Closeness to God

O

nly those who have recognized God in this world will be admitted to God’s paradise in the next. The discoverer of God is one who sees God with conviction, despite the fact that in this world God is invisible; who hears God speaking to him with each throb of his heart; who reads the Book of God with a feeling that the pages of his own nature are being unfolded.

The discoverer of God is one whose moribund spirit has been quickened by faith; whose heart has been purified by remembrance of God; who proceeds by the light of God; whose heart trembles at the very mention of God’s name; who receives God with tears and whose whole being surrenders to Him.

Whoever is close to God is close to heaven. Closeness to God begins in this world and culminates in the next. A person who experiences closeness to God feels that he is seeing an unseen reality. He feels very close to the most distant of Beings. He engages in conversation with One who does not seem to be present. He showers his affection on the most awesome of Beings. He establishes direct contact with the One who cannot be approached through any intermediary.