9587. The Lord maintains a person in the freedom to think; and to the extent that external restraints - fear of the law, fear for one's life, and fear of the loss of reputation, position, or gain - do not hold the person back, He maintains him in the freedom to act. But by means of that freedom He can steer the person away from what is bad, and by means of that freedom steer him towards what is good. He leads the person so gently and quietly that he has no other idea than this, that everything proceeds from himself. In this situation the Lord sows good and implants it deeply in a person's actual life; and that good remains there forever. This is something the Lord teaches in Mark,
The kingdom of God is like someone who casts seed into the earth. The seed sprouts and grows, he himself knowing not how; the earth bears fruit of its own accord. Mark 4:26-28.
'The kingdom of God' is heaven as it exists with a person; it is accordingly the good of love and the truth of faith.
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