Do we truly love the Lord? Then, we need to let Him love us. Do we love His Word? Then let us not just learn and know what the Word teaches; let us do what is taught. If we only take the Word and put it into our memory, we have not opened our hearts to the Lord. And He does not live within us and we will not come into His Kingdom of Heaven, for our faith is without charity.

Listen to the Lord as He teaches us in John.
"After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus" (21: 1,4).

Let us think of ourselves as those disciples as they were fishing. This is what had happened after the Lord had risen from death. Some of the disciples along with Simon Peter went fishing. Jesus had showed Himself to them for the third time after He had risen from the grave. He was now glorified. He was the Divine Human. His work on earth was finished and soon He would leave this world. Today we are like those disciples only we have the Word of the Divine Human. We know the Lord as they did in a natural sense. They were followers of Jesus and had been taught by Him just as we are; though, now, from the Word we read and are taught the truth, as we understand it. If we, too, are fishing, that is, if we are searching for that knowledge concerning God and His love and want to tell others what we know, then we need to look to where life comes from, we need to look to the Lord. He is now risen from the grave and 'as it were' stands on the shore where He now calls to us from where we can go to meet Him.

The Lord is in His Divine Human and what now proceeds from Him, if it is accepted, establishes a new Church in us. There is the Word of Truth to guide us in this new Church. From the Lord, whose Human is now made Divine, He comes to us enlightening us with His Truths. And, when we accept these new truths, not only into our mind, our understanding, but also into our heart, that is, into our will, we come to 'as it were' into the 'morning' state of this New Church. There we are in the beginning of a state where we can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is 'as if' the Lord in His Divine Good is standing before us, inviting us to accept His Divine Truth. Let us enter and partake of His life, where we can communicate with Him in love.  Such a state comes to us through the Word of Truth and is expressed 'as it were' to us through our life as our thoughts from our intention come from our will. It is a new life a spiritual life that we are being called to when we see the Lord in the Word of His Divine Human, for it is His life that teaches and guides us out of what only appears to be true out of our natural condemned state. Yet, at first, because we are but natural and not in any spiritual life from the Lord, we are not in genuine truths and often in falsities, and this because of our hereditary nature. And, as such we have not been taught such truths and do not recognize Jesus as the Divine Good. Are we willing to be led and taught by the risen and glorified Lord? Has Jesus revealed Himself to us again in this new Word?

Reading again from the Word,
"Then Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you any food?' They answered Him, 'No'" (John 21: 5)
Now, we need to understand this food - these goods and truths are what sustains us and brings spiritual life to us. The beginning of the New Church takes place when we are in such a state where the Lord's Divine Human may not be recognized, but if we are willing to be led by the Lord, by His Word, we can then come into a new faith and charity. Are we willing to become His disciples; willing for the true Church to enter into us and to receive His love, which is to come to us through our faith and charity? The Lord speaks to us from His Divine Truth; thus, He speaks to us through His love. And thus, He speaks to us from His Good as He spoke to His Son. It is just that in our natural state, we accept or receive truth according to our natural understanding.  Yet, Good can enter from the Lord into us through our love and our desire for such truth, but will remain hidden 'as it were' until we come to acknowledge that truth willingly, which is to act according to that truth from love. Thus, the Lord has called us to consult with Him all the things of the Church charity and faith. It is in this way that the Lord says or asks us, 'Do we have any food', that is, do we know the genuine goods and truths? He is asking if we truly understand if our knowledge of Him and His precepts are truly understood are they genuine; are they our spiritual and celestial food? In this state no one has those spiritual truths and goods that come from Heaven from the Lord. We must come to understand that the only way that spiritual truth is received is through the shunning evils and in the doing of good, that is, willingly through the heart and that we act or do such good from such a love from the Lord.

Now, at first, because we are in the natural state of life and have not been taught by the Lord immediately or directly 'as it were', all that we know is from our self. In this state, we do not have such spiritual food the Good and its Truth, that the Lord wants to share with us. And, at such a time, when we admit that we do not know of these spiritual goods and truths, except from a natural understanding, and, so far, only have stored them up in our memory, we cannot reciprocate and communicate with the Lord. We, in fact, are often unaware, more than not, of the spiritual meaning of the Word. What we experience in such a state is that we are fishing 'as it were' for truths through our natural understanding. The Lord has invited us to come from our labors to the shore 'as it were' and receive that new spiritual food that He now offers genuine truths and goods. In such a state, we do not know that it is the Lord calling to us and that He is the Divine Good that opens up to us a new life a life that brings us into spiritual intelligence and charity and establishes within us the New Church.

Let continue and see what the Lord teaches us.
"Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread" (John 21: 9).

Now, let us think of the fish and the bread lying on the 'fire of coals' as the Lord offering to us both natural and spiritual food in order to feed our love for the truth. When we have a love to know the truth and we approach the teachings, the doctrine of love and charity, the New Church comes forth. The natural good that we have learned begins to become in us a new rational understanding. As we approach with our affection to understand these new doctrines, we develop a conscience and truly begin see the mercy of the Lord; we recognize that Jesus is the Lord and God in the Divine Human.

All the knowledge we have gained that has come through our self can now be used in our reformation when we follow His truths and do them from a love of good, that is, when they are done in love and charity. These things, of course, are from our sensual affection for common truths. These things are the beginning of our reformation; they are the 'putting on' of a new spiritual life. This is called in the Word the 'good of love'. In fact, it is the Lord's love in us as we act accordingly from that love, which is called a love towards the 'neighbor'. What we are speaking of here is that spiritual food which is called in the Word 'bread'. The natural truth that becomes life in us is called 'fish' as it lies on a 'fire of coals', for there is that love for the Lord that burns within each of us as we come and act or do those truths taught by Him.

We read further from the Word in John.
"Jesus said to them, Bring some fish which you have caught" (21: 10).

Here, let us think of the fish as the truth that we have appropriated and bring them to Jesus as our reciprocation. As the New Church within us progresses, we begin to understand truths and goods that come from the Word of the Divine Human in a new light. This truth is understood from the Lord within and not from without, from our natural self. So from a natural state we are to bring to the Lord, that is, we are to reciprocate our natural affections for the truths that we have appropriated from the Word. These are seen in the bringing of the fish that the disciples had caught to the Lord. This is the use of one's memory, for these things come into remembrance as we approach the Lord, who now can be seen from a new perspective from His Divine Human. We are taught all this in His Word the Word of the Divine Human.

Continuing we read again.
"Jesus said to them, 'Come and eat breakfast'. Yet none of the disciples dared to ask Him, 'Who are You?' knowing that it was the Lord" (John 21:12).

We recognize that the truths learned in our natural state are when we see the Lord in a new light that He is the one God of earth and Heaven. The Lord is calling His Church those, who are in faith and charity that comes from His truth and good to come and live and to communicate with Him. We are, now, to appropriate spiritual food; we are to eat, to communicate with Him 'as it were'. There is where genuine truths are learned, where we are conjoined with Him in the love and charity that comes from Him. The Lord wants His Good to be our good. We need to bring our love and charity to Him that in us is a new rational, for when we do, we know and believe it is the Lord within us as our life that teaches and leads us. We know from the Lord, for He has told us in His coming again in the Word of the Divine Human. The truth understood naturally from the Word brings us to understand the essentials of good and truth. These essentials good and truth are revealed through this new Word.

Again, let us read the Word.
"Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish" (John 21: 13)

When we approach Him, He, as the Divine Good, approaches us. He is offering us spiritual truths and goods; He will give us that needed spiritual and celestial food, which are of His love, His charity, and His Wisdom. We need but store these essentials within. For, in this state, the Church within us is in its childhood state. Thus it is that, His love has been insinuated into us. And, that we have appropriated this affection or love for the truth from the Word. All these things the Lord has given us.

Reading again from the Word.
"This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead" (John 21: 14).

Here, we need to see that the Lord has manifested Himself to us not just as the Truth, but as the Good as well, as the one Lord and God. The development of the New Church within us is a process and is complete or full only when we are with the Lord and in Heaven. It includes our reformation and our regeneration. For, Divine Good must be revealed to us, that is, manifested to us through the Divine Essence through the Divine Human. Truths must become an illustration of our faith. In Truth manifesting Its self as Good there is seen the development of the Church within us, even as the Lord was made manifest to us in His glorification. He is the Good and the Truth in us conjoined, bringing us out of captivity from our natural hereditary life, where falsities and evils rule, into a new spiritual life.

"So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?' He said to Him, 'Yes Lord, You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Feed My lambs'" (John 21: 15).

When we have been taught and are 'as it were' communicating with the Lord, He speaks to us of the essential goods and truths. He speaks to us of our obedience to His Word, which is to do charity, for these are instructions for our regeneration. It is charity that is imparted to us and in charity we worship and obey what truth teaches. In effect, the Lord is asking us to show our love for Him. For if there is love within our faith, then there is the will to do the good which is taught. The Lord wants to see that love manifested in us in act, in doing charity. The first thing that we are to do is to overcome our love of self. Because mankind has rejected the Lord's love, his or her affection for truth is from their selves. That love of self must die within us 'as it were' and genuine truths or the spiritual truths are to take their place, which, then, are to come from the Lord from His 'goodness'. So in obedience to our affection for genuine truth or to our new faith, which now comes from charity, we turn to the Lord. The truth of the Word spoken to us by the Lord in His Divine Human the Latin Testament is then recognized as teaching the internal sense of the Word, and we from this are to receive these truths into our natural mind. These, of course, are called religious scientifics and, when we acknowledge these as true, we willingly follow the Lord, for that is what acknowledgment means. Then it is that, from that internal knowledge of the Word gained, we are taught true or genuine doctrine. It is in this way, that we make provisions for the increase of the New Church, both, within and with man. In effect, we are asked to teach others, those who are in a state of the good of innocence in infancy so that those goods are insinuated. Let us, here, be reminded that the Lord in His progress towards His glorification learned and was lead from the Divine Good within Him to become the Divine Human. We have been led by His Divine Truth, shouldn't we, now, be led by His Divine Goodness?

"He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' Peter said to Him, 'Yes Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Tend My sheep'" (John 21: 16).   

First the concern is according to our natural understanding, now the concern is according to the Good with us. We are asked to obey and to worship the Lord with all our heart, that is, with our will. We must act from the truths that He teaches us and, so, do what is taught. Love is an act of charity and we do it by caring for others. It is to those who are in the good of charity that we are directed to teach even as Simon was directed by the Lord to 'tend the sheep', for true faith is in doing good from good. This new faith is from a new rational, for our love is then from a love of obedience and in worship, because the Lord is that good.

Finally, from the Word we read:
"He said to him a third time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep'" (John 21: 17).

Here, the concern is now for Divine truth, the truth that we are to know from the risen and glorified Lord, and is not understood from one's self. In this state, our love or charity is to be from the Lord, who is to be our life. And, this love is reflected in our repentance. This repentance comes truly from love and wisdom, from the Lord. As Peter, after being asked three times, 'Do you love Me?' by the Lord, came to shun or rid himself of sin, repented, even as we are to repent, that is, to shun our sins as evil against the Lord. In this state, we receive genuine truths from Good. Here, we know that the Word has an internal sense and that all the essentials the goods and truths are from the Lord in man and it is from this internal or genuine truth that we are to grow and teach others. The acknowledgment of this is in our doing charity from the Lord towards others, but it is made possible only by our repentance. The Lord asks us, 'Do you love Me?' If our answer is 'Yes', then we should learn these truths and goods, and follow Him, and teach others. In this way the Lord's New Church will increase within us and with others.