The Household of God
Volume 2
Rise and spiritual prime of the first world empire Hanoch
- Chapter 13 -
HONOUR AND OFFICE OF LEADER
After also these three had been dismissed, Abedam the High turned to Abedam the Known and asked him:
2
"Tell Me, Abedam, what I shall make of you? See, the children of the evening have no leader as yet; how would it be if I gave you to them?"
3
And the other Abedam replied: O You good Father! Firstly, I cannot answer Your vital question in any other way than: Your holy will be done. For You know anyway that I am always ready to go into battle for You and let myself, out of endless love for You, be transformed into whatever Your holy will would make out of me.
4
"However, since this office of leader is always of necessity connected with a certain degree of honor (forgive me if I, as usual, talk straight from the heart) which, I firmly believe, even You cannot wholly separate from the office as long as the leader shall be and remain that as which You chose him in Your grace, I merely want to implore You in my old humility which led me to You really, to exempt me, with my great ignorance, from this holy office. Look, there is a multitude of children; among them there are surely several like Kisehel.
5
"You know that I have always been only happy in the lowliest possible position, a thousand times rather obeying than delegating some work to another; for this reason, do exempt me from this office!
6
"Yes, if it be agreeable to You I should like to proclaim Your holy name on the quiet; but in doing so I do not want to be particularly respected by anyone.
7
"Through You I know that even humility ceases to be a virtue if it is merely observed for selfish reasons; however, You, O good Father, look into my heart and see that this is by no means the case with me and that my humility is prompted only by my love and immense respect for You. For this very reason I love to serve all my brothers, this being my sole, immensely great joy. Therefore, exempt me from this office; but now, as always, Your holy will be done. Amen."
8
And the high Abedam asked him again, saying: "So you truly want to be no leader because this office entails some honor which you consider inseparable from the office, without realizing that I may possibly be able to separate the, to you, cumbersome honor from the office?"
9
And the known Abedam replied: "Yes, Lord and Father Abedam, if this should be possible You may choose me as leader of the tigers, hyenas, lions, bears, wolves, lynxes and foxes and I will follow You to the end of the world. If You will send me into the depths of the ocean I will go, there to fulfill Your holy will, - but away with the honor!
10
"Alone, I can use neither the strength, nor the might or the power, but only Your love in my heart; for if I had the strength, might and power like the rest of them, who would protect me against the honor of the office?
11
"But if I, in my utter lowliness, have only Your love, I can serve everyone according to the strength of Your love in me in the most blissful humility of my life.
12
"Hence, if it be Your holy will, I would be an unnoticed leader in Your holy name. Amen."
13
And the high Abedam replied: "Listen, Abedam, your intention is just and quite worthy of My pleasure; however, your cognition in My order of things falls far short of your pure intention. For behold, in the order of all things there cannot exist an office unconnected with a certain degree of honor; for without such honor the office would not be an office, but merely a refuge for quarrelers where everyone would rather fight for his own foolishness than follow his brother's wisdom.
14
"If the office carries the proper degree of honor, namely, the proper strength, might and authority, the offender is prevented from ridiculing the office and My order; in the end, he will be forced to submit to, and then abide by, the rule of the office until such time when this rule has become the guiding rule of his own life and, as it were, had been established by him personally.
15
"Behold, My beloved Abedam, this the office cannot ever effect without the appropriate degree of honor.
16
"So if you want to be My servant, you must grasp My will fully and act accordingly and faithfully, with no will of your own intruding save the willing obedience, which is the seed of the true, inner humility.
17
"Anyway, the honor is not attached to the officiating person, but only to the office as such, which represents nothing else but Me in My love, grace and mercy, provided it has been arranged and determined by Me and by those who have to hold the office. Would you, then, dispute the honor of My holiness to Me?
18
"There will be in a time of great worldliness a multiplicity of offices and the people will go to very great lengths to obtain such an office. However, these offices will hardly issue from Me and all their strength, might and authority will be a, to you, still unknown worldly power.
19
"But this does not apply to the office which I am imposing on you here. To be sure, you obtain this office only owing to your great humility; therefore, accept it as all others have accepted theirs, and act accordingly, and you will be truly living a perfect life out of, and in, Me.
20
"Thus you, too, receive My blessing and be a true, faithful and active leader of all the children of the evening.
21
"On whom you will be laying your hands in My name, he shall be, like you, a leader to the brothers in all love and wisdom out of Me.
22
"And so receive My blessing and, as you carry My name, you shall henceforth carry My Word, My Love, My Grace and My Mercy in all strength, might and authority! Amen."