The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 92 -
How the beauty of the children of God differs from the beauty of the children of the world.
He (Mathael) went up to Ouran and to the most beautiful Helena with a very serious step and asked both of them whether they had already now thought very maturely about the explanations he had given.
2
At this Helena says with the friendliest face, "But look, one says that I am also a beautiful girl, yes, I have often been called a second Venus; do you think that this name is meaningful for me according to your explanation? Do tell me, you dear, wise friend!"
3
This question made our Mathael a little embarrassed at first, because he discovered right at the first glance that Helena"s heart was a little insulted; but he soon composed himself and said, "Dearest sister in God! What I said to you was only appropriate for the children of the world; but the true children of God can be as beautiful in outer appearance as they like, but they are nonetheless wise in their hearts.
4
With these people external beauty is only a sign of their inner spiritual beauty; but with children of the world it is a deceptive whitewash over the graves which then, when they are whitewashed, look very beautiful and inviting, but on the inside they are full of decay and disgusting smells.
5
But you are seeking God - therefore you are also a child of God. But the children of the world seek only the world and are therefore also its children. They flee from the divine and seek only the honor and the respect of the world.
6
If they call the world great, magnificent and beautiful, their bliss is complete; but if one begins to talk to them about divine things they know nothing, and in order to hide their shame, they clothe themselves in all sorts of trumpery of the world, with haughtiness and with arrogance and persecute with anger, hatred and scorn all the wisdom that is poured by God into the hearts of the children of God.
7
There is therefore a great difference between the beauty of the children of God and the children of the world. The first is, as I said, a sign of the inner beauty of the soul, and the second is a whitewash of the grave, and this is represented by Venuz - but not you, since you seek God and have already found Him; therefore you must not relate my earlier Venus explanation to yourself at all. Have you understood me well?"
8
Helena says, "Oh yes, but that I am a child of God seems to me somewhat daring! We are certainly all creations of one and the same God; but there can be no talk of the certainly most endless superiority of the true children of God in us, who as coarse and clumsy material people are visibly filled with all sorts of weaknesses and countless imperfections leading from this! You, dearest and otherwise wisest friend, have certainly gone a little too far!"
9
Mathael says, "Oh, not at all; for you see, what I have said to you I have received from the great One! But what He taught me is and remains eternal truth!
10
You see, if you have a dove that can fly well; to prevent her to fly away from you immediately and so that she becomes tame and trusting, you clip her wings. Then the dove can no longer fly up and away like a butterfly, but instead must remain with you and let herself be tamed.
11
Tell me whether the dove in the time that her wings have been clipped is less of a dove than before when her wings had not yet been clipped! Will the wings of the dear dove no grow again in a short time? Yes, soon the dove will have her wings again and will be able to fly as well as before; but she will be tamed and will like to remain with you. And if she makes a flight from time to time, you will only need to call her and she will hear you in the high air and make a swift flight to you and let herself be caressed by you.
12
Certainly the children of God in this world have also some weaknesses which prevent them very much from rising up to God their Father; the holy Father has only allowed these weaknesses to come to His children for the length of their life on this world for the same reason that you made your dove unable to fly.
13
But the children should recognize their Father in such weaknesses, they should become gentle and humble and ask their Father for the right strength and invigoration; and He will then give these to them if it is the correct time for them.
14
But despite the weaknesses that are even in the children of God, they are no less His children than the dove is and remains a dove even when her wings are clipped for a while because of taming. Do you understand that now, most blessed Helena?"