This book was written to help people grow closer to, and participate more fully in, their personal relationship with God. The road to spiritual maturity is often a long and involved process, which I believe is outlined for us in John's Gospel. John says at the end of his Gospel in 20:21: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." The life he is talking about is our spiritual life. Our spiritual life starts when we begin to truly believe in Jesus and accept him as our lord and Saviour. It comes to ultimate fulfillment when we cross over from physical death into eternal life in Heaven. In between, is a long and often difficult but rich and involved journey. On this Road to Holiness we learn many things. We learn to give up old ways that are not life-giving, and to adopt a more deeply true spiritual outlook. I believe we go through various stages, that I have outlined in this book and as found in the Gospel. We learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as wonderful new opportunities present themselves. As we grow in our spiritual maturity, we develop new spiritual strength that helps us to overcome a whole variety of obstacles and difficulties that would have previously sent us running for cover. Our ability to love deepens and is enriched so that we can appreciate and enjoy all of God's creation and creatures in a new way. Spiritual growth may take a lot of work at times, but the rewards are definitely worth the effort. As we gain a solid faith in our own worth in the sight of God, we also begin to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God in our midst. This helps us to discover new ways to prepare for our eventual arrival into the Kingdom of Heaven.
