The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 24 -
The cultivation of the human heart.
1
(Raphael:) "You know, my dearest virgin Jarah, when the Lord was staying in Genezareth, He Himself taught you all kinds of gardening cultures! He taught you all kind of useful plants, showed you how they must be cared for and how to use them. He made a little garden for you and planted it with all kind of useful plants and told you of each one in particular what form it will have, how it grows, when and how it will blossom, what fruit it will bear, for what they are good for, how one can enjoy them and how one can store a rich harvest so that it does not go bad. In short, the Lord Himself gave you the necessary lessons how your garden should be maintained.
2
Now, you had a very great joy about it! Would the joy on its own already be sufficient?! Would the garden have brought you any fruit of the blessing without the actual diligent maintenance?! Because of your great pleasure and because of your joy about the teaching out of the mouth of the Lord, nothing would be growing in your little garden - except some weed! Since you diligently put your hand to it according to the teaching, your little garden soon started to blossom into a little earthly paradise, and you can look forward to make a proper harvest from your little garden!
3
And see now! Likewise is also the heart of every person a little garden; if one diligently maintains it according to the teaching out of the mouth of the Lord and does not shy away from any trouble to turn everything one has heard into action, one will soonest possess enough blessing and enough mercy out of the heavens in ones own heart, so that one in the end for the soul and spirit can live out of ones very own means and will not all the time require our advice and our help!
4
Since this is what the Lord wants to achieve with man, namely that he becomes a completely independent citizen of the heavens according to the eternal unchanging order of God; who has achieved this, has in fact achieved everything. - Did you, dearest Jarah, understand this all quite well? Are you getting a little familiar with the purest tone which I have sung to you?"
5
Said Jarah: "Oh, now so well and so clear like the purest sun on a bright, cloudless midday! Your words gave my heart a mighty consolation, and I will also raise them to full action, so that they become for me the most joyful and blissful truths of life. To teach me and see to it that the teaching is turned into full action, should not be the most difficult task of life for you! But will also all the other people do what you have so loyal and truthful advised me to do?"
6
Said Raphael: "Worry firstly only about yourself, the others will be provided for by the Lord!"