The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 217 -
The advantages of proper cultivation of the soul.
1
(The Lord:) "However, if the soul of a person is buried in all kinds of worldly material worries, or if it begins to bury itself therein, it then clouds its light-being, and finally it will become completely dark in it. Then there is no stock left of any mighty love anymore, and the very little left is nearly not enough for itself; then comes self-love, which cannot go over to anybody else anymore. But if the love becomes so small, from where should come a mighty faith and will, since the believe is the light from the flame of love and the will the omni-effectuating power of the light?!
2
If such love-poor people could finally, even if very dull, begin to recognize, that because of the weakness of their love they cannot succeed with anything, and they most of the time see a line crossing out each of their calculations, of which they are guilty themselves, since their can be no effectuation, for which the necessary strength is lacking, they still could be helped; but as such they only become angry and full of bitterness about every success with other people.
3
Rage is also a light, but a destroyable one. In such infernal light they soon see all kinds of deceiving means, by which they could come to great wealth. They soon try out such means; however, most of the time they fail, since they are deceiving means. However, the repeated failure does not teach them, but makes them even more angry. They become proud and full of haughtiness and begin to turn to violent means and actually use them. An occasional success makes them perkier, they are becoming cruel and try to remove everything from their path, what they regard as an obstacle to their perceived luck. They thereby have accumulated for themselves by all kinds of bad means considerable wealth, and now recognize this road as the only right and true, on which they themselves have climbed to happiness.
4
If such people have children, as it is usually the case, they will educate them in no other manner, than the way by which the parents themselves have climbed to their worldly happiness, namely by all kind of worldly cleverness! They then let their children learn all kind of things, however everything for the world! No consideration whatsoever is taken for the education of the heart, and cannot be taken, since the parents and the teachers and educators, who, because of greed want to please the parents, do not themselves have any idea about the heart and the soul.
5
Everything is done to as early as possible develop the sharpness of the mind. For that the child is motivated as much as possible by all kind of presents and honourings, is thereby from the earliest time on as much as possible exercised in selfishness and greed with the education of the mind, wears fine and decorated clothes and quite often does not know himself because of all the haughtiness before reaching the age of ten. Woe the poor child or also any other person, who does not show the expected respect to such spoiled child, or even dares to mock it! Because he has made himself a permanent enemy of such a spoiled child!
6
Under such circumstances, where in such people would be the inner life strength resembling Me?! Where is man's magnificence over the whole of nature and over all the elements, out of which finally everything created consists and must consists?!
7
However, if the heart in man is developed first, and only afterwards a quite easy and effective education of the mind is added, the awakened mind will become a living light-life-ether, which surrounds the soul like the light-ether surrounds the sun, out of which then all these marvellous effectuations start to appear, which you see living on this earth everywhere.
8
During the right education of the soul of man, the soul remains inside and active, and this what you call 'mind', is the emanating effectuation of the inner activity of the soul. The outer-light of the mind illuminates all the still so critical external relationships, and the will then enters this outer-light and effectuates everything fertilizing and growing; if man's order is set like this according to My order, then the will and trust is also something emanating out of Me or out of My almighty will, which most certainly all creatures must obey. This what such an orderly person wants, must happen in a wide vicinity, because the outer-life-sphere of a person is actually filled with My spirit, to whom all things are possible.
9
If such a person is then completely reborn out of his spirit, he is completely equal to Me and in all his life's freedom he can do, within My order which he became himself, whatever he wants, and it must be there and happen according to his free will. In such life perfected state, because completely resembling Me, man is not only a master of the creatures and the local elements of this earth, but his magnificence then reaches, just as My own, to the whole creation in endless space, and his will can prescribe laws to the countless worlds, and they will adhered to them. Since his transfigured vision penetrates everything, just as My own and actually with My own, and his clearest recognition sees the needs everywhere in all of creation and can prescribe and create and help, wherever and whatever it will be; since he is in everything one with Me."