Spiritual Evolution: How to Grow Spiritually Every Day?
Many philosophies and religions teach us about spiritual evolution. In the Religion of God, of the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, we believe that we are Spirits (Souls, ethereal beings) and that we are (re)incarnated on Earth (the material world) to improve ourselves both spiritually and morally.
As we grow on this journey, we get rid of the works of the flesh (such as anger, jealousy, enmity, and disputes) and produce the fruits of the Spirit, as stated by Paul of Tarsus, who was inspired by Jesus, in his Letter to the Galatians 5:22, 23, and 25:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. . . . Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
What we want to emphasize with this post is that 2000 years ago, Jesus, with His words and actions, showed us the true and safe way to evolve spiritually.
Learn also about the role of reincarnation in this process and how it works. We will talk about this and much more, so just keep on reading.
Spiritual evolution, according to the Gospel of Jesus
Countless narratives in the Holy Gospel of Jesus point out that people from all walks of life and following wide-ranging philosophies have sought the Divine Master for answers as to how to achieve a greater purpose in life and evolve spiritually.
So it was with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, whose existence took on a new meaning after he welcomed Jesus into his home, repented of his mistakes and devoted himself to doing good for others (The Gospel according to Luke 19:1-10).
The same happened with Nicodemus, a prince among the Hebrews—he had great political and religious authority—who, in the middle of the night, went to find Jesus in his search of spiritual knowledge. He received much more than he was looking for and than he was able to understand at that moment (The Gospel according to John 3:1-21).
Clear up any other questions you may have:
+ The Origin of Life: Who Are We, Where Do We Come from, and Where Are We Going?
+ What Is Reincarnation and Why Is It Necessary?
The Heavenly Educator made some extraordinary revelations at Jacob’s well to the Samaritan woman, whose eternal Soul was longing to learn about (The Gospel according to John 4:1-42).
Spiritual Evolution: something we all aspire to
All of us, whether consciously or not, aim for progress, for spiritual evolution, and 2000 years after His first visible visit to Earth, we continue on our journey towards Jesus in search of answers to a really meaningful purpose for our existence.
The opposite of this is disappointment and frustration, which cause us so But, before you carry on reading, we need to emphasize that when we talk about this subject, we don’t mean that in order to be a more evolved Spirit we need to think the same way or share the same culture, or follow the same religion. What counts are our deeds, the good that is in our hearts and that we externalize.
Again inspired by Jesus, the Apostle to the Gentiles warned in his Epistle to the Ephesians 4:13:
“until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
This statement points out the path to be followed for us to evolve spiritually, since the purpose of creatures on Earth and in Heaven is to progress spiritually.
You may be asking yourself, “but how is this even possible? How can I evolve spiritually?” We find the answer in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus that we previously mentioned, for the knowledge offered by Christ to the prince of the Hebrews, and to all of us, is for the Spirit what air is for the body.
Detalhe da obra: Nicodemos visita Jesus.
The Divine Educator speaks to Nicodemus about the eternity of life:
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
With this, the Master of masters reveals to us that through the Universal Law of Reincarnation, a Law of God, we gradually attain our spiritual evolution. “But in order to evolve is it enough to reincarnate or just learn about this law?!”
Reincarnation and the Evolution of the Spirit
We find the answer to this unsettling question on the blog of the President-Preacher of the Religion of God, of the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit,1 Paiva Netto, in his article “Charity and Divine Meritocracy”:
“The Law of Reincarnation confirms free will; and free will confirms the Law of Reincarnation. One justifies the other. Now, if you do not know or do not feel the New Commandment of Jesus in your Soul, then the holiest things end up being used in a wretched manner.”
The author continues:
“It is not enough to know that the mechanism of multiple lives is a reality. We need to live by the Supreme Order of Christ—‘Love one another, as I have loved you. There is no greater Love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (The Gospel according to John 13:34 and 15:13).”
He concludes:
“At the beginning of my book Voltamos! — A Revolução Mundial dos Espíritos de Luz [We Have Returned! — The World Revolution of the Spirits of Light] (1996), I stated that the New Commandment, the Sublime Rule of Christ, is more important than recognizing the universal Law of Successive Lives, because first and foremost we need to love as the Ecumenical Christ loves us.”
Spiritual evolution: from knowledge to good deeds
These words of the president-preacher of the Divine Religion give us a broad and profound understanding that spiritual knowledge is only valuable if it is used for the benefit of our fellow beings. Otherwise, it is nothing more than acquired knowledge.
It is also worth highlighting a point in the meaningful dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. The Christ of God stated:
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6).
In these words, we identify our origin: we are eternal Souls in search of spiritual evolution.
We come from God, who is Spirit—one of Jesus’ extraordinary revelations to the Samaritan woman (John 4:24)—and we will return to Him at the right time, according to His Plan for our lives.
This is the cycle of existence—as many times as are necessary for our spiritual evolution. What follows us is the good we do. Nothing else goes with our Spirit when we return to the Heavenly Father.
Título da Obra: Jesus no poço com a mulher samaritana.
We are Spirits on Earth and in Heaven
It is also important to stress that we are not only Spirit when we leave our body, which was lent to us by God for our spiritual evolution, but in every circumstance in which we find ourselves on Earth and in Heaven, where the still invisible beings live. We are always spiritual beings.
We turn one more time to writer Paiva Netto, now in his article “Who was born first?”, in which the author reflects on this important debate:
“Divine Wisdom proclaims that a human being is not a body that has a Spirit, but an eternal Spirit that has a transient body.”
He continues:
“The celebrated French Jesuit priest, theologian, philosopher, and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), in his relentless efforts for dialogue between material scientific thought and the sacred forces of Creation, uttered these precious words: ‘We are not human beings that have a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings that have a human experience.’”
This is the value of prayer in our daily lives, because every time we pray or meditate—whatever you wish to call this gesture of contact with God, with a greater cosmic consciousness—we connect to this eternal, invisible part of us that animates the body, and we reach a higher power that guides us and leads us to true happiness.
We conclude with these words from the president-preacher of the Religion of the Third Millennium in his article “The Joy of Life”:
"The joy of Life is that which we give to it. Therefore, if it is highly challenging, that does not mean it is not going to become rich and full of achievements and happiness. It must be experienced in magnitude, since there is always an opportunity to practice Goodness. And when we feel God, which means Love to the nth degree, Life takes up the pace and extension of Eternity”.
Someone may ask, “what about the problems!?”. Let us work to overcome them, under the protection and strength that come from God.
Clear up any other questions you may have:
+ The Origin of Life: Who Are We, Where Do We Come from, and Where Are We Going?
+ What Is Reincarnation and Why Is It Necessary?
If you have any question and/or comment about this and other topics, send them to the Religion of the Third Millennium. Let the Ecumenical Spirituality become a part of your life! And if you felt good reading this article, share it! It might touch the heart of other people too.
