The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 241 -
God's kingdom in the human heart.
1
(Raphael:) "But since I see that you cannot answer the question that I gave you in any case, I will then answer it myself in a way that is comprehensible for your awakened understanding. But you must remember well my answer and write it deeply in your hearts, for much lies on it, yes, finally everything, so that you know the circumstances most accurately which are necessary for the full childhood of God because it must be necessary for the unchanging divine order.
2
You know that every person must form and transform himself according to the recognized divine order, quite independently from the omnipotence of the divine will in order to become in this way a free child of God.
3
The recommended powerful and thereby most effective means for this is love for God and to the same degree the love for your neighbor, be he a man or a woman, young or old, it's all the same.
4
As a partner of love stands true humility, tenderness and patience, because the true love cannot exist without these three attributes and is no true and pure love.
5
But how can man experience in himself that he resides in the pure love quite faithfully according to the divine order?
6
Let man put himself to the test whether he is urged in his heart to give with a glad heart and abundantly, completely forgetting himself, when seeing a poor brother or a poor sister or when these come to him for help. If he feels this within but, of course, in earnest and in full truth, he is already mature and ready to be a true child of God, and the made promises awaiting such a prepared child of God begin to become a reality and show up wonderfully in word and deed, and you will thereby as teachers appear justified before your disciples.
7
But those disciples for whom the prophesy will not come true will direct themselves accordingly and have only themselves to blame if the prophesies made to them still do not come into sight; for they have not yet opened their heart enough to the poor fellow man.
8
The love for God and the willing following of His recognized will are the proper element of the heavens in a human heart. They are the chambers and rooms of divine spirit in every human heart; the love for one's neighbor however is the door into this holy room.
9
This door must be opened so that the fullness of God's life can move into such a room, and humility, tenderness and patience are the three wide opened windows through which the holy chamber of God in a human heart is illuminated most brightly by the most powerful light from heaven and warmed with all the fullness of life from heaven.
10
Everything therefore depends on the free and cheerfully generous love for a neighbor; the highest possible self-denial is the revelation of the prophesy itself. There you now have the correct answer to the most important question of life. Think about it and act accordingly, and you will be justified before one another, before your brothers and before God! For what the Lord does now himself, people will also have to do this in order to become similar to him and so His children. - Have you understood all this?"