Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON GOD; Part CXLII
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry , Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:14-23).
We continued yesterday to discuss the issues of doctrine verses the words of the Master and we came upon the idea of money. Our remarks on this were intended to show how the “the love of money” permeates the lives of so many and in such a way that one does not even realize that this is True. Like most things in Life, there is little or no correction possible until one comes to grips with the reality of his thoughts and feelings regarding what is in need of correction and, here in regard to money, riches, the things of the world or the power and influence that they provide, this is especially difficult to accomplish. We went through several of the Master’s sayings that are clear and straightforward as so much of the Sermon on the Mount is as it contains the Master’s basic instructions on human interaction through GoodWill and Right Human Relations. We noted also how the doctrines of the churches tend to minimize the words of the Master on this topic; they have never come to see the reality of the Master’s message, that it is about man’s relationship to the things of the world versus his relationship to God. There are other mentions of this idea of riches and what it is that a man focuses upon and we will cover a few of these here today before we move on to discuss those ideas that we left at the end of our last essay.
- In the last post we quoted the Master’s words according to Matthew’s Gospel regarding treasures and the things of this world; in Luke’s Gospel, in a section where he treats his version of the Sermon on the Mount, the Master speaks the Sermon, according to the text, directly to His disciples. Now it is commonly believed that the Sermon was preached to all the people but we should see here and in Matthew’s rendition that it is spoken to the disciples; Luke tells us it is spoken to His disciples and in reading the whole of the chapter we can see that there “there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people” and, as we approach our text we see that “he began to say unto his disciples” and then that “And he said unto his disciples” (Luke 12:1, 22). Matthew tells us similarly that “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying” (Matthew 5:1-2). The importance of this distinction is uncertain but this is the way that the texts are written; one can assume many things but overall we should likely see that it is the disciples of the Lord that hear His words directly and are likely expected to understand them and that the teaching is such that ALL may hear, that there is no hidden mystery and no real hidden meanings of parables involved. Luke’s version starts with a rather simple parable and tells us: “And he spake a parable unto them, saying The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21). This is direct and straightforward and is understandable to ALL who do not shut their eyes to the reality that to garner and care for the treasures of the world is a meaningless venture when viewed from the perspective of the True man, the Soul, as these things of the world are of NO profit to him. Now there are some who interpret the end to this somehow into tithing and this too is delusion and a holding onto the ways and the things of the world for to be “rich toward God” has naught to do with the things of the Earth but with the good treasures of the heart as they flow from the Soul and through one’s Life in form and this becomes clearer as we proceed. Perhaps these final words are the essence of the parabolic nature of the entire saying, a saying that stands so clear to those that can see and loudly says, as does the writer of Ecclesiastes, “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15).
- The message from this parable is clear to those who can realize their position insofar as riches and the things of the world effect their ability to focus upon the Christ Within and the spiritual Life; upon the choice between God and mammon. Most do not see this as a choice and believe that pursuing the things of the world is a part of their natural spiritual Life and this is the sole result of the teachings of the churches and their doctrines, some of which even profess that this pursuing is in itself a thing of God. The correct attitude here is however that which is enunciated by the Apostle Paul in the writing to the Romans above and this is found in the idea of vanity as we discussed it in a previous post. This vanity is, as we have stated before, the same as the illusion and the glamour that deceive man in the world and that cause him to see the wants of the mind and the emotions as the reality of his Life. Luke goes on to tell us immediately after the parable above that: “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat ; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow : they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat , or what ye shall drink , neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:22-34). This is much like the ideas that we saw yesterday from the Gospel of Matthew except here the remarks follow the parable which is about the things of the world and they end with the Master telling us, as disciples first and the flock second, that we should “Sell that ye have, and give alms“.
- Perhaps it is this sentiment by the Master that puts these sayings about riches and the things of the world, that we should “Sell that ye have, and give alms“, out of the doctrines of the church, that has distanced the True teachings of the Master from the teachings of the church and its doctrines. We should note here that there is no real mention of these things that we are to sell being riches; in this context they are merely things and this is likely how we should be viewing the whole of these sayings; that the idea of riches is an individual matter and is the meaning of this word is different for each as is one’s own personal understanding of his own treasure. As we posited yesterday, the idea of riches is an evolving one in the Life of a man and it works in stages in his Life; at each level this is a function of the illusion and the glamour of Life in form, the vanity if you will, by which a man states to himself his place in the worldly scheme of things. The man with some money will make himself content in this state while desiring and working for more and he seldom compares himself to those with much; he rather compares himself to those with the same level or less, feeling up to them or above. This is a reality of vanity and a essential function of illusion and of glamour insofar as the man does not see the reality of his Life although it may be right if front of him.
- Based upon the above we should see that the church is mostly divorced from this perspective of giving up all for the Lord but we, as aspirants to discipleship, KNOW this giving up is an essential part; it is this attraction and this attachment that keep us back from the freedom of Life as a disciple of the Master. We must remember His words and be not afraid to say with the Master that “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). Here again we must understand that the True disciple of the Lord or the True aspirant will understand this as it is presented and realize what he must do while others may look at these sayings and apply their doctrines. This is ALL always a personal affair, one’s status with the Lord; but there are guideposts to one’s own understanding and these verses are among them.
- One last point on the subject of money and riches and the things of this world plus the power and the influence that they provide to the man in form comes from another non-parabolic series of sayings from the Master; this one is His exchange with what we call the ‘rich young ruler‘: “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running , and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:17-27). Again we have a group of sayings that are clear and straightforward; if a man is tied to the world of things with riches and wealth or, if he is tied by his very attachment to whatsoever he has, being rich if only in his own mind, he will not find the Kingdom of God. Also, we have a saying that is manipulated by doctrines which do not focus upon the crux of the ideas of the Master but rather focus upon the more meaningless parts like the “the eye of a needle“, the ideas of good and then finally the misunderstanding of the idea of “trust in riches“.
There are many disconnects between the doctrines of the churches and the teachings of the Master and these ideas of the things of the world are of the more important and are among the hardest to overcome. Being in the world man naturally wants the best of the things of the world and because of the influence of illusion and glamour as they effect the idea of being made subject to vanity as this is worded by Paul above. We are, most ALL of us, in the clutches of the power and the influence of the things of the world and we are attracted to them and attached to them for the power and the influence that they provide for us in our everyday lives in the world; it is only when we can come to terms with the idea that this ALL is contrary to the Life of the True man, that we can begin our journey upon the Path of salvation and glory, the Path to the Kingdom of God.
We did not get to the sayings that we left at the end of our last essay and so we leave them here again with the objective of discussing them in the next post:
“The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us” (Micah 3:11).
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after , they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
We leave this Quote of the Day again for today with the hope that we can discuss these important points in the next post. We should remember here the premise that we presented near the beginning of our posting of this Quote of the Day: It is interesting to note that the ideas of the Quote of the Day embody much of the Master’s teachings and can set the stage for the beginning of each man’s revelation and realization of the Light of the Soul; that is, that by the intentional practice of these ‘rules’ of conduct one can put himself in the position of a follower of the Master and an keeper of His word and this regardless if he has ever heard of the Christ or wants to be affiliated with any ideas Christian. By keeping these sound principals of Life in mind and practicing them a man can lift himself up above and beyond the world of men and into the world of the Good, the Beautiful and the True as it exists for those in whom the Christ Within, the God Within, is awakened. Ponder on this.
In accord with the ideas that we close with above we bring again to your attention the ideas by which a man should Live. This Quote of the Day is the realty of how we should focus our lives and in so doing, all the other things alluded to above will take care of themselves and this is a great part of the selfless attitude of the disciple and his ability to forsake ALL.
Values to Live By
A Love of Truth—essential
for a just, inclusive and progressive society;
A Sense of Justice—recognition
of the rights and needs, of all.
Spirit of Cooperation—based
on active goodwill and the principle of right human
relationships;
A Sense of Personal Responsibility—for
group, community and national affairs;
Serving the Common Good— through
the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all
is good for each one.
