The previous article, "The Path of Order [1]," outlines several meanings of the term "order." The present article seeks to explain how "order" is used in the sense of a process or procedure for moving things forward.

Followers who belonged to a certain fellowship once made a request for permission to establish a church. Yet, it was not granted. Later, they again asked for permission to establish the church. Then God replied in a Divine Direction that the time was not ripe yet. The followers, therefore, made a further request that they be allowed to begin at least the construction of its sanctuary, because they had already cut down trees to be used for it. In the same Divine Direction, however, God said in effect: "If you omit this procedure and start the construction, it will be even more time-consuming. Haste will result in delay. What may seem slow from your human thinking will, instead, turn out to be quick and efficient." (See Osashizu, July 24, 1888.)

God the Parent teaches us time and again that we should by no means take a short cut or omit procedures in following the path of order given by God, no matter how slow, roundabout, or inconvenient it may seem.

The same applies to "following the order of the Besseki lectures"--which means to attend the Besseki lectures one by one--and "returning to Jiba following the order of the churches"--which means to return to Jiba by tracing back all its parent churches.

Another Divine Direction tells us:

Simply to stop is wrong. The path of order, the path of order.

Osashizu, January 13, 1887

This passage encourages us to make a resolution to follow the path in due order in any difficult or severe circumstances. Says a Divine Direction in effect: "When your minds settle in unity of mind, God will lay the path of order as befits each season" (cf. Osashizu, May 29, 1903).