Can you not see that when any man recognizes Him in his heart, as Divine Love, God’s Holy Spirit that has come to abide there, he fully accepts Him at His word and truly follows wherever He leads? And when he thus follows Him, can you not see that He leads away from and far above the world of selfishness, where the law must rule to restrain men and to punish them for their sins, thus gradually cleansing their hearts, as was done to the Prodigal Son, to make them a fit place for Christ to come and abide?

Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit or only begotten Son of the Father, the Light that lighteth every man that comes into the world, is the actual life of all men; but not until that life is able to grow and unfold in the consciousness of men through the experience of “wasting their substance in riotous living,” thus building their substance into strong, sturdy stalks of character, can it develop buds, and finally open them so that Christ’s Life can blossom in the heart and show forth in the outer life in all Its fragrance and beauty.

But the blossoming stage is only the beginning—the awakening of the Prodigal Son. From then onward during the return journey, allowing the Christ Life to lead and have complete charge, does it grow and develop its fruit until it becomes a ripened and perfect soul, the image and likeness of God—Jesus Christ made manifest, the Word made flesh.