The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 158 -
FEAR AND LOVE OF GOD
And the sublime Abedam replied to the known Abedam's excuse of his fear:
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"You have spoken the truth, but between ourselves I must raise a little objection. Behold, if this light thunderstorm were a work of My might, where would the earth now be? Yes, I tell you and also you others, where would the entire creation be?
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"If you want to see a work of My might look at the entire infinite creation, how everything is consolidated and consists as a whole in its particular kind and yet only as a part of the infinite whole; and how nothing can leave the earth, the sun, the moon and all the stars except the most imponderable, namely, a properly limited light. Behold, those are works of My might.
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"Do you believe that My might is a might of ruin or a might of destruction?
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Truly, if My might were like that nothing would ever have been created through it.
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"But since My might is not a might of destruction and ruin, but of a constant creating and preserving of the created, it is consequently a might of eternal order.
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"Since My might is like this and not otherwise, tell Me now where that is which you fear?
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"Or do you think that this thunderstorm is less a work of My love than a calm, bright day?
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"I tell you: A calm, bright day can be compared to a lover who is sitting with his wife in his hut. He certainly loves his wife steadily, yes, faithfully, but what a difference there is between his love and that of a young wooer.
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"If the wife says to her husband: 'Would you go outside and fetch me some pears from the nearest tree, or some other ripe fruit, for I am a bit hungry and long for some fruit,
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"then the man will scratch his head and say somewhat reluctantly: 'But my dear wife, look, it is only three steps outside, let me rest a little. If you long for this fruit you could really get it yourself.' -"
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"But if a tender maiden said to her ardent admirer: 'You shall have my hand and heart, but for a true sign of your love you shall travel from here for a hundred days and from there bring me a most precious and rare gift!',
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"Will then the wooer of his dearly beloved maiden do what the husband in the hut did to his wife?
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"Oh no, say it. Instead he will reply: 'O maiden, not just a hundred days will I travel, but if it pleased you even to the end of the world there to gather all the treasures of the world to place in your tender lap!' Tell me, is it not like that?
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"Behold the calm, bright day in the hut and compare it with the loveturbulent night in the heart of the young wooer. What a difference between the two kinds of love!
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"If now this stormy night from My part towards you children were comparable to the love of the young wooer, - would you, Abedam, still call it an awful work of My might which appears so terrible to you?"
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And the known Abedam answered: "O Lord, my sublime, most loving namesake, behold, now once more a great part of my stupidity has been destroyed. For this eternal thanks to You.
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"But I think that some of my foolishness must still be hiding somewhere in the background as, I cannot help being still a bit afraid.
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"As You, sublime namesake, put up with so much from me and graciously relieved me already of many a thing, do relieve me also of this foolishness and put it away wherever it pleases You."
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And the sublime Abedam answered: "Behold, now you have found the right word. Truly, I have to put up with a great deal from you all and the sack into which your countless follies are gathered is called My forbearance and great patience.
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"But I tell you, let no one trust too much in the sack for it might tear one day. And if that happened, woe betides the earth and its inhabitants.
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"Are you two, Enoch and Lamech, still afraid too? And Enoch replied: "O Abba, unfortunately I must answer Your question in the affirmative. However, I think that just as all children are full of anxiety and fear, so am I too. But I find it proper, for if Your fatherly kindness had not given the weak child the loving-wise, proper share of anxiety and fear, what would become of the weak child that falsely imagines himself strong? Who could guide and educate it?
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"In this way fear is already the child's greatest teacher. It was with me from the beginning and shall remain so henceforth, for I know only too well that in this very fear of the weak your highest love is active.
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"It is the most reliable caretaker of the little ones and therefore it shall also remain mine as it was, namely, as the great gift of love from You, the good, holy Father, from the beginning and forever.
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"Through Your mercy I know and feel it very clearly within me that thanks to Your helpful care and loving grace nothing bad can and is allowed to happen to me. Yet I fear such extraordinary happenings and that because I love You above all.
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"Behold, where there is love there is also fear, but where there is no fear, there is no love."
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And Abedam replied to him: "Enoch, you have spoken the truth. But who taught you to speak thus?
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"Yes, it is true that I am present in the fear of the weak. He who loves the Father fears God and without the fear of God no one can love the Father.
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'"Therefore fear of God and love are equal and one cannot be without the other. But one thing must be noted, namely, that love is superior to fear. Thus there is life solely in love and not in fear. In fear there lies death and not life. And so everyone shall let his fear be captured by love, then he will live in the Father who alone is the Lord of all life. Do understand this well!"
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However, Lamech asked Abedam "Would You quickly tell me whether I am really afraid?
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"Behold, it all looks rather terrible and the constantly increasing howling, crashing and thundering, the uncanny rushing, roaring and raging instinctively fills one's heart with great, yes, with rising fear. And although all this affects me I am still not sure whether it is the foolish fear or perhaps some other, to me still unfamiliar, frame of mind. O Abba, do explain this to me, if you will. Amen."
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And Abedam gazed very kindly at him and said: "Lamech, I think you do not see the wood for all the trees. How can you ask another whether your heart is overcome with fear when you are trembling all over for fear?
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"Behold, what courageous words you have spoken not so long ago. Where is now your great courage and unshakeable trust? And yet not one of all the horrors you mention has come to pass. All of us are still standing on the sufficiently solid earth. It has not yet been destroyed; the sea has not evaporated, no world-sized hail has fallen, not a single mountain has been carried away by flaming hurricanes and no flames have enveloped us; and yet you are trembling beside Me as if all the fevers had seized you simultaneously.
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"What will become of you if I in order to test you allowed to happen what you earlier spoke of so courageously?
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"So note this too: It is better, like Enoch, to remain in your fear than to promise too much in your burning love. It is actually immaterial what someone promises under the influence of burning love or in a state of fear rendering him deaf and blind, for all such promises are not kept since such an overstrained state can never be a permanent one.
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"How the fire of love as such changes you can see in the marital love which is a cooled down fire which never makes the blood in the heart boil but only gently and softly warms and quickens it.
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"And from the weak children you can see how long their fear lasts and the promise with it. In their fear they stick to their promised betterment as long as the father thunders around them with an angry mien" But once his mien brightens again, the fear is gone and with it all the promises out of it.
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"If you want to be perfect there must always be three parts of fear and seven parts of love in you; and then you will add to all your prayers also this: 'Father, let not temptations assail my weakness but deliver me from all evil spiritually as well as physically!' And thus you will ask properly, for temptation is not good for free man as it first kills the body and then weakens the spirit.
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"You are fortunate that you conquered fear through love -- though only until the time of temptation - and did not let love go when temptation came, but allowed your mightier love for Me to drift through your fear. But henceforth only those will be fortunate who with always proper fear of God will awaken in the love for the Father. Thus men's first duty to God will be a voluntary obedience, which is a fruit of the proper fear of God. Only in this obedience will men be born anew as God's children, recognize Him and then behold the most loving, holy Father.
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"Fear is the seed of love, and as there cannot be a fruit without a seed, there will never be a true love without the proper fear of God.
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"As the seed rots in the soil and the live germ of love breaks forth, sprouts and brings living fruit, thus also love, this holy germ of eternal life, will break forth from the fruit. The old fruit will decay, but out of this decay on the good soil of My love for you there will arise an amazing fruit, a tree of life, under whose branches even the dwellers of heaven will establish their abodes. Take good note of that.
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"But now no more of this! For look, Adam has got up and is fearfully coming towards us. For he also begins to suspect help from Me. Therefore, keep silent before him. Amen."