Spiritual progress is measured by character.

Life has grown as a result of God’s presence. Life has evolved, and that evolution continues. You are the result of that evolution, that spiritual development. You are aware of the meaning and implications of biological evolution, but spiritual evolution is of a different sort. You do not become closer to God as a result of evolutionary developments, that you grow toward God at your own pace and by your own means. Nevertheless, there is a kind of evolutionary consideration to your spiritual progress that is measured in terms of character.

In our plane, we refer to souls being young or old. It is not meant in a chronological sense but rather in terms of development. A soul whose existence contains the character of much from the past is an old soul. It is a soul in which experiences have accumulated, a kind of depth has been achieved. In other words, it is a soul with many imprints from the past. A young soul, in contrast, has fewer imprints from the past. It is not younger in your terms, but it has accumulated less over its existed time.

The genetic inheritances of which one often speaks—personalities, appearances, etc.—are recognized as facts by all, those of a scientific background and those without. But precious few recognize the spiritual kind of evolution, the growth of the spirit which is achieved beyond the human life span, both prior to that life and subsequent to it. The generations of humankind are related biologically, but there is also a spiritual relationship. We don’t mean that the child’s soul is in some manner extracted from the parent’s souls, but what is meant is that the child’s soul will develop during human life to an extent related to the effects of the parents’ souls upon it. This kind of evolutionary consideration is experiential in nature.