CHAPTER LIII
THE PILGRIM IS RECEIVED INTO GOD'S HOUSEHOLD
When I had spoken thus, my Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, from the centre of His throne, spake these delightful words: "Be not afeard, my dear one. I am with thee, thy Redeemer and Comforter, therefore be not afeard. Thy misdeed has been taken from thee, and thy sin has been purged. Rather be glad and rejoice, for thy name is written down among those of the elect; if thou servest me faithfully thou wilt be as one of them. Whatever thou hast seen, use it in fear of me, and thou wilt behold yet greater things. Be careful of those things only for which I have called thee, and walk on that path to glory which I have shown thee. Abide in the world as long as I leave thee in it, as a pilgrim, a stranger, a foreigner, a guest; but remain with me as a member of my household. I give unto thee the citizenship of heaven. Be therefore careful in the world. Have a mind that is—as much as possible—lifted both upward to me and kindly downward to thy fellow-men. Use, then, worldly things as long as thou art there, but rejoice in heavenly ones only. Be compliant to me only, adverse and refractory to the world and the
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