Here is an example:
The family next door does not care about anything, but everything seems
to go their way. But for another family it is the opposite. They do everything
right but they have been struck with misfortune, like sickness, burglary and
bullying of their children in school.
This is truly unjust. It is not fair. Or is there a deeper meaning to life?
Thinking that way – that there is a deeper meaning to life – we have taken
a step in the right direction. But some people don’t do that. They turn their
thoughts in the wrong direction. Divine Providence explains why some people
turn their back to religion:
Every worshipper of himself and of nature confirms himself against the Divine
Providence when he sees in the world so many wicked people, and so many of their
impieties in which some of them even glory, and yet no punishment of such by
God. And still the truth is that seemingly unjust circumstances “are all permissions
according to the laws of the Divine Providence.” (Divine Providence 237)
A person willing to accept a different reality is able to think along those
lines.
The way people reflect can go both ways. You can look beyond the
limitations of this world to find an explanation, or you can close the door to
that possibility. That is why it is important to reflect and study. That is why we
have the Bible. That is why there are sacred books all over the world.
• In the Hindu tradition the fate of the two families in our neighborhood
would be explained with concepts like fate, karma and reincarnation.
• The Muslim would say it is the will of Allah and we have to accept fate
no matter what it looks like.
• In Christianity you would say something like “take up your cross” and
“keep the understanding in obedience to faith.” (Faith 4)
• In the New Church we very clearly state two things: You must
understand what you believe in; and what you believe in is truly a living
reality.
The first statement recognizes that reason plays an important part.
That is how the world we see with our eyes works. We think, reflect and
use our reason. We don’t pretend that the toothache is something made
up. We believe what the fuel gauge says. We understand the world we live
in and act accordingly.
It should be the same with religion. We use experience and
reflection. And that is what the revelation from the Lord through
Emanuel Swedenborg is all about:
• We get fuller explanations of what the Bible means on a deeper level.
We can understand that one story hangs together with other stories,
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