What man of us has come from eternity?  Has he been before and said to himself, “I will now become a man.”  No.  We are created from what we do not understand.  We appear, and cannot explain how we came to be.  Nor can a man say, “I will return to what I knew when I die.”

This is true an indisputable.  Though a man may say he is of another life he cannot explain how he came to be in the first place.  No man has come from eternity.

I speak this way understanding that there is One who has appeared among us from eternity.  He has known heaven for he was there in the beginning, and has returned victoriously rich in all the things of God.  And when he spoke to us he spoke of things he knew.  But no other man is capable of such a thing. 

But now listen to how we speak.  We say “This is mine.”  “This is my boat.”  Or the poor man may say, “This is my coat.”  What a man means when he says such things makes all the difference.

Does he mean the thing is identified with his name?  Does he mean it is not in the hands of another man?  Then he is just and righteous in what he says.

But if a man says something is his and intends that people should respect his belongings (as if he has created his things on his own), then he is wickedly mistaken.  At best, we are only caretakers of all that is in our hands.  Only He who is from eternity owns all.

As a man perceives, so he does.  If a man perceives his belongings as truly belonging to him, he will pursue all he has with great greed.  He will call it his own, without regard to God or others.  He will erect a fortress around it.  And he will murder anyone who lays a hand on what is his.  His waking hours will be alert without ceasing.  His sleep will be fitful regardless what alarms he may set.  And he will wear anxiousness as if clothing, all the days of his life.

But the man who perceives the truth will save himself from untold anguish.  All belongs to God.  Nothing belongs to man, for he is made from nothing.  And to nothing, he and all he owns returns.

What he has had has been a test of his heart.  That is something.  For when he leaves this place his soul will appear before God to be assessed.  Judgment will be made, and the man will receive what is rightfully his. Even while he lives assessment is made without his knowledge or ascent.  Do men really think they will give counsel to the Most High God?

The wise among men consider these things.  And if they arrive at the truth they no longer lock their doors.  All their days are filled with peace.  For they know all belongs to God. 

The sleep of the wise is peaceful and full of tranquility.  When they eat they eat with joy; they are not concerned with their next meal, for they know that God will provide.  When they reached for what is in their trust they are not concerned of its demise.

All belongs to God.  He, in his great wisdom, has created us and will sustain us.  Think about it.  If a man will take care of what he thinks is his, how much more will God perfectly protect that which his perfect nature has made?

The wise give him his honorable do and live in peace.  Those who perceive this place of testing otherwise have no peace at all.