Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/131

Rh them as a means of its development and growth—consists essentially in righteousness of life, in doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. He insists that the truly religious life is the life of God in the soul of man, manifesting itself in all the transactions and relations of life; and that this life is best developed, not in the cloister nor away from the business and turmoil of the world, but in the midst of its cares, duties, temptations and trials; that we become more and more religious in the true sense of this word, in the degree that we look to the Lord for light and guidance, and endeavor to perform all our duties honestly and well as He would have us;—try to carry a self-denying, righteous and loving spirit into all the common labors and trials and transactions of life. Performing all our common every-day duties faithfully, honestly, conscientiously, and in the spirit of true neighborly love—at the same time inwardly and humbly acknowledging that it is the Lord who gives us the power and the disposition thus to live and act—this, according to the belief and teaching of the New Church, is living a religious life. This is the true religion—the religion of heaven itself. The following are some of the things which Swedenborg says he learned on this subject from his intercourse with spirits in the other world: "I have been permitted to converse with some