The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 134 -
ASMAHAEL'S PARABLE ON LOVE (29th October 1841)
After these words by Asmahael, which also Enos, Mahalaleel and Jared had heard, Adam and with him all the others rose and wanted to hurry to Asmahael, partly moved by a great reverence, in this case predominant, partly also by love which is always present in reverence, and especially in the presence of the revered. However, Asmahael told them to stay on the spot and said:
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"Listen, I will tell you a parable which you shall interpret. It runs like this:
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"When the sun shines upon a good soil, the soil splits asunder, forming deep and wide furrows in order to better and more deeply absorb the rays of the sun and to be warmed by it throughout. But sand never splits and gets warmed only on its surface. Once the ray has left its surface, the sparingly absorbed warmth is gone, too. Thus it is also with the stone. It lets itself be warmed intensely, but once the cold winds come, the warmth goes and it becomes colder than the winds themselves.
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"It is the same when the rain falls from the sky. While it is raining everything is full of moisture, but once the rain has ceased and the purifying and drying winds return, sand and stones are soon again dry and only the good soil retains the life-giving moisture of the rain and saturates all its plants.
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"O look within yourselves whether your hearts do not fare as do the sand and the stone!
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"While you have recognized Me only through My works and words and Enoch's testimony, you are warmed and full of reverence and love for Me. However, once I again become invisible to you, tell Me, will it be with you as with the good soil?
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"I now have been among you already for so many hours; which of you has done to Me what Enoch did?
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"Indeed, you highly revere Me, but also the stony peaks of the mountains absorb the suns first and last ray because they thirst for light. But when the warmth comes, too, they soon envelop themselves in dense and dark mists and cloud so that their perpetual snow and ice may not melt and vanish. Your love is also like the love of calves for the full udder of the cow. They leap towards it and with their heads push around on it while there is still some milk, but as soon as the flow of the milk has stopped the calf leaves the cow and there is nothing to discover that could be regarded as love.
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"You have now seen how Enoch has been received by Me and you would like to be received like that, too. But I ask you. Have you received Me as did Enoch? - Behold, Enoch received Me already in the beginning out of pure love; did you do the same?
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"Yes, when you saw My works you did receive Me. But do you think it was out of love? O look, true love does not do it that way, but only a secret self-interest. Because I am among you, you see the great benefit and all that could be achieved through Me. Thus My immense might inspires you with great reverence and the benefit connected with it with love for Me.
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"However, when I came to you from the lowland in lowliness as a man, you left me lying in the dust before you.
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'Tell Me, who was it who received Me in all love without any benefit in view?
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"Although you have in the name of Jehovah invited the children to the celebration of the Sabbath tomorrow, do you believe to have done it out of love for Jehovah? Oh, there you are very wrong! You have done it out of slavish fear and respect of Jehovah's infinite might and also out of anxious gratitude imposed upon you as a duty, mainly by the greatness of God.
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"Where is here the pure love which beyond all this freely, urged by nothing else but love, faithfully and without prejudice loves God above all within itself and thus also in every work of God?
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"You do want to tell Me: 'Lord, we believe of course that it is You, the alone true, holy, great, eternal and mighty God full of love and mercy, and love and grace!'
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"But I tell you: If you do not believe with the pure love of your heart, your belief is as good as non-existent and has no value before Me. You may countless times shout 'Jehovah' and say: 'Great, sublime, mighty, holy, merciful God, Lord, Creator of all things, dear Father! 'and so on but, truly, I tell you that it would be much better for you in this respect to save your lips, teeth, tongue, gums, throat and lungs, as all such empty religious babbling will never reach My ears.
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"For him who does not come and speak to Me like Enoch, it is all in vain, for I will not ever gaze upon him. And when he prays, his prayer will reach only brazen ears and all the heavens will remain barred to him with iron bolts until the last selfish drop in whatever respect has vanished from his heart.
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"The one who loves Me must love Me as a pure bride loves her pure bride-groom where only the hearts attract each other. Whatever is below or above it is a burden to free love, which is then unable to raise itself to My heart. For whatever is below love draws the heart down into the slimy depth, whereas that which is above love weighs it down and oppresses the heart to such an extent that it becomes too weak and powerless ever to raise itself again.
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"Therefore love must be pure so that, not urged by anything, it raises itself freely and with its own concentrated strength chooses, embraces and forever holds the freely chosen object.
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"Recognition of God is an awakening of love but not love for God itself To love God means to fully live within Him.
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"Recognition will not ever quicken a person and open to him the hallowed gates of eternal Love and, thus, eternal life, but note and understand this well - only pure love for and in God without an above and a below, and so without the least selfishness, except that of pure love as such.
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"Do examine your hearts and only then rise and come to Me! Amen."