There is a similar partnership between the blood and the heart, and
the reverse. Blood from the whole body flows through the veins into the
heart, and flows out of the heart through the arteries to the whole body.
Action and reaction forge this partnership.
A similar action and reaction between an embryo and its mother’s
womb allow their partnership to continue.
[ 6 ] The reciprocal partnership between the Lord and us, however, is
not like this. It is a mutualpartnership that is brought about by coopera-
tion rather than action and reaction. The Lord acts. We receive the Lord’s
action. We then function as if we were on our own. In fact, we function
on our own from the Lord. The things we do that are inspired by the
Lord are credited to us as our own, since the Lord continually keeps us in
free choice. The free choice we receive is an ability to will and think from
the Lord, that is, from the Word, and also an ability to will and think
from the Devil, that is, against the Lord and the Word. The Lord gives us
this freedom so that we can forge a reciprocal partnership and be granted
life and eternal blessedness as a result—something that would be impos-
sible without a reciprocal partnership.
[ 7 ] A reciprocal partnership that is mutual can be illustrated by var-
ious things in us and in the world. The partnership between the soul
and the body in everyone is this type of partnership. The partnership of
our will and our action is of this type, as is the partnership of our
thought and our speech. Other partnerships that work like this are the
partnership of two eyes working together, and two ears, and two nostrils.
The optic nerve shows that our two eyes have this type of reciprocal
partnership between them. In the optic nerve, fibers from both brains are
intertwined, and they travel intertwined to each eye. The same is true for
our two ears and our two nostrils.
[ 8 ] There is a similar mutual reciprocal partnership between light and
the eyes, sound and the ears, odors and the nose, tastes and the tongue,
and tactile sensations and the body. The eye is in light and light is in the
eye. Sound is in the ear and the ear is in sound. Smells are in the nose,
and the nose is in smells. Tastes are in the tongue and the tongue is in
tastes. Tactile sensation is in the body and the body is in tactile sensation.
This kind of reciprocal partnership can also be compared to the part-
nership between a horse and a carriage; between an ox and a plow;
between wheels and an engine; between sails and the wind; between a flute
and the air. To sum up, the purpose and the means have this type of recip-
rocal partnership, as do the means and the result. But there is no room to
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