NEUOFFENBARUNG← Gifts of Heaven · Volume 3 · Contents
The true art of living
17th May 1847
[1] Virtue is a skill of the human being as a whole, to freely choose what is good and then, without being in the least distracted by anything, to act firmly and faithfully. If any man has attained in himself this harmonious skill, according to which he has now completely united all his many needs and desires, and then acts accordingly, he is completely virtuous.
[2] But if any man has not yet gotten there, and is only here and there active in some points, but in others like lukewarm water, he is something in some things, but in the whole, still nothing. For so already a man who is completely ready to act in everything, should say to himself: "I am a useless servant", what should the one who is still very much lukewarm and inactive say of himself? But such a one is then still far from being virtuous, but a poor bungler in all his doing and omitting. He is like a gardener who plants his garden with pure willow vines, because they grow most easily, almost without all effort and further garden care; but no-one can gather any edible fruit from them.
[3] Therefore, all plants are already set up for the instruction of the people, so that those who need the least of human industriousness also bring to light either no fruit at all, or only very bad fruit, which is worthless and completely useless to man. It is the same with a man who, according to the teaching of the Gospel, does one thing well, but on the other hand completely refrains from doing the other.
[4] In the plant kingdom of eternal life, it is nothing but a vain willow, which indeed bears much resemblance to the noble fruit trees – for it has good and firm roots in the earth, has a beautiful trunk, grows green, shoots beautiful, graceful branches and twigs, and produces quite a lot of leaves and also a flower – but the fruit, the fruit, where is it? A void seed, blown away by the slightest breath, is all one can get from this tree, that is however for nothing more than hardly suitable for it's own worthless reproduction. The wood itself is too bad even for fire and is even less suitable for building houses and least of all for making useful household utensils. One therefore places these trees also only at brooks and rivers, so that they, with their many firm roots, which are their best feature, should protect the banks from destruction by strong waters. However, even this service they also often provide poorly.
[5] Thus, as I have already said, a man who does the one thing quite precisely, but omits the other, is nothing but a vain willow, which, according to it's low branches, can at most help some Judas Iscariot to commit suicide, but is otherwise up to but little good.
[6] Whoever therefore wants to be quite virtuous must not ignore anything that the gospel prescribes to be observed. In all things let him not be a vain hearer and half-perpetrator of the word, but let him be a zealous doer of it. Then he will be like a gardener who, with all diligence, sparing no effort and work, grows in his garden all good and noble fruit trees, which will replace his work a hundred times over. And he will not be like that foolish planter who, in order to save trouble and work, planted willow vines in his garden – the fruit of which the winds then consume.
[7] Nor will he be like the willow tree itself, whose usefulness was described above, but he will be like a noble vine, which, driven by it's strong vine, will bring the most glorious and tasty grapes full of the most spiritual juice, from which for Me, the Lord and Father of the vineyard, for all eternities the most delicious wine will be pressed; love for love, heart for heart, life for life, spirit for spirit!
[8] "Virtue" – a big word! Blessed is the one who possesses it! He has become a true artist of life in this life.
[9] What effort some people make to become an artist in anything on earth! For years he trains himself with all diligence for hours every day, in order to achieve only his intended artistic goal! But if a man can subject himself to such great self-denials because of an earthly advantage and turn
all his powers to a harmonious point of action, why not just as easily and still much more easily to the much higher, indeed endlessly higher standing artistry in the very highest field of eternal life?
[10] This requires no limb and throat dislocations, no eye-strain, no abdominal and pulmonary strain, but only very little memory effort. But everything depends then on the faith of that which the word teaches, and then on the right will to love out of and according to the word. By a light exercise everyone in it can soon bring it to the most excellent skill; for My yoke is indeed gentle and My burden is light.
[11] The rules of the school of life are easy to understand and just as easy to follow. Why are they given so little attention? Because they seemingly exclude self-love, while everyone should nevertheless see with blindfolded eyes that every one who earnestly strives after the kingdom of God – when he practices the works of love and supports his brother physically – cultivates in each brother only one noblest fruit tree in the garden of his own life, which will bear the richest fruits for all eternities; for this will certainly not become a willow tree, for it has never been planted as such, for in the garden of the Word of God, such plants can never occur – as little as thistles buds on a noble vine.
[12] So pray for all vain little pearls, so that you may find and buy the one big, priceless one! Become true gardeners and do not grow up like willow trees, but like noble shoots on the vine, and you will become artists of life according to the given school of life. And I, your Lord, God and Father, will then eternally delight Myself in the most manifold, most glorious productions of the life of My beloved children and little children!