'Lord, you're starving. You're suffering from terrible thirst. Here, turn these stones into bread by your power, that you can eat. Or let me get you food.'
'For once will you listen to me!' He said, smiling. 'Stop talking of food and drink. Who is human here? I am! You impossible adversary, you argumentative devil! Hush for now and listen. I am in the flesh. Have pity at least and let me speak my piece.' He laughed at me, His face full of kindness and sympathy.
'Here, come into the flesh too, with me,' He said. 'Be my brother and sit beside me, Son of God and Son of God and let us talk.'
I did as He said at once, creating a body thoughtlessly that matched what you see now, as that was as natural to me as thinking was natural, and I gave myself a similar robe, and I realized that I was sitting on that rock there by His side.
'How long have you been in this wilderness?' I asked. 'The people in Jerusalem say almost 40 days.'
He nodded. 'That's about the right number,' He answered me. 'And it's time now for me to begin my ministry, which will last 3 years. I will teach the great lessons that must be learnt for admission to Heaven - awareness of Creation and the Understanding of its deliberate unfolding; an appreciation of its beauty and laws which make possible an acceptance of suffering and seeming injustice and all forms of pain; I will promise a final glory to those who can attain understanding; to those who can surrender their souls to the understanding of God and what He has done; to mankind, should they follow in my footsteps here. I will give that chance to Men and Women, which is precisely, I think, what you wanted me to do.'
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'For once will you listen to me!' He said, smiling. 'Stop talking of food and drink. Who is human here? I am! You impossible adversary, you argumentative devil! Hush for now and listen. I am in the flesh. Have pity at least and let me speak my piece.' He laughed at me, His face full of kindness and sympathy.
'Here, come into the flesh too, with me,' He said. 'Be my brother and sit beside me, Son of God and Son of God and let us talk.'
I did as He said at once, creating a body thoughtlessly that matched what you see now, as that was as natural to me as thinking was natural, and I gave myself a similar robe, and I realized that I was sitting on that rock there by His side.
'How long have you been in this wilderness?' I asked. 'The people in Jerusalem say almost 40 days.'
He nodded. 'That's about the right number,' He answered me. 'And it's time now for me to begin my ministry, which will last 3 years. I will teach the great lessons that must be learnt for admission to Heaven - awareness of Creation and the Understanding of its deliberate unfolding; an appreciation of its beauty and laws which make possible an acceptance of suffering and seeming injustice and all forms of pain; I will promise a final glory to those who can attain understanding; to those who can surrender their souls to the understanding of God and what He has done; to mankind, should they follow in my footsteps here. I will give that chance to Men and Women, which is precisely, I think, what you wanted me to do.'