But I answered and said to him, "Lord,
we can obey you
if you wish, for we have forsaken
our fathers
and our mothers and our villages,
and followed you. Grant us, therefore,
not to be tempted
by the devil, the evil one."
The Lord answered
and said, "What is your (pl.)merit
if you do the will of the Father
and it is not given to you from him
as a gift while
you are tempted by
Satan? But if
you are oppressed by
Satan, and
persecuted, and you do his (i.e., the Father's)
will, I [say] that he will
love you, and make you equal
with me, and reckon
[you] to have become
beloved through his providence
by your own choice. So
will you not cease
loving the flesh and being
afraid of sufferings? Or do
you not know that you have yet
to be abused and to be
accused unjustly;
and have yet to be shut
up in prison, and condemned
unlawfully, and
crucified
reason, and buried
by the evil one?
Do you dare to spare the flesh,
you for whom the Spirit is an
encircling wall? If you consider
how long the world existed
it will exist after you, you will find
that your life is one single day,
and your sufferings one
single hour. For the good
will not enter into the world.
Scorn death, therefore,
and take thought for life!
Remember my cross
and my death, and you will
live!"
But I answered and
said to him, "Lord,
do not mention to us the cross
and death, for they are far
from you."
The Lord answered
and said, "Verily, I say
unto you, none will be saved
unless they believe in my cross.
But those who have believed in my
cross, theirs is the kingdom of
God. Therefore, become seekers
for death, like the dead
who seek for life;
for that which they seek is revealed to them.
And what is there
to trouble them? As for you, when you examine
death, it will
teach you election. Verily,
I say unto you, none
of those who fear death will be saved;
for the kingdom
belongs to those who put themselves to death.
Become better than I; make
yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit!"
