"But," said Battell, "we are told that he was more than man. He was the Son of God, sent upon earth from his Father's home in heaven, to save fallen man."
"I am willing," was Iola's reply, "to admit all this, as I understand it. We had similar characters in the olden time, who tried to save their fellow beings from the low estate in which they lived. But a time came when the effect of their teachings was to produce a multitude of such characters, and then the entire people made one great bound upward, and now we are all saviors whenever and wherever we find a demand for our services in that capacity."
Battell looked his astonishment as he asked:
"Is this heaven? Am I to be brought into the presence of not one, but a world full of these God-like characters?"
Iola smiled as she said in response:
"Yes, this is heaven provided you have heaven in you, the only place where you will ever find it. And this God-like character whom you call a Savior, is also in you, as it is in every other human being, just as soon as you permit it to be developed. This spark of Divinity—this Son of God—is latent in the human soul, and its efforts to make itself felt, is the source of every noble, pure and holy impulse to elevate our common humanity. Give the God that is in you a chance to develop, and you will become like unto Jesus, a 'God manifest in the flesh.'"
"But how am I to develop this God-like character?" asked Battell.
"By becoming a savior of the race to the best of your ability," answered Iola. "You were taught that it was the mission of Jesus to save the world. It is also your mission. He did his duty in his age and generation, to elevate humanity, and it is your duty to make just as much of an effort in your age and generation, to make the world better for your having lived in it.
"You cannot afford to sit down as if you had nothing to do and 'cast all your cares on Jesus.' You have no right to impose, even if it were possible, any more burdens upon the 'meek and lowly carpenter of Judea.' He did his duty, well and truly, and you ought to do yours. You, in common with every other human being owe a debt to humanity, and you must pay it by your efforts to save humanity—