The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
In Cana in the valley
- Chapter 220 -
Ahab's astonishment at Divine wisdom. Self understanding is most essential. Be not only hearers, but doers of God's Word! The true, living rest in God. Warning against excessive sleep and indigence.
Says Ahab; 'Oh wisdom, oh wisdom! Behold your grasp of the exalted and true, and how immensely stupid the likes of us. It is an eternal truth that nothing can arise without a struggle; yet I was going to hurry over to the Bethlehemites to start enlightening them. Oh, centre of stupidity that am I! Do not the Greek wise men say: every activity is generated from struggle, and every effect its outcome. Yet I did not see this. Why do I see it now?
2
Indeed, if there is no preceding contention between the inner life-elements in man, then all external efforts with man are futile!
3
I am now in the clear about human instruction, and could almost pronounce a life-fundamental, without straying too far afield!' Say I, 'Let it be heard. I intend not to review it within Myself until you have voiced it.'
4
Ahab, 'What man has not initially acquired himself from the properties given him at the outset, no God can give him without ruining him. To God, of course, all things are possible, but thereby man does not gain anything.
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Who does not know himself first, how can he know another and, finally, even God? That would be my principle. Am I far off the mark, Lord?'
6
Say I, 'No, friend Ahab, you have in truth hit the nail firmly on the head., Thus it is! What man does not acquire for himself independently with the abilities bestowed on him, God cannot and may not provide without judging him.
7
Therefore, all of you should not be just idle hearers of My ?Word, but diligent doers, only then will you begin to notice its blessings within you.
8
For life is action and not stagnation of the powers on which life depends. And so life must be preserved even for eternity through the constant activity of all its powers, for in the lying-down-to-rest there is no permanent life.
9
The certain feeling of well-being you gain from rest is nothing else but a partial death of the powers needed for living. The person who then increasingly enjoys the inactive rest, especially of the spiritual life-powers, thereby also slides ever more into the arms of actual death from which no God will easily free him.
10
Oh yes, there does also exist a proper rest full of life, but that is in God and for everyone an indescribably blissful feeling of contentment to be active in accordance with God's will.
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The is most blissful feeling of contentment and the clearest realisation to have always truly acted according to the order of God is that proper rest in god which alone is full of life because it is full of energy and respective action. Every other rest that consists in the ceasing of the life-powers is, as already mentioned, an actual death to the point to which the various life-forces have withdrawn from activity and no longer resumed it. Do you understand this?'
12
Says Judas Iscariot, 'Lord, if so, then man should flee sleep like the pestilence, for also sleep is a rest of a number of life-forces, although external ones.'
13
Say I, 'Certainly! Because of that late-risers will never reach a particularly great age. Whoever grants his body five hours of sleep in his young days and six hours in his old age will usually reach a great age and look youthful for a long time, whereas a late-riser soon ages, gets a lined face and grey hair and at a somewhat advanced age walks around like a shadow.
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And just as the body gradually dies off through too much sleep, in the same way, but on a larger scale this apples to the soul if it increasingly slackens in its activity according to My Word and will.
15
Once idleness has made itself at home in a soul there soon follows also depravity. For idleness is nothing else but a self-indulging love which all the more flees any activity for someone else's sake because it basically want only one thing, namely, ,that all others should work for its benefit.
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Therefore, beware particularly of idleness, for this is an actual see for all kinds of vices.
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The various beasts of prey may serve you as an example. Look, these beasts become destructively active only when driven by burning hunger. Once they have captured their prey and satisfied their hunger, they again return to their lairs where they rest often for days, especially snakes.
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Now look at a robber or murderer. This man who shuns all work, who is actually a devil in the flesh, lies often for days in one of his dens. Only when his pies tell him that a rich caravan is due to pass his den, he lies in wait together with his accomplices, ruthlessly attacks and robs the caravan and kills the merchants to prevent them from betraying him. And that is a fruit of idleness
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Therefore, I say once more: Beware above all of idleness, for it is the road and the wide door to all imaginable vices.
20
After the work has been done moderate rest is good for the limbs of the body, but excessive rest is worse than none.'