The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 152 -
About the godly order on the spiritual way of life.
The Roman Marcus, who very seriously listened to every of My words to the captain, came to Me and said: "Lord and Master, I have well understood the meaning of Your words, and I marked its extent deeply into my heart, but I still cannot refrain to confess openly that the life of man is under such circumstances, in which he has to develop himself, absolutely no joke. The rule can quickly and easily be spoken out, but cannot that quickly and easily be executed.
2
You said that man should master for half in conquering his senses and lusts and also the still high tendency - especially during his youthful years - for the charms of the world, before he may hope for Your support, and You will then give him the complete mastery. Although, this sounds very good and true, and unto a certain extent also easy, and one can also soon perceive that this will be and has to be so according to Your creative order. But when one considers that almost for every young person, over whom the charms and enticements of the world have an ever-increasing power than over someone who is already becoming older and who can very easily turn his back on the attractions of the world, it must be extremely difficult to turn all his senses and lusts away from the world, and to walk with manly power on the spiritual path and to continue thereon. Since this is supreme and most important to man, I still would like to ask the following question, which seems sensible to me - according to my way of thinking - namely if it would not be more profitable for everyone if You, o Lord and Master, would prefer to support by helping him at the time of his greatest weakness, and he would thus with Your help attain to half of the mastery, after which the attainment of the second half with the help of his own life power and willpower would not lead to such great difficulties as the attainment of the first half of the mastery of life.
3
Because I know from my very own life's experience with what kind of power the charms of the world have often beaten my better thinking and willing to the ground, stirring up my fantasy and filling my whole mind with burning passions. Yes, Lord and Master, then it would have been good if You had tempered in me this fervent force of my passions. Now I am tempering them with little difficulty very easily myself, and in a lot of points self-denial comes by itself. Of course, this is no merit if one has only to fight against little dwarfs of worldly passions with his own life power, and they therefore can also easily be battled and conquered than in the powerful youth in which a whole army of armored giant passions are charging against man and are easily and completely crushing the weak fighter.
4
When for instance in a smaller or bigger village a house is on fire, then I believe that during the fire it is indeed the highest time to help the one whose house has caught fire to extinguish the fire, for if he succeeds to master his burning house, and the helpers are only arriving later when the greatest danger is already past, then it seems to me that their help did not come at the right time. However, I do not mean to answer my question authoritatively myself by what I have said now, and thus I ask You for Your opinion."
5
I said: "My friend, also this time you have spoken very wisely and you are completely right according to the earthly way of thinking, and with this, also the way of acting that goes with it. But I know man and his process of life undeniably better than you or no matter what kind of intelligent human being, and therefore I cannot show, explain and give you the matter of true life development any differently than how it is according to the full truth, and it can also not be otherwise.
6
According to the earthly intelligent thinking of men, almost everything in the whole world of creatures on this Earth could be criticized, but according to the highest love and wisdom of God everything must develop and be as it develops and is.
7
Is it in a certain way not strange that God has given man a weak body, which he has in the first place to carry around and drag along with difficulty and laboriously and with which he can unexpectedly fall down from a height and die instantly? Would it not be more sensible to give man a light body like a mosquito? Then man could jump down from the greatest height, and obviously no harm would happen to him, and if he would fall into the water, he would also not go under and drawn.
8
But then what would happen to a person with such a light body in a storm or even during a somewhat heavy wind? Would it then not lift him up and carry him away as a downy feather, often many daytrips away? How could men with such light bodies possess and keep their home? Could they cultivate the heavy soil and build strong houses for themselves with their tender hands that are light as air?
9
By this example you surely will understand why a human being on this Earth must have a heavy body, even if he is thus exposed to many dangers, which he however with the help of his intellect and his ability for evaluation can always protect himself against and do away with them if only he seriously wants it, for only him will be killed in case of danger who often willfully will set out for danger. But let us still continue for a while our critical reflection about the nature of many creatures.
10
What do you think: is it for instance sensible that germinating plants, while they are still extremely tender, raise above the surface of the soil at a time when it is mostly still severe and stormy, and because of their weakness and tenderness will all too often and too easily be damaged by the storms, and will then grow out no more as fruits and ripen to be useful to men or animals? Would it actually not be more sensible to, already immediately at the beginning, let them come up from the surface of the soil completely strong, so that they then could no more be harmed by the severe storms, or to command the severe and bad storms to rest during that first time of development? Look, is this not what human cleverness could desire on very good grounds from the wise and almighty Creator of all things, because why would you let develop something at a time in which that which is developing is still exposed to 1.000 enemies?
11
Look, this is how often many thousands of men are thinking and wondering with their ability of understanding and their worldly intellect, but for this reason God can still not step out of His eternal order, and He continuously lets everything begin to develop in an extremely tender and weak condition, because only He knows and sees under which circumstances a stronger development and existence can be accomplished from the nature spirits.
12
But besides that, God always protects the tender development of a created thing, and during the time of harvest there is still practically so much of everything that the people, more in particular those who love God and who entrust themselves to Him, have sufficient in every respect, and are also thanking God for everything. Yes, there can also be times and years that are meager, which does not give the people that which is most necessary, but the Lord will only allow such times to come when the people have begun from sheer worldly interest to forget Him completely. But for the people who - also during the days of trials and afflictions - will hold on to Him, will also during such times be taken care of, and they certainly will have to suffer little distress, which I can absolutely assure you.
13
And look, in this way I still could look at and criticize for you many things in a human way concerning the natural world, but for this reason I still cannot abolish the laws of My order that exist since eternity or give them another form.
14
And now, look further. As the situation is with all that which is created, so it is also, according to My order, with receiving the mastery over the life of man. In the beginning this is the way he should act independently, and with the weapons that are given to him he should begin to fight against the passions that are assailing him. If he does that, he will, according to the measure of his victories, receive from that, help from Me for further and more serious battles and victories. And so he still will finally, despite all storms that were opposing him from all sides, reach the goal of life, just like you as a gentile were pursued by many passions, and have now - because I came to meet you - as good as completely attained the true goal of life. Did you now absorb it in you in the right spirit?"
15
Marcus said: "Lord and Master, I believe that I have well absorbed and understood the spirit of Your words in the right way. But when I think about our Rome, and more in particular about its weakened and worldly citizens who are craving for pleasure, then I really become afraid, because these worldly people know now only their palate, their belly, the greatest luxury and they have an unsatisfied craving for pleasure of all kind. Besides, with most people, the worst pride has rooted so deeply that they do not consider the people of the poorer class anymore as human beings, and they do with them what they want and whatever can give them pleasure, no matter how dishonoring and deep insulting it may be to human dignity.
16
For them, it is not sufficient to keep into the great and more than rich houses and palaces continually one revelry after another, getting drunk unto madness, but by that they also organize the most brutal lusts for the eye and caressing for the ear. With such feastings they also bring gladiators, to the greater amusement of the guests, who have to fight with the sword just as long as one of them remains dead on the spot, or 2 athletes have to wrest with each other until the strongest and most skilful one has injured his opponent in such a way by throwing him continually to the ground and by violent blows with the fist until he then will soon breathe out his spirit. And then the gladiators are seriously pointed out before the fight that they firstly have to fight with dignity and that secondly the one who is killed has to die with all dignity.
17
Yes, Lord and Master, if I now think back about all this, and besides that I consider Your godly teaching, then I cannot feel differently than to be afraid. And then I actually mean, that with a nation whose morality is so terribly degenerated - which however is basically not their fault - Your help should come in a wonderful way in order to work with them beforehand, so that we then can spread Your word on a somewhat more fertilized ground, where it could form good roots and could grow with a greater certainly to a blissful fruit. For wherever there are still prominent and more than rich Romans, Your teaching will difficultly or not at all come to any effect, except incidentally in one or the other house which resembles ours. This well-considered objection is then also the reason why I have asked this question just now."