Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON GOD; Part CXLVII
This post marks the completion of one year of daily posts. Some of this has been a struggle to accomplish and a few have been a bit late in the night but this was my commitment to the Lord through and by the Christ Within and it shows, if nothing else, that if that Light is allowed to shine through the lazy and the stubborn personality, that one can accomplish much; and, for me, this has been much. Including some of the much repeated Quote of the Day segments, we have published over fourteen hundred pages and more than one million words, and through this writing I have learned much that I must have already KNOWN but had never taken the time to realize and, yes, there is a fair amount of revelation involved as well as I have often surprised myself with the profundity of some of the things that I have been able to write. Overall I can see the working out in these writings the words that the Christ said to His disciples over 2000 years ago: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come , he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear , that shall he speak : and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13) and we should understand here that “the Spirit of truth“, the Holy Spirit, is the activity of the Christ Within in the world and in form, and it is this revealing “Spirit of truth” that works out in the personality Life the Love and the Wisdom and the Truth of the Soul. Now although I can realize the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I also realize that there is a long way to go on this Path of Light and Love and Power and, no, I cannot yet see or I do not yet realize that I Truly can, “things to come“. The Master puts this a bit differently in Luke’ s Gospel saying that “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say” (Luke 12:12) and this should be understood in the same way; that the revelation of the thoughts and the ideas and the way of the Christ Within, the Soul, are made manifest in the waking consciousness for those who focus upon the things of God. This is not, as the various doctrines of the church say, the miraculous voice of God speaking to an individual; God speaks from within, except by miracle which we should be sure is reserved for SPECIAL occasions and not for the man in the street who is more likely just hearing his own personality. But who is to say what it is that any man may experience? we can only say what the reality of this ALL is speaking to us and that is to say that if as many people who claim that they are hearing from God were actually hearing from God, the world would not be in the sorry shape that it is. And, to be sure, the Lord is not concerned with what car one may buy or that one should give this or that to another or whether one should marry etc.; these are but the wranglings of one’s own personality and not words from God or from one’s God Within. The word of God is recorded for us in the Gospels, in the words of the Master, and these speak only of Love, Wisdom, Peace, Justice and those other virtues that force a man to be right with his brother and to realize that ALL men ARE his brothers.
It may seem, and especially of late, that we are writing against the doctrines of the churches and this would be a True assessment of our perspective and our tone. As we often do, we repeat here a part of a previous post (with some grammatical correction) that sets forth our view of the church and its doctrines (from In the Words of Jesus part 121):
And so it becomes our duty to study the words of Jesus and to define, though His words, the proper doctrine to which we ourselves should adhere. Many of the churches are lost in a sea of doctrines and theologies and dogmatic pronouncements that swallow up many of their followers in the “traditions of men” that they follow and this while each proclaims that they are the way. Disagreement abounds and it is in this disagreement that we see, and they should see, that these varied paths are wrong and divisive; they divide the very Christ that they preach. The church of today teaches theology instead of the words of the Master, it worships Him instead of following Him and it uses its self created doctrines to define life and salvation. Much of what is taught and believed regarding atonement, judgment, resurrection, sin, heaven and hell and our salvation is steeped in the traditions of the church fathers, in Old Testament superstitions and in the church’s interpretations of the writings of the Apostles to match. We know that it is in the words of Christ that the truth is to be found and that the Apostles writings should be so interpreted to match this and not any preconceived ideas.
This has ever been our view and it is hard to understand how and why this continues to be the way of the church. We ask ourselves saying,, surely they must see and understand what it is that is happening and what they are doing, because it seems so clear to us. But, this is a function of the vanity of this world as we have been reading in the words of the Apostle Paul and this is the deception provided by the illusion and the glamour in which man is immersed. There is a saying that I was reminded of recently and it is one that helped to awaken me to the greater reality; it is from the writings of the Tibetan who we frequently quote. He says:
The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre.*
He goes on to explain that: There is, however, no point in attacking Christianity. Christianity cannot be attacked; it is an expression—in essence, if not yet entirely factual—of the love of God, immanent in His created universe. Churchianity has, however, laid itself wide open to attack, and the mass of thinking people are aware of this; unfortunately, these thinking people are still a small minority*. And in this is one of the added responsibilities that we take to ourselves; to educate and inform the world of men that the words of the Master on Love and Wisdom and Peace and Justice, etc. ARE what are important and not the doctrines and the dogma and the overall Churchianity that still afflicts humanity today.
A large part of the effort in this blog and in these first 365 posts is to encourage more of the human family to become thinking people; not that they would reject the doctrine but that they could understand the limitations of doctrine in today’s thinking society and, in the place where they are, try to correct the erroneous thinking. This is not an encouragement to attack or come against those who hold these doctrinal views as this would prove futile because it seems that they are firmly convinced of their rightness as regards their approach to God; it will serve no purpose to dispute the ideas that have carried the doctrines forward for more than 2000 years. However, based upon the Truth as we see it and the revelation of our own Christ Within we can promote the right presentation of the words of the Master whenever we can. There are none that can Truly argue with the straightforward sayings of the Master but there are likely many in the church that will argue with them insofar as our presentation differs from theirs and, so long as they are not be able to see through their own illusions and the glamour that they have placed upon their own sense of being right, they will not realize that they are, in a more modern way, playing the part of the Pharisee. In a strange way those who are bringing the Truth of the Master’s words and the essence of His teaching on Love and brotherhood into the Light of day can be considered the forerunners of His return to being among us on the Earth. Can we, and those like us around the world, bring together enough of that Love of God and the greater realization that it provides to ALL, so that the way of the Christ is made easier? Can we Truly be, as was John the Baptist, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Luke 3:4)? Do we have the desire, the courage and the stamina to do this work that is so sorely needed in the world today?
It is difficult to KNOW what to do; not because we do not have the realization but because the ways of the world get in the way. We look and we search for a way to serve and we shrink back because of lack of courage; this is not fear as we ordinarily KNOW it but it is more an unwillingness to put oneself into the spotlight or into the forefront of the message of the Master. I write this blog, rather anonymously and I tell myself that this is because of a desire not to become a focal point as a personality, not to make any of this about me personally. In hind sight, is this more a lack of courage than it is what I’ve been telling myself? I don’t track website statistics nor do I find ways to make the posts more available; is this because it is as I tell myself, that I don’t really care who is reading, that the important part is that I write and that if it is right for people to read, that they find it, or is this because I am, as a personality, still insecure in my own development and my own status? One thing is true here and that is that I have the utmost confidence in what I do say and this IS Faith as it is exhibited by the consciousness in form regarding the things of the Soul.
Can I answer the questions above today? On the first, my anonymity is more likely due to a lack of courage, a mantle that I shed today by posting my personal information here and on the front page of this blog:
Richard A Bartole
2401 Ramapo Court
Riverdale, NJ 07457
e-mail: rabartole@newagedevelopments.org
I am a 63 year old man who has been involved on and off in this pursuit of Truth and Love for more that 40 yearbs and who has always reverted back to a Life in this world of men and of things and they attracted me away from the things of God. From the earliest days I have felt and heard the call of the Christ Within and have answered that call but half hearted until just a few years ago when it began to resonate loudly in my mind and my heart and caused me much discomfort. This discomfort was mostly due to the loudness of the call and the slowness of the consciousness to both recognize it as such and to heed it; I let the things of the world get in the way. Eventually this discomfort became too much to bear and I would constantly ask myself why I was doing what I was doing and what I could do to change this, to repent if your will, and follow the Christ Within. A little more than a year ago I settled upon a way to go and that way is this blog and these daily posts and there were many obstacles in getting going but get going I did and it is this commitment to a daily post that has set me onto the RIGHT course. Thus, out of nowhere, I began this quest to try to shed the proper Light on the teachings of the Master, the Christ, a teaching that has been dimmed by the doctrines of the church. The themes that have become my mantra have been with me for many years, they are not new and, from my perspective, I see them as a unique way to present the Master and His teachings to my supposed readers who are Christians at heart but who cannot find their own viewpoint in the doctrines of the churches.
On my second question above, I must answer the same; it is a lack of courage that has held me back from seeking wider readership and this too I will now correct and find ways to have this site pop up in searches on a variety of keywords.
As you may have noticed we have completed our discussion on Paul’s saying to the Romans that we have been carrying at the top of our essays for many days. Starting our second year in the next post we will complete our look at this saying by the Master and begin our discussion of the points that are stated in the Values to Live By sayings below. These values, when practiced by enough people, are the type of actions that will help to bring us and those that we can effect into a position where we can aid, in a substantial way, the preparation for the Reappearance of the Christ.
“But many that are first shall be last; and the last first“
(Mark 10:31)
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.The world of the future depends on what each one of us chooses to do today.
We will 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.
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.
Today we repeat again the Great Invocation as our Quote of the Day.
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
This prayer is a part of our Prayers and Meditations section and there is much information about it there and in our discussion of it in the Quote of the Day section of In the Words of Jesus parts 128-132
The above Invocation or Prayer does not belong to any person or group but to all Humanity. The beauty and the strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths which all men, innately and normally, accept—the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that a great Individuality came to earth, called by Christians, the Christ, and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God; and finally the self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the Divine Plan work out.
Like the Lord’s Prayer, this invocation is a World Prayer which is as all that a prayer is intended to be. It is a prayer for the uplifting of the Human Family out of the mire of materialism and selfishness. The Lord’s Prayer asks nothing for the individual praying it but asks that its benefits be for US and for WE which is why it was given by the Christ as a prayer and as a model over 2000 years ago. This invocation is also attributed to the Christ who, as He promised, has never left us; He, through channels that we do not readily understand, has Himself instructed His disciples to distribute this prayer and to encourage its use as a world prayer and as an aid in preparing the world for His return.
The first three stanzas of this prayer should be understood as reflecting the effective potencies of the Trinity which is God and which, when brought down to an individual level, the Trinity which is Man. His Will, His Love and His Light we should seen as the Potent Powers of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- * From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
