rule, ignorance leads a person to envy, aggression, evil speaking, vandalism, contempt, and physical violence toward those who possess knowledge and walk in the light.
Everything must be learned. Superficial knowledge may be acquired simply by being in a certain social environment, but a deep understanding of any science requires a person to study that field personally, to accept all its discoveries into his life, and to compare and seriously analyze what is being studied. Such people are commonly called scholars, professionals, or theologians.
We, as God’s people, have been given the science of Salvation—the salvation of the soul, salvation from the power of sin and from the torments of eternal death. As I comprehend it, I understand that there is Someone by the Name of Jesus. In His Love for me, He made my salvation possible because He literally exchanged places with me and, in my place, accepted all the horrors of the death He did not deserve, in order to give me the right to the beautiful eternal life I did not deserve.
The science of Salvation implies my faith in the One Who became my Substitute and, as a sign of this, my acceptance of water baptism. It presupposes my obedience to God’s law and the keeping of His commandments and ordinances, my love for my neighbors, and my walking in the light. And it is impossible to learn all this without my personal diligence and desire. At the initial stage, I need teachers, mentors, and textbooks that, by presenting subjective experience, will help me quickly and correctly comprehend the foundations of the teaching and enable me to understand and do what I cannot do on my own without their help. After that, lifelong independent efforts are expected of me in knowing God and Jesus Christ, Whom He sent.
Through the prophet Hosea, God warns me: ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no Priest to Me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.’ Hosea 4:6.
This is a rather severe warning for me, and I understand that God expects some effort and action on my part in the matter of education in the science of Salvation. He has given me enough light so that, having it, I may walk in it. And for the last days, the Lord has sent me a special truth that warns me about the dangers of our age and brings knowledge about how not to fall or enter into darkness. What should I do with it? I must decide. I consider it foolish to justify myself by the ignorance or indifference of my friends and loved ones. If I am hungry when food is available, no one else can solve this problem properly for me. I myself must do something.
As for food, I will find ways to obtain it and eat it, but for some reason I do not always have enough time for spiritual food for my personal development. What ignorance! How can I starve my spirit and still think that it will always remain alert because I read something a week or a month ago? It sounds foolish, but this is exactly what sometimes happens.
I will never complain that the same porridge, salad, or bread is before me every day and that it also has to be chewed. I will not say that I am terribly tired of all this. Yet when it comes to the Bible and other spiritual books, I begin to doubt that I can find anything else in them that is convincing and wise for me. At the same time, I turn on YouTube or a social network and find so many things that interest me that there simply is not enough time to learn everything. Yet I remember that there is a time for breakfast, lunch, and supper, which it is best not to miss.
But God’s science of the salvation of my soul is neglected.
Yet even while studying the Bible and other spiritual books, I may decide that I have reached a certain level of knowledge and need greater light. Then I begin to ask God and seek. For such people, He has a special gift—the Science of Love. It is the science of how a saved person should relate properly to people, especially to those with whom he lives under one roof and who share his religious convictions. Love opens limitless possibilities for comprehending this science and creates conditions for applying the knowledge gained in life. If I only read about love and about the experiences and discoveries of others, this will help me learn more quickly and understand something. But when I myself begin to practice it and apply the knowledge of love in my life, then I am learning within myself, and Christ Himself becomes my Teacher. He knows me very well, He knows all my particular qualities, and He teaches me how best to apply in life the knowledge He gives me.
For example, whose words are you reading now? If these are lessons from Brother Andrey, they will be of little benefit to you. But if you understand that through Brother Andrey God Himself is addressing you, desiring to communicate something very important to you, then the same Spirit Who prompts me to write these lines will also communicate to you the meaning contained in them. In that case, my discoveries will become yours.
In order to draw people’s minds to Himself, God almost always works through a human being. And when a person hears the call and turns directly to God, the Lord begins to teach that soul personally, to write His laws in his heart, and to endow that person with the mind of a righteous man.
The Science of Love brings love, happiness, joy, friendliness, blessing, and wisdom into life. Ignorance in the study of this discipline is fraught with the danger that a person may lose his salvation and, while possessing knowledge about it, perish forever.
Woe unto me if I think that I do not need to grow and develop spiritually and that the knowledge I possess is enough to keep me from falling. Life with God is not a job in which it is enough to know one’s work well and perform it; it is spiritual growth and development from glory to glory. And if at the beginning of this path milk was enough for me, then with time I must move on to solid food.
Love is very solid and nourishing food, so strong teeth are needed to chew it. And these teeth are called thirst—the desire to taste, to know, and to possess.
And God gives me exactly what I strive to receive. He very modestly offers Himself, saying that without love I am nothing and gain no benefit from anything.
Those who are ignorant in love will lose everything they have.
Homework 158
What useful things have you gained for yourself from this lesson? Does God expect diligence from me in spiritual matters? What will happen to me if I am not interested in what God offers me in these last days? How can I distinguish truth from a counterfeit? How can I determine whether I am receiving pure information from a pure source? What should I do if spiritual things do not interest me? With my mind I understand that they must be studied, but my heart resists. What should I do? If I have understood that I am ignorant in the knowledge of love, how can I come out of this condition? Please read Proverbs 1:22; Ecclesiastes 10:6; Hosea 4:14; Ephesians 4:18; 2 Timothy 2:23; 1 Peter 2:15; Matthew 5:3; John 7:37; Hosea 6:3; 2 Peter 1:19; and Philippians 3:13 in the light of our lesson.