Of the fellowship in Christ, and of the spiritual reaching-of-the-hand, in comparison of the vine and the branches.
The Seventy-fifth Letter.
Of the fellowship in Christ, and of the spiritual reaching-of-the-hand, in comparison of the vine and the branches.
In Jesus, dearly beloved sister!
As I received your last pleasant little letter of the 4th of August through N., I thought: Now I will yet also write her a little greeting-letter shortly; laid also your little letter always before me until now, to remind myself thereby; only my circumstances, which are as they are, have hindered it. The ailing old age makes unfit and unwilling for activity: Yet love never fails, neither God's love to us, nor our love to Him, and to one another; for it is one life-sap and power for refreshment among one another, and for the glorifying of the divine stem, from which all branches receive their life. That is a certain and comforting truth: In Christ, to whom we have given our heart and will, we all hang on one another, like the branches of a vine, and impart to one another the sweet life-sap unto all growth and fruitfulness. The one branch may well receive it more immediately from the stem, or have a nearer influence with this than with another branch; but that causes neither envy nor strife: All hangs on one another; it is one sap for life in all, and all make in the stem one single whole vine, whose smallest branches often bear the fairest grapes.
Enough of the image! You already perceive what I mean. Our fellowship in Christ, and the reaching-of-the-hand in the Spirit, remains, and will remain unmoved with God, even when I for my part can write so little. The eternal Love has touched our ground and drawn it to Himself, and still draws us on and on, though not always in one manner. The inward longing and the faithful inclination of love our Friend will have undivided for Himself; (O! how most just is this!) and such He lets us happily perceive, and the heart cannot otherwise than struggle in pressure and disturbance, when it lets itself be markedly displaced from this goal. Indeed, since there is so much in us to purify and to melt, we should not always pretend to light and sweetness, but let ourselves be accustomed, and prepared, to childlike faith, and unconditional yielding to the leading of so good and faithful a God.
Live well in God, my dear sister! and forget not before God your old brother Tersteegen! I also remember you. Forget also not, however, that you are called Mary; you have many occupations: God give you a withdrawn heart. Let Martha do her things before herself, as faithfully as she understands it; but do not let yourself be driven up, but remain sitting untouched at your place. God will give grace. Greet N. N. from me, and where you find it good, and have opportunity thereto. Your dear mother also be greeted in the name of Jesus, and God's blessing earnestly wished her. May Jesus live and reign in us and in all hearts: In His love I greet you once more, dear sister, and remain
Your Mülheim, weak fellow-brother. the 1st of November, 1764.
German
Der fünfundsiebzigste Brief.
Von der Gemeinschaft in Christo, und der geistlichen Handreichung, in Vergleichung des Weinstocks und der Reben.
In JEsu herzlich geliebte Schwester!
Wie ich dein letzteres angenehmes Brieflein vom 4ten August durch die N. erhielt, da dachte ich: Nun will ich ihr doch auch nächstens ein Gruß-Brieflein schreiben; legte auch dein Brieflein bis hierzu stets vor mich, um mich daran zu erinneren; allein meine Umstände, die so sind …
— Opening lines of the original German. The complete transcription of all 605 letters appears in the forthcoming Encounter Press critical edition; Brief 1 is shown in full as a sample.
German text: public domain (1773–75 first edition / 1845 Gesammelte Schriften).
Translator’s notes
What this letter is. A November letter of the 1st, 1764, from Mülheim to Anna Maria Rittershaus. Her last pleasant little letter of the 4th of August came through N.; he meant to write a little greeting-letter shortly, and laid hers always before him, but his circumstances, which are as they are, hindered it. Ailing old age makes unfit and unwilling for activity; yet love never fails, neither God's love to us nor ours to Him and to one another. It is one life-sap from the divine stem; in Christ they hang on one another like the branches of a vine, and impart the sweet life-sap unto growth and fruitfulness. Fellowship in Christ and the reaching-of-the-hand in the Spirit remain, even when he can write so little. The Friend will have the inclination of love undivided; the heart cannot otherwise than struggle in pressure and disturbance when it is displaced from this goal. They should not always pretend to light and sweetness, but let themselves be accustomed to childlike faith and unconditional yielding. Live well in God; forget not your old brother Tersteegen; you are called Mary — let Martha do her things; remain sitting at your place. Greeting to N. N. and to the mother. Mülheim, the 1st of November, 1764.
One life-sap from the stem. Love never fails, neither God's love to us, nor our love to Him, and to one another; for it is one life-sap and power for refreshment among one another, and for the glorifying of the divine stem, from which all branches receive their life. In Christ, to whom we have given our heart and will, we all hang on one another, like the branches of a vine. The one branch may well receive it more immediately from the stem, or have a nearer influence with this than with another; but that causes neither envy nor strife: all hangs on one another; it is one sap for life in all, and all make in the stem one single whole vine, whose smallest branches often bear the fairest grapes.
Childlike faith, not pretence of light. Enough of the image. Fellowship in Christ, and the reaching-of-the-hand in the Spirit, remains, and will remain unmoved with God, even when so little can be written. The eternal Love has touched our ground and drawn it to Himself, and still draws on and on, though not always in one manner. The Friend will have the inward longing and the faithful inclination of love undivided for Himself; how most just is this. The heart cannot otherwise than struggle in pressure and disturbance, when it lets itself be displaced from this goal. Since there is so much in us to purify and to melt, we should not always pretend to light and sweetness, but let ourselves be accustomed to childlike faith, and unconditional yielding to the leading of so good and faithful a God. You are called Mary; let Martha do her things; remain sitting untouched at your place. God will give grace. Mülheim, the 1st of November, 1764.
A few words and echoes.
- your last pleasant little letter of the 4th of August. received through N.
- ailing old age. unfit and unwilling for activity.
- love never fails. neither God's love to us, nor ours to Him and to one another. (1 Cor. 13:8)
- one life-sap from the divine stem. all branches receive their life there.
- like the branches of a vine. we hang on one another in Christ. (John 15:4–5)
- neither envy nor strife. one sap for life in all; one single whole vine.
- the reaching-of-the-hand in the Spirit. remains, even when so little can be written.
- our ground. touched and drawn to Himself.
- undivided for Himself. the inward longing and the faithful inclination of love.
- struggle in pressure and disturbance. when the heart is displaced from this goal.
- not always pretend to light and sweetness. childlike faith, and unconditional yielding.
- so good and faithful a God. (1 Thess. 5:24)
- you are called Mary. let Martha do her things; remain sitting at your place. (Luke 10:39)
- Your / Mülheim, weak fellow-brother. the 1st of November, 1764.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-075 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.