"I will read it again. It is the 12th verse. ’Verily, verily, I say
unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also,
and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father.’
What were the works that Jesus did? Was it not healing the sick,
cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, feeding the hungry? Well, if no
one can do these works to-day, his word has failed or else no one has
sufficient faith (faith may sometimes mean understanding). Many
centuries rolled by, and the sick were not healed, nor the lepers
cleansed, in Jesus’ name. But now we know his words never failed. It
was the faith or understanding of those who thought they believed in him
which failed; for the sick are being healed now, and the lepers
cleansed."
"It is very wonderful as you put it, Master Carol. I can’t say it has
ever been explained like that to me before."
"Is it not very simple?" Carol asked.
"Why, yes. It has always seemed to me the Master’s words were very
simple, a child could understand them. But when you come to the
Epistles, and the creeds of the Church, there’s many things that I have
never been able to understand; and often the sermons I’ve listened to
puzzled me more than the texts."
"In the 15th verse Jesus says, ’If ye love me, keep my commandments.’
Jesus did not give many commandments to his followers. He told them
many things, but of strict commandments he gave only a few. One was, ’Go
into all the world, preach the Gospel and heal the sick.’ If you had a
son, and you commanded him to do two things and he did only one, and
left the other alone, would you be pleased with him? Would he be
obedient to your commands?"
"Certainly I shouldn’t be pleased with him, and I’d soon let him know
that, if he didn’t do all I commanded, he needn’t do anything."
"Yes, but Jesus just makes it a test of love. He says so gently, ’If ye
love me, keep my commandments.’ To those who keep all his commandments
he will one day say, ’Well done, good and faithful servant,’ I do hope
that some day he will say those words to me."
"I’m right sure he will, Master Carol. It is just wonderful the way you
are helping an old man to understand. It amazes me that a boy of your
years should have such an understanding."
"Oh, please don’t think I am telling you anything of myself. It has all
been explained to me many times. I am only telling you what has been
told me. I wish my cousin could talk to you. She would help you much
better than I can. But we must not withhold what we have because some
one else has more, must we? We must hand on the good tidings as well as
we are able."
"That’s it, Master Carol. Maybe I’ll do a little that way myself later
on."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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