What Is Hidden Will Be Made Manifest
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (4:21-23)
Love desires to shine, it is its goal. Like a fire burning inside, it is called to come out. I came to bring the fire of the Holy spirit on earth, first in a few hearts, then let it spread in nations. I spoke in parables, to help limit the first group of people that would follow me. This was of key importance, so that the fire of love of the Father would not be a broad yet shallow fire, but rather a deep and intense fire that would grow and spread far away.
When my disciples were fragile, when the twelve were struggling with my message, with the coming of the cross, I needed to take the time to explain the depths of the Gospel to them. They did not understand well, they saw only the practical elements and struggled to see the spiritual realities. The light of the Gospel had to shine fully in them, this full Gospel that touches all the parts of a human being. They had to understand that I came not only to heal, to cast out demons and to forgive sins, but also to bring - through the power of the Holy Spirit - a deeper renewal of their spirits. They would then learn to store treasures in heaven and not on earth, to fully become temples of the Holy Spirit, carrying this Holy Fire of love everywhere they go and in all they think or do.
This process is the same for each of my disciples, they have to learn first to dwell in me and I in them, to be taught by the Spirit, to let us speak to their heart through the Bible and through the creation. As you learn to listen to me, as you become a temple of the Holy Spirit, you begin to see our love bring fruits in you and through you. Your character will begin to be more gracious, your angers will disappear as a mist lifts from the earth, your worries will be replaced by discussions with us. This pure love in you will become a powerful channel of our grace not only to you but to many others.
The purpose of our love is to spread in this world. The Holy Spirit does not come in a life only for this life. The Holy Spirit brings a fire that wants to break out, like a river that cannot be contained. Either people have to renounce our love and remain self-centered, or they will invite our holy love to burn in them and to transform those around them. In this process, don’t separate the transformation of your character from the gifts of the Holy Spirit that will flow through you. Both are needed, and one without the other is very fragile. Divine healing is rooted in our love, and is a manifestation of our love. In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps to soften and sanctify your character so that you become a holy vessel of his holy power of love, a love that wants to spread out to others. The miraculous is normal, it is the way through which we bring the perfection of heaven on earth. I taught my disciples to pray that the Father’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is really simple yet people don’t think often about what it means. It implies that diseases will be removed, that evil spirits are cast away, that love mends relationships and communities, that the earth becomes tamed and more fruitful than ever.
As this life of the kingdom grows secretly in you, it is preparing to burst out and to bring many fruits. This process starts in the hidden of the heart and brings many fruits. I described this simple process in many parables.
And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (4:24-25)
In parallel to this teaching that the work of the Father - that started in the secret of hearts - had to be revealed, I had to warn my disciples about what happens when you welcome the love of the Father but don’t let it flow out of you. For the selfish, the gifts of God will dry up, they are not designed to remain hidden but to be disclosed and shared. As you learn to share what you receive from us, the life of the kingdom begins to grow in you and through you. Your love grows through practice. The intimacy of our love wants to replicate itself.
If you refuse to forgive your brother, we will refuse to forgive you. If you learn with us to love your brother, we will pour more of our love in you. The wonder of the Father’s love is that the more you share it around you the more it grows in you. The more you pray for people to be healed, out of love, the more we will give you this healing love.
This is the second side of the growth in love. First, you learn to grow in relationship with us, in the love of God for you, in the love for God. This growth in intimacy is a gift of the Holy Spirit, that allows you to speak with us and to hear us, to see love grow in your heart. As I taught my disciples when I was on earth: ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. Second, as you become grounded in the love of God, you are invited to spread this love to your neighbor.
For those who don’t grow in the love of the neighbor, who refuse to let our love flow out of them to bless others, even what had been given will be taken away, the joyful presence of the Holy Spirit in them will dry up. You cannot love God without learning to love your neighbor, this is impossible. The process starts with the love of God poured in your life through the powerful grace of the Holy Spirit, and this process continues as you carry our love to many. Don’t stop halfway or all you have received will be lost.
Let the Holy Spirit, with the rivers of love that He brings in your life by the grace of the Father, flow through you to many. Enter into the flow of the Father’s love, as I showed how to live in this flow during my life on earth. Learn from me, learn with me. Let the love of God rule in you and through you.
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