The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Again in Kis
- Chapter 205 -
About the nature of love. Love desires and seeks gratification. Difference between celestial and infernal love. Baram, from love of the Lord, bring the Lord a morning meal. Hints on reward for charity.
Kisjonah says, 'That is an exalted and deep truth, but I would like to comment on this that - at least among humans - there cannot exist a completely unmotivated love. Having often pondered on love, I find that love, be it ever so pure, always more or less goes on the prowl.
2
Look, I surely love You as deeply as anyone can ever love You; if it were possible I would like for love to fully absorb You with my body and place You in my heart.
3
But the question is whether I can feel that also for another person of no interest to Me? Why not? Why do I feel it with You? The answer is supplied by the matter as such.
4
I know who You are and know what You can do and also know what I can achieve through You and the observance of Your teaching, - and that is the unquestionable basis for my ardent love for You. For if You were not what You are, my love for You would surely be considerably weaker. Thus, I have an enormous interest in You and, therefore, I want and love You.
5
I do not want to say that I love You for the sake of some particular gain, for I am giving up everything in the world for love of You. But nevertheless my love here goes on a special prowl, for it aims at You because You are more to it than the whole world.
6
The greater worth - either material or spiritual - always determines the prompting of love. The merchant who was looking for pearls sold everything and bought the finest pearl he found. Why? Because it was worth much more than everything he had so far possessed. The interest is indeed a noble one, but it is still an interest and without that there is no love, at least not with man. And to the one who would like to convince me of a love without an interest, which at the most may be found in God, I say, "Friend, you may be very wise, but you have never as yet pondered deeply on the subject of love."
7
Of course, the divine, true love differs from the hellish one quite considerably in so far as divine love is also on the prowl as is the hellish one, but it returns it all again. It only gathers for the sake of returning, whereas hellish love robs only for its own benefit and will not surrender anything.
8
However, if we adopt heavenly love, we know that we shall thereby never end up with a loss or suffer damage, but are going to gain ever more the more we give.
9
There we may be compared to a hole dug in the ground. The more earth it loses the larger becomes its inner cavity for the reception of light and heavenly air. Lord, I think that I am not wrong there. What does Your endlessly superior wisdom say to it?'
10
Say I, 'Nothing but that you are quite right, for if love were not a robber in one way or another, it would not be love, since all love desires and wants to have.
11
However, there is an endless gap in the motivation for having, and that separates heaven and hell for all eternity.
12
But now Baram's people are bringing the morning meal; we want to therefore, having for hours cared for the spirit, also for a few moments think of the hungry body.'
13
Baram brings me a most precious fish in a bowl, prepared in the finest manner, together with a full beaker of wine, begging Me for grace to be worthy of serving Me a morning meal from his hand.
14
And I say to him, 'This your deed shall not go without reward, for you have taken the trouble out of your great love for Me, and equal love for brother Kisjonah, with whom you empathised, thinking that perhaps, after a few days, caring for several hundred guests may become a strain on him.
15
I say unto you, 'Kisjonah indeed suffers no want, as all of us could not consume his provisions in ten years. But because you thought so in your heart, and that Kisjonah could in the end run out of supplies coming to meet him with help from afar, your reward shall be as if you had done it for a destitute. For God sees only the heart of the giver.
16
But let you now sit down and share the bowl with Me and Kisjonah, for the fish is too big to eat for even three people!' Baram did so, as well as Kisjonah.
17
And so starts the morning meal, with the sun risen, and lasts for close on two hours. For the meal was nowhere near finished with the fish, with many other refreshments to follow.