Messages 2005
Abraham Lincoln and War.
June 30, 2005
Santa Cruz, California
Received by F.A.B.
I am here, Abraham Lincoln.
Yes, it is I, and as I look back on my earth life, I am as amazed as you are that I was able to survive and cope as well as I did. But I consider it the Lord’s doing.
The Lord has heard your prayers to sharpen and hone your mediumship skills. This, of course, can only benefit our task as well. But remember that you have already demonstrated the ability to channel things you had no knowledge of, such as your Moses channelings, and the experience with F____. You will see that your prayers will be answered in this regard.
I lived and died humble, and humble I remain. The gifts I possessed all came from the Lord. I just followed the cues. I see now that my political ambition was not corrupt, but rather, was guided, for someone had to steer the ship of state. I did realize my “chosen” position when I was president, but it didn’t go to my head. The war made me suffer, not just because of my personal sorrows, but because of the suffering the entire country endured. It was, paradoxically, this empathetic vulnerability to other people’s suffering that simultaneously drained me and gave me the strength and courage to go on. Without that empathy, I don’t think I could have succeeded in getting through. I knew the Lord had put me in that position, and I also knew that He works through love and caring. I could not escape the fact that as Commander-in-Chief, I was responsible for so much bloodshed. I know this is a subject you have wanted to be enlightened about, and I will try my best to do so.
You can’t understand why King David suffered so much because of his wars, and I apparently did not.
The answer is in the motive. I had one overriding motive, and one motive only, and that was TO PRESERVE THE UNION. King David’s motive, as he has told me, was to enlarge his hegemony and increase his power. In his time, enemies in war were seen as less than human, and treated as such.
Another fact which “got me off the hook,” as you say, is that I DID NOT START THE WAR. In fact, I did everything I possibly could to prevent it.
I know you don’t understand the exact relationship between God and war. But as with everything else, God scrutinizes our hearts and is primarily interested in our intentions, our motives. And so, one cannot always just blanketly condemn people in war situations that involve suffering and death. That is solely within the province of the Lord.
I know you are confused about all this. When is war appropriate, if at all? When should we defend ourselves, and when should we “turn the other cheek?” This area has puzzled so many people. It is admittedly a very difficult thing to understand. But I can assure you that everything is taken into account, so that every single mortal who has lived through war, whether they be leaders, combatants, or civilians, is accounted for in terms of exact justice.
And so, my friend, consider my words, and “judge not so ye be not judged.” You don’t really know other people’s inner life; indeed, we don’t sometimes even know our own inner thoughts and feelings. If you will apply this wonderful principle, you will find a great peace descend on you, and a weight removed from your shoulders.
As you go on in your journey through life, love everyone and leave judgment to the Lord. Everyone is doing their best to live out this difficult life. We all make different choices to take care of ourselves. If you feel you have done your best to take care of yourself by honoring the Lord, why then, God can’t ask anything more of you. Everybody and everything else are outside of your realm, where they should not affect that peace that only the Lord can give.
With love, Abraham Lincoln