Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART IX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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In the last post we tried to assemble our thoughts from the previous few into an understandable look at faith and believing from the perspective that what we have been writing about is ALL on this very topic although it may seem to be at times far afield. This is because our essays have been going into the ideas that surround what we call KNOWING and which we painted in the last post as KNOWING is the ultimate of faith as we understand it; it is the essence of believing. KNOWING comes to us by degree and it is in the fullness of this KNOWING that we find Peter and Paul and the ability to move the mountain. Looking then at the centurion we find a similar KNOWING which, while it differs in degree, is still that sign of spiritual accomplishment and although we do not KNOW what happens in the Life of this man, it is altogether possible that this is this same centurion that is witness to the death of the Master on the Cross and whose words and actions are quoted in the gospels.
We noted in previous posts and again yesterday that the men who are found in the gospels walking with the Master are not men that are haphazardly chosen nor are they at all mesmerized into following Jesus. It is not likely that with the price of discipleship being so high as told us by the Master Himself that we would find so many willing and able to fulfill this role. We, in our course of essays, have come to see the birth, the Life and the death of the Christ as a carefully scripted and predicted affair; predicted by the prophets and the kings of the Old Testament and scripted so as to assure that the free will of man and the happenstance of Life in form would not hinder the success of the Mission of the Christ, a mission which is to usher in a New Age and a new way of thought regarding man’s relationship with God. Except for the Master there are none that come into Life with a full grasp of His own nature as a Son of God. ALL men are born and grow in the ways of the world and this is a Truth regardless of one’s upbringing as all living in the world is of the world and in this we should see that it does not matter how religious or restricted one’s early Life may be, it is still of the world. The Master tells us clearly that “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23) and this being from above is the Truth for ALL when they are come to that realization of each man’s own divinity as it is this realization that makes one from above. We are dealing here also with the reality of the gospel saying that the Master is “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18) and He is the only begotten Son because, as we say here again, the Master came into this Life in form with the fullness of awareness of His place and His mission…..the realization that one IS a Son of God.
While the Master has this awareness, the rest of us then and now must develop it and we must do so while ensconced in the illusion and the glamour of Life and this brings us again to the words of Paul who tells us that we as the incarnated Soul are “made subject to vanity, not willingly“. In the long Life of the Soul the man makes steady progress out of this vanity into which he is plunged “by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” (Romans 8:20) which we see as the Plan of God. Our point here is that the apostles and the disciples that have come into incarnation with the Master and likely the centurion as well are Souls who had progressed in their ability to express the Life of the Soul through form in prior incarnations making this turn with the Master one of great accomplishment for them all. Here we should remember that other saying that we need to understand in regarding the Life of the Soul in form; “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) which is to say that there are no favorites and that none advance in the eyes of the Lord as did the disciples of the Master for any other reason but prior achievement.
This brings us to our next sayings on faith and belief in the words of the Master; here the subject is two blind men:
- “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened” (Matthew 9:27-29). The prior verse here is “And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land” and we can assume here that this is how the two blind men have heard of the Master and of His miracles and His preaching the Kingdom of God. Here again we also have this same idea as with the centurion, that these men must play a part in their own healing, that their KNOWING that the Master could heal them, their faith with no doubt, plays the vital role in this miracle. We read here that the Master touched their eyes and this is of importance but of greater importance is His statement that it is “According to your faith” that they are healed. What role the touching plays we do not KNOW; we are not told but we are told that they are healed according to their own belief and we should KNOW here that within the reality of this word lies the fact of doubting not. This is KNOWING by degree.
Our next verses are a repeat of those that we have been covering but with the added lead in lines which tell us that it is to His disciples that the Master speaks and that even in being disciples who had wrought miracles of their own, they had not the ability to conceive of what was done to the fig tree.
- “And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:10-22). We should see in this ALL the evidence that we should need to understand our idea of degrees of KNOWING. Matthew’s Gospel does not tell us of what the disciples did when they were sent forth by the Master; Matthew does tell us however that the disciples are instructed saying: “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7-8) and in this we see the working of the miracles. We read in Luke’s Gospel that they do accomplish their mission as he tells us that “And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where” (Luke 9:6). Here then we have at least the twelve who have the faith and the believing, the KNOWING if you will, to perform these miracles as outlined above; they CAN “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” as the Master instructs them but they CANNOT understand what the Master does to the fig tree. Their KNOWING is not yet at this level, at this degree. What is it that the Master does that has the disciples in the state marveling?
- According to Matthew’s Gospel: “Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee hence forward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away” (Matthew 21:18).
- Mark tells us this same story this way: “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it…..And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away” (Mark 11:12:14, 20-21).
Our greater point here in this is to show that faith and believing are a matter of degree as are most things in Life. This is a point that up to the last few essays had not been properly enunciated as we strived to show that it is in this KNOWING that one realizes discipleship. Today we are looking at degrees of discipleship through degrees of KNOWING but this does not water down these accomplishments. To have the faith of KNOWING with no doubt can have monumental results in the Life of a man as it does for the centurion and the blind men above and today we should see that this KNOWING, in and of itself, does not a disciple of the Lord make. This is to say that the disciple is one who is at this state of KNOWING and who at the same time is performing those things that the Master tells us can make one a disciple. This act of KNOWING is in the consciousness of the man and this consciousness is of the Soul and it is only in this connection that KNOWING is possible and that it is possible by degree.
Perhaps it is in this context that we can understand the accomplishments of the great minds that have passed through the Earth in history, men who were not religious and sometimes not even spiritual but who brought to humanity some great new discovery in philosophy or science. Many of these have likely been much more spiritual than that were given credit for and in this vein Einstein and Emerson come to mind. We must ever remember that while religion may play a large part in the lives of men in form who are grounded, so to speak, in this world, it plays a significantly lesser role in the lives of those who are Truly expressing the Life of the Soul through form.
We will continue with our remaining points in the next post.
- “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
- “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?…..For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:25, 32).
- “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not…….” (Matthew 24:23-26).
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 our quote of the day for another day as in it we find some of the realities of what is man as Spirit, Soul and the Life within the form. In this affirmation we find our understanding of our relationship to God and our relationship to man. Our relationship to God is as Part and Parcel of Him; our relationship to man is in service.
I am a point of light within a greater Light. I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine. I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God. And thus I stand I am a way by which men may achieve. I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand. I am a beam of light, shining upon their way. And thus I stand. And standing thus, revolve And tread this way the ways of men, And know the ways of God. And thus I stand.Today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
Looking at Life as we depict it above in relation to this affirmation we can see the idea presented that we are a part of God and that this is true on multiple levels, the levels that we call the Trinity. Relating these first three lines to the chart above can offer some clarity as to the nature of God and of man. For more on the ideas in this Affirmation of the Disciple please refer to the Quote of the Day from In the Words of Jesus parts 179-181.
