Monthly Archives: January 2013

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CXLIV

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died” (Genesis 5:1-5) .

This is the last saying that we will take on regarding our work in the Book of Genesis and on the creation of man. As we have been saying, this is not a story to be taken literally as is done by church teachings and doctrine but it should be seen more as what Alexander Maclaren tells us. Although he also speaks from a Christian doctrinal approach, his words are tempered by a reality that has not found prevalence in the teachings of the Church even to today, a present time where hard physical scientific evidence is disputed based upon a ‘preferred‘ literal interpretation of the writings found in Genesis. In short Mr. Maclaren tells us :

We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry. The comparison of the creation narratives in Genesis with the cuneiform tablets, with which they evidently are most closely connected, has for its most important result the demonstration of the infinite elevation above their monstrosities and puerilities, of this solemn, steadfast attribution of the creative act to the one God ¹². 

The full text of his discourse on this can be found in In the Words of Jesus part 512 which is about where we started our look at this Act of Creation and particularly the creation of man.  In the forty plus essays that have touched on this subject, we have been able to see and to understand these words from a different perspective, one that does not include the fall of man from the perspective of the sin of Adam and one that does not recognize the idea of original sin as a factor in the Life of any man. What is seen in doctrine as the fall of man is in reality the Plan of God, the devolvement of the Souls that are the True man into the world of things, the densest and most physical of the realms of God that we are aware of. This devolvement is pictured in the words of Genesis in a simplicity that tells little of the reality although behind the words is much meaning in the symbolism and the actual words which go unappreciated by those who view the story literally. We today are greatly helped by the words of the Apostle Paul who gives us great insight into this story of creation through his words regarding the plight of the man in the world, that the man, the whole of the creation of men, is “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” (Romans 8:20). This vanity is of course the illusion and the glamour of Life in the world and from the perspective of the first man Adam or whatsoever he represents, this is the result of the Pure and unblemishd Soul’s taking on of form. Along with the instincts and the appetites of the form itself come the pangs of desire and thought that the Soul in form now must deal with and which are produced by the combination of the Soul and the human form. This personality that is produced overwhelms the Soul of man and, according to the words of Paul, this IS according to the Will, the Plan of God.

There is then no original sin as this idea is understood by the churches who yet today do not see sin in the reality that it is presented but view it only as the gross behavior of the heathen and of the man who has not found Christ or, the man who has fallen away from his ‘belief‘ in God. Our reality of sin and of the word evil is a broader reality that is confirmed  by the words of the Master and His apostles; these words refer to the focus of the man on the things of the world and, as we have seen, there is a great range of degree in these ideas. If the idea of good is reserved by the Master for the ONE God, as His expression, then ALL else must be less than good or sin and evil as they present themselves in any actions or thoughts that ARE NOT focused upon God. The Master tells us that “there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17) and in this we should see our reality and our own approach to this good is accomplished by keeping His words which, as we find in later words, is the singular understanding of True Redemption, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). Now it is generally understood that these are not idle words by the Master but are words of great meaning but yet they are seen as words intended for someone else because the reality of the Kingdom of God, as it is linked to these ideas, is not seen.

Where then is good? where then is this place where man is free from sin, free from his friendship with the world of which James tells us: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is the reality of sin and evil, it is found in man’s “the friendship of the world” and can be see in ALL things that are short of our destiny, our being perfect and totally focused upon the things of God. The Master tells us “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) and we can see this in the second part of Paul’s words where we can understand that to be perfect is to be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). Here is also the reality of the Master’s words to ALL that are “made subject to vanity“, ALL who are living Life in the clutches of glamour and illusion in the world of things and this ALL includes ALL, for it is only the perfect who can be free, the True disciples of the Lord. As we have been saying, this sense of illusion and glamour is so strong that it precludes our seeing clearly in ALL things and so colors our perception of ourselves and our world that we are deceived by own belief that we ARE doing what MUST be done. Let us look at these words from the Master and His apostles, many of which are repetitive in our discussions:

• “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” (Matthew 24:24). When we look at the meaning of the Greek word Christos and the beginning part of the Master’s argument here which relates the deception more strongly to the world saying: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4), we should be able to understand that this is not in relationship to some doctrinal idea of an anti-Christ as a particular person in that time and now. Anti-Christ is ALL that is against the Truth of man, the Christ Within, as well as the teachings of the Master. We should understand that the idea of false Christs does not require that the offender make claim to be the personage of Christ but just that the offender make claim to speak in that anointing which is the True definition of Christ…. anointed. While it may be True that in those days 2000 years ago that the Master is cautioning them to not believe others who claim His specific title, this is only a part of the reality and behind these words is the greater reality of  “Take heed that no man deceive you” which is for them and for us today. Any man that purports to KNOW the ways of God is in this position to deceive and the reality of His caution is found in His other words that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). We should remember that the Master is speaking here to His disciples only and after His resurrection and in this we should see that there IS great meaning in these words of caution for both them who Truly KNOW the Master and for us who have not that same confidence. Here we have only the words of the Apostle John to help us to understand that no matter who is speaking, no matter what their reputation nor their apparent spiritual power, we can be deceived. John tells us that we must rely upon the Christ Within, on our own anointing, to discern Truth and this is our point here; in the illusion and the glamour of the world we can be so grounded in the self that we convince even our carnal consciousness that it is God consciousness. John tells us that “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27). We should understand here that these words are spoken also to disciples, to men who do understand the reality of focus upon the things of God and we should see here that there is still this cautionary note by the apostle to dissuade them from believing any unless there is such confirming from one’s own Soul. The Truth of what a man should believe is ever found in the Master’s words that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20).
• “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). These words have been for us a KEY to our own perception of the reality of the teachings of the Master. We hear and we believe from an assortment of sources ranging from the TV evangelist to the priest and pastor of our local congregation and, we listen to the rationalizing of these things in our own heart, our own consciousness, which is mired in the illusion and the glamour of Life in the world. This is ALL self deception if we see that in these words and beliefs that there is a ‘shortcut’ to divinity, that we do not need to keep His words. And James’ words here are simple and profound, if we are not being “doers of the word” and think that we can get by through believing, we are among those who are “deceiving your own selves“. There IS NO ill will required here as concerns hearing and doing as this is the nature of Life in the clutches of the forces of illusion and glamour; man and his church doctrines have created ritual and ceremony that are intended to put a man’s mind onto God and the effect of this varies by person; at the same time doctrine teaches that things such as baptism can ‘save’ the man or that being born again in some ritual of confession can turn a man into as believer who is ‘saved’. Some even go to greater lengths proclaiming that tithing is the KEY or some form of penance alleviates one’s ‘sin’ or that a man can be ‘baptized’ by a ritual into communion with the Holy Spirit.  We should KNOW that none of this is of any use, none serves any purpose, if the man is not among the “doers of the word” as in this doing is the reality of salvation and the only way to be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“.

Believing is an important tool for the man on the Path but we must ever be careful of what it is that we believe and again we find the need to set straight our position regarding our thoughts and writings in this Blog. In all that we say in our essays we take no role of authority and always place the burden of believing onto the reader, that he should ascertain in the way that John presents above the Truth of what we say; from this perspective that we borrow again from our Tibetan brother:

If they present truth in such a way that it follows sequentially upon that already offered in the world teachings, if the information given raises the aspiration and the will-to-serve from the plane of the emotions to that of the mind (the plane whereon the Masters can be found) then they will have served their purpose. If the teaching conveyed calls forth a response from the illumined mind of the worker in the world, and brings a flashing forth of his intuition, then let that teaching be accepted. But not otherwise.

We add to this this some insights from the Buddha that bear to us this same reality that we get from the Master and from the apostle above:

that we must not believe in a thing said merely because it is said; nor traditions because they have been handed down from antiquity; nor rumors, as such; nor writings by sages, because sages wrote them: nor fancies that we may suspect to have been inspired in us by a Deva (that is, in presumed spiritual inspiration); nor from inferences drawn from some haphazard assumption we may have made; nor because of what seems an analogical necessity; nor on the mere authority of our teachers or masters. But we are to believe when the writing, doctrine, or saying is corroborated by our own reason and consciousness. “For this,” says he in concluding, “I taught you not to believe merely because you have heard, but when you believed of your consciousness, then to act accordingly and abundantly.”

We add to this the words of the Master that have become a constant in our essays as He tells us that we must “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). This is rendered a bit differently in Luke’s Gospel where we read “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke 8:18). In this combination of sayings from the two gospels we should be able to see that the idea of hearing is in reality believing; “what ye hear” and “how ye hear” can be so much better understood and so much more helpful in one’s journey on the Path yet doctrine places this all solely on the hearing and the listening  and not to the result of such. For us the reality of this word hear is as we see in the lexicon, to comprehend, to understand ², and these words we can relate to KNOWING and this KNOWING is the essence of believing and of faith. Strong’s tells us of this Greek word akouo that its meanings include to hear, pay attention, understand, obey ³ and in obey and understand we have again have our point of believing.

We end here for today and will continue with our thoughts in the next post picking up with these next two points regarding our deception, our illusion and the glamour that surrounds even the things that we believe that we should believe. We should remember in this regard the saying above from the Buddha that can help to dispel our illusion and our glamour as we strive toward His Kingdom.

• “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).
• “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in , choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).

Aspect of God	Potency	Expressed as Fire	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Electric Fire	Spirit or Life	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Solar Fire	Soul or Christ Within	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Fire by Friction	Life Within the Form	Way

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:

Having touched upon the thoughts of Paul regarding Love and his relationship of this to what we can see today as illusion and then to his reality of Truth insofar as perception, we post his words again as the Quote of the Day along with our previous comments.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-13) (New King James Version)

Regardless of our daily theme, the underlying theme of our posts and of this entire blog is Love. In these words from Paul we should be able to see the overriding importance of Love in the Life of each of us. This is a common theme throughout the gospels and the other writings of the apostles and a theme that is not nearly understood. In our theme today regarding Paul’s writings to the Romans and in the previous discussions on them we seek to impart the better understanding of the reality of Life, the Life of the True man as the Christ Within, the Soul, as it is from this perspective that we can gain that revelation of Truth and, as Paul says above, be free from the condemnation and the vanity of Life in form, free from the illusion and the glamour. We repeat here what we said about these verses in a prior post:

Today’s Quote of the Day from the Apostle Paul is his testimony to the power of Love. After speaking at length about the gifts of the Spirit that one should desire in order to be of service to the Lord, he says plainly that Love is a more excellent way. Love in the context of these verses is not the sentimental or affectionate kind that we ordinarily think of but rather benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. This defining of Love is covered in some depth in a previous post; In the Words of Jesus part 47.

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ³ Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
• ¹² Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)