"CHRISTMAS AND CONVERSION"

An address given by the Christ messenger Zodiac through the deep trance mediumship of Miss Winifred Moyes, at the Christmas Day Service at the Greater World Sanctuary on Sunday, December 23rd, 1956

(Note: This message was edited for a more general readership)

"...What is meant by: 'Conversion'? It is illustrated in every form of life, amongst nature, inanimate things, nations and individuals. A seed of humble origin can be converted into something of greater beauty, greater fragrance and utility. Looking at a forest you can see how conversion takes place in a multitude of forms.

"But remember this, it is by man's effort - using the tools of the mind bestowed by the Great Creator - that he can see all kinds of things converted from one style or species to another. It is wise to dwell on these things as you take your daily way because the subject of 'Conversion' vitally concerns you - not only here but in the great Life of Immortality to come.

"The Baby Christ was used to bring 'conversion' to the mind of the greater self. He started as a Boy in the Temple, and surely, those who considered themselves the wise men of the time, listening to His simple words, did not forget them. Sometimes, when you were young, you made remarks full of wisdom, and those who heard them did not forget. Mary kept many things buried in her own heart which she did not understand at the time, but she pondered deeply upon them.

"As the Boy Jesus emerged into the Christ who was sent to save human nature from its many weaknesses, the fact cannot be ignored that even among His few fellows there were two who were tempted to fail the highest and the best. First there was Judas. Yet, how soon repentance followed upon the aching tortured soul. He felt that he was unfit to live and so destroyed his body. But by the Grace of God he was allowed, in the next sphere, to work out by great suffering that which he had done through folly and through ignorance.

"Are there not many who are tempted in the same way? Most times it is by self-will. They have the impression that they know best and others should yield to that impression. This was shown by Peter as well as Judas. He wanted, being an impetuous man and an enthusiast, to get things moving in his own way. He was full of high impulses and the desire to serve. Yet, when he was tested, moral courage failed at the crucial moment and he denied his Lord.

"Can we criticise such a one? What of our own lives? How many times have we kept silent when we should have stood firm for the truth and the sincerity of our principles? We dare not criticise Peter. He was chosen by the loving Christ to work out the Divine Plan. He was chosen, after such failure, to become a 'rock'; and through the discipline of his weakness and fear, he indeed became as a 'rock' to which many have clung. Many have been able to fence off temptation by remembering Peter and his life-long repentance and devotion to the Master he had denied.

"This subject of: 'Conversion' concerns everyone, from the highest to the lowest. They need to be converted from ambition; they have to be persuaded that perhaps if they had lived nearer to the Christ-ideal they would have been better men and women. Many a leader has had to face this great test: To see his supporters criticise and forsake him because they did not understand the motive which was in the background of the cause or the presentiment which he held. Be assured, it takes a tremendous amount of moral courage, spiritual courage, to stand firm and fast under a hail of criticism; criticism from those who could not and would not be willing to make the same sacrifices for the principle as the one concerned.

"Within the World of Spirit, hearts ache that man should forget so soon what has happened over the generations; how the saints and martyrs found the courage to endure to the very end. They did not want the easy path; they did not ask that the obstacles that lay upon their path should be removed. Their one prayer was this: To be faithful unto the very end and not to fail. They feared because they were human, yet they feared most that they would fail because they knew that the flesh is weak.

"Much unhappiness is caused in this mundane world because of the unending fight that goes on between the spirit and the flesh. Multitudes of desires creep around the aspiring soul. So often these are not realised as temptations but considered as natural desires and those which would seem to meet the approval of the Most High. Only too late do they realise that they have been caught in the net laid for them by the enemies of the suffering Christ.

"There are many people who would be healthy and useful in a wonderful way, who have undermined the Spirit power around them because this constant conflict goes on between the higher self and the human self. We may be human - and we are human during certain stages of our development, but we are also Divine. Our Divinity must take charge of the weaker, triumph over the physical, until at last it has so established itself that the struggle is over; there is no more fighting; and the individual is willing to say and mean: 'Not my will be done, O God, but Thine'. What peace comes when such a decision is made! Happiness, relief and brightness seem to creep back into the soul and lighten conditions.

"So much damage is done at this stage by the phantom 'worry'. Look at worry in its true light - as an enemy which masquerades very often as love. In very truth it is an enemy. Those in the World of Spirit stand and watch but when worry has become a habit they are unable to interfere with free will. This habit can be changed - changed for the instinct that God knows best, changed for the confidence that help to overcome will be available from loved ones in the World of Spirit if they are given an opportunity to help.

"Worry is a slow poison that undermines the resources of the soul. Some may call it an expression of 'sensitivity' over the lot of others. Real sensitivity does not take that form. If you are concerned over the lot of another then you set to work to help them resolve their problem. For the sake of your health do not waste your vitality in worrying - that is like pouring the elixir of life down the drain to mingle with the filth that is there.

"It is all so simple when you sit quietly and think things out. You have come into this world for a certain purpose - to convert what is faulty in your own nature into a higher state. This conversion goes on apace when the soul is allowed to dominate. In your own homes you have the power to convert something which is unpleasant into something which is good to look upon. Your flowers respond to your tender loving care. As you go about your busy life you see the result of your influence, when, almost in a moment of time, you can convert a miserable person into one with a glimmering of hope, and send them on their way, if not rejoicing, then with something of comfort in heart and mind.

"This subject of: 'Conversion' follows you throughout every life, and, when you pass into the World of Spirit, you will see something of its ramifications, of the Grace given to you by God and of the great power that lies within your scope to convert a thing that is not wise or not good or not understood, into something that is lovely, something that is powerful, and something that finds its own place in the Kingdom of God.

"In regard to the Christmas story, think of the Christmas trees. They seem to inspire you and there are always those who are willing to make the effort to make them beautiful and a fitting gift to celebrate the birth of the Baby Christ. What do they symbolise?

"You know that there are millions of undeveloped souls who have passed into the World of Spirit. Many are ignorant, many are self-complacent. There are some who did not have a chance to imbibe spiritual knowledge when upon the earth plane. There are the unhappy ones; those who wander idly in the wilderness of self, who suffer dumbly because they still have no understanding. To such as these there are thousands of people upon the earth who represent a Christmas tree.

"Think of people you know; some are old and worn and perhaps unlovely to look upon. But, when the Christmas tree is decorated, you do not concentrate upon the plant that is covered. The tree may be a shabby one, small or stunted, one that has been used over the years and will continue another duty. What you are fascinated by are the lights and decorations that now cover the Christmas tree, and the poor wandering souls are also attracted by what appears to them to be a Christmas tree. But what does it represent?

"It represents a tired, faithful soul on earth, whose body may - from earthly requirements - be unlovely to look upon, but whose spiritual sacrifice and devotion and hard work have turned them into an illuminated Christmas tree. The lights shine from them, the white of purity, the blue of sacrifice, and the pinks and reds of love in its higher or lower forms. Many bound souls, seeing this thing of beauty, naturally want to get nearer and nearer. In this way much missionary work is carried out.

"However, a warning has to be given because sometimes those who do not understand while still in the body are inclined to be influenced by the greyness of the undeveloped souls. Thus they get their times of despair and discontent and railing against fate. Yet all the time, although their light as a Christmas tree may be dimmed, it still gives out a little light to lighten up the darkened conditions of others.

"As you take your way, will you try to enlarge upon this thought of millions of human Christmas trees decorated so beautifully by their lives of suffering, by trying to overcome anxiety in their daily round, by struggling to make both ends meet. They would be amazed if you told them how beautiful they were to look upon, and that no one troubles about the shabby garb, the frail and worn out frame, or the crippled footsteps. They only rejoice in the beautiful lights of the Christmas tree - that symbol of Christ which these dear souls represent. Many do not know why they suffer so, and the majority are not bitter against God, they know that they are at the mercy of a stronger power and destiny. Because they still strive, hoping that tomorrow will bring a little mitigation of their troubles, because they still work for their children and give a helping hand to their neighbours, they are indeed a beautiful sight to witness.

"These are greatly honoured; and to all those who have helped in the decoration of a Christmas tree, think on this with your heart and mind: By the desire to honour the Christ, by celebrating His birthday in this wise, that they represent a human Christmas tree to souls who are sad at heart, to those who have lost their way and are not yet ready to respond to the spiritual light and brightness that is all around, because they are ignorant of spiritual things.

"There is so much more to know. In the sleep state you know more than the physical mind can express, and there you make your vows anew: 'I will be strong whatever happens. I will be faithful whatever the temptation. I will be a disciple of the Christ however many failures I may have had in the past and will have in the future'.

"All this goes on with your happy conversations with the World of Spirit. Many of your loved ones who were faithful in time long past, who had hardships far greater than ever come your way, are all concentrated around you, helping to strengthen your resolutions, trying to impress your mind that all is well with the soul and that soon the body, with all its distractions and illnesses, with its murmurings and complaints, will be laid aside and forgotten - forgotten in the joy of the new vehicle in which you find yourself.

"Then, with what power you will go to those who do not understand any better than you understood, and carry out your work of mercy, converting them from that which they once represented into a child of God by choice - and they become a traveller on the long journey home to God. They never weary because the eyes of the traveller are upon the rising sun of achievement, and they see - dimly perhaps but they sense it all the same - that there are thousands waiting to greet them, thousands also on the desert of experience trying to wend their way towards the golden sands of the Better Land.

"They, with you, will rejoice and thank God that life was not an easy pastime; that life held many a test, many a temptation struggled with until finally it was overcome. Then sorrow and grief and regret are over for evermore. For the Grace of God and the Love of the Christ is built up so firmly around you that you are emancipated, and you realise that having been converted out of the little, you can be converted into that great and holy being ordained by the Creator of all things.

"As you think of the Christmas story, allow your imagination to roam. Go back to the past and compare it with the present. Think of those whom you love and admire and wish to emulate. As that wish becomes firmer in your mind, so comes the power - in little measure - to emulate their self-sacrifice, their whole-hearted devotion to God's work, their determination not to become distracted from anything that is of the earth. In that time of realisation the soul within you - the Divinity gifted to you by God - has won the battle, and you are at last free to serve with that perfect freedom promised by God to every faithful pioneer soul.

"With the great love of the Christ in your hearts, send out pity for those who are weak and have no understanding of the meaning of faithfulness; to those who were tempted - and yet do not realise they were tempted or are tempted - send out compassion because, when they reach the conditions of Reality, the scales will fall from their eyes and they will be known and know themselves for what they were. Then they will set to work to build a better edifice on a practical foundation.

"The other was on sand, but now they seek a Rock - the Rock of Jesus the Christ - and on that foundation they shall build their edifice of effort and the winds shall not destroy it or the adversities of life in which they find themselves, nor the hard thoughts of those who would like to see their downfall. They have built a rock and the edifice will withstand the storms and the waves that beat upon it and all shall be in time as God has ordained..."