Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCXII
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:12-16).
Again we can say that we have completed for now our discussions on the Art of Discipleship as we understand this from the words of the Master and His apostles. In the last post we established that the words that the Master uses to instruct us in this Art, the criteria that He gives us for achieving this High Calling are for us the very definition of the word disciple as it is used by the Master and which use is evermore complex than the common understanding of the word as it would apply to worldly pursuits. And this is to our point, that when a man looks at this word from its dictionary understanding, he will not get the True flavor of the Master’s message which, by the way, IS rather clear as it is approached from the negative in saying ‘if one does not do these things, he CAN NOT be my disciple’. While this IS abundantly clear, as is the Master’s instructions for being accounted worthy of the Kingdom, both are diluted by doctrine thereby making the reality of His words of “of none effect” much in the same way as we find in His words to the Pharisees regarding their sense of tradition with which they trumped scripture. On this we read the Master’s words saying: “For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:4-6). Can we understand our point here; that the True intent of the Master’s words are not seen as our reality but are diluted and changed to suit the convenience of the man who operates in the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world?
It is likely that the Master and the Heavenly Host that oversees Life in this world had foreknowledge that the words used by the Master and His apostles would be diluted and changed in meaning to suit the needs of the man in the world and, whether we understand and believe this to be True or not, this is what has happened over the centuries since He left our presence. We are not bible scholars but we are bible readers and we apply His words to everyday Life without any sense of doctrine or preconception except that which we believe that we receive from within, from our own Souls. The problem here may be with the bible scholars as they are only scholarly in the teachings of the doctrine that they have learned which is from and for a particular school of thought, denomination or sect. In this we can see that the Roman Catholic scholar will not agree on many points with the Protestant scholar and neither may agree with the Orthodox scholar and none will agree with the Mormon. The reality here is that while ALL of these denominations and sects may have some degree of reality in their teachings, they are separate because in the sense of the men in the world who helped to create them, there were ideas and teachings with which they could not agree in the version of Christianity with which they were connected. From the very first essays that we published on this blog it has been to our wonderment why and how there could be ONE God and ONE humanity but so many different religions that each declare that they and only they are right and, specifically to Christianity, how and why there could be so many different denominations and sects and yet only ONE Christ who laid down one set of realities for the new dispensation.
We can understand how that in the beginning, with the emotional approach that the world had to this New Idea of Christianity, the handed down teachings of the ‘authorities’ were necessarily structured as emotional and devotional and were offered to a population that was likely largely illiterate or who had no real access to the realities of the Birth, Death and Resurrection of the Master. In this time when logical thought was not the pervasive way of men, the religious appeal that was offered to and accepted by the minions was emotionally and devotionally based and became the doctrine of the church. Seeing this from our perspective and without being overly historic in our words, there came times when certain members of the church could not agree with these pronouncements of doctrine or when certain geographical and international sections would not be under Roman rule in the Church. These then created their own version of the church, addressing the disagreement or the desire to be separate from Rome, whichever may have been the motivation, and for some there was a combination of these factors. However, while the number these new denominations and sects grew, there was little change from the emotional and devotional approach to God and this even as the men of the world were becoming increasingly more mental in their approach to Life and to religion. Now there are some denominations and sects that have taken a more mental view of religion but these are in the minority and some are viewed by the mainstream churches as having heretical teachings or they are viewed as cults which is used as a word of derision.
Still today doctrines prevail in the church with little or no acceptance of the reality of today’s proper understanding of the words of the Master and His disciples and many of these denominations and sects have actually dug in in their approach to change or rather their refusal to accept any. Many have their pet doctrinal teachings that they rely upon and, as we have noted, some of these have no True relevance in the words of the Master nor in the words of His apostles. Among these subjects of doctrinal importance to some sections of the church today are abortion and homosexuality which we can see in our view as their cover for their own religious inadequacies which cover is likely presented rather subconsciously as we doubt that they can see the situation as we present it. Bringing this back to our starting point, we have noted what we see as the reality of the Masters teachings on discipleship and on attaining the Kingdom of God, a reality that we have presented IN HIS WORDS and which we have discussed away from the doctrines and the teachings of the established churches. It is here that we see that some degree of this reality must eventually be presented to the man in the street who is a believer of doctrine, it is here that we see that the church should be teaching the difficulty of achieving both discipleship and the Kingdom and finding some way to do this without alienating the masses, especially those around the world in cultures that are still emotionally and devotionally oriented. There is NO profit for any in the continual thinking that one is saved or worthy of the Kingdom based upon ritual and tradition as this creates for the man in the world a false safe harbor from which he is less likely to inquire into the True depths of Christianity.
From our perspective there must and there will be a shift from the strictly doctrinal beliefs that have been pursued for centuries; a shift that will bring the reality of the Master’s message to the ears of the people and this will be largely brought about by the Energies of the New Age of Aquarius as they permeate the Earth and the psyche of those men who are most sensitive to them. The expression of the New Age IS Love which IS the message of the Christ over 2000 years ago, a message that has gone largely unappreciated and not at ALL understood; nor has it ever been properly elucidated to the world of men. Many can and will come to the reality of the Love and the brotherhood and harmony as they are offered by the New Age and it is here that the church must take action so as not to allow the average man to flounder in the world, subjected to the illusions and the glamours of whatsoever angle of teaching to which he may be exposed. Worse yet is the next average man who sees and hears naught regarding the inflow of these Energies of God, Energies that can be traced back by the sincere researcher. Whether we agree or not there is a steady stream of Energies flowing through our planet and our lives and these are both physical and measurable as well as spiritual and as yet unknown. These do not have to be affiliated with celestial constellations as they are today seen by many outside the mainstream church who can view them simply as the Power of God, the Power for change as the lives on this planet steadily evolve as they have been evolving throughout the course of recorded history. Whether we say that the Age of Taurus gave way to the Age of Aries which in turn gave way to the Age of Pisces and now to the Age of Aquarius, or we just look at the changes in humanity as these have progressed, we will get the same result….mankind is evolving and will continue to do so until there is that perfection in the Earth that the Master speaks of in regard to us as individuals. Although the ways through which this all happens is well beyond our understanding save what we can glean from a historical perspective, it is from the history and the fast moving present that we can estimate the future.
The True teachings of the Master over 2000 years ago are the seed planted in the Earth that must eventually grow in the “good ground” of men and women of GoodWill throughout the world. It is these who will then cultivate the reality of Love and Goodwill in the “thorny ground” and the “stony ground” and who will eventually cultivate the “wayside” as well. The church of today can play a great role in spreading the Master’s True Gospel, the Good News of Love, of brotherhood and of harmony, or, it can remain a stumbling block to the proper realization of these Christian ideals by those who follow their doctrines. Regardless of the participation of the church, the world will change and it will change according to the Spiritual Power afforded the world by the New Age and according to the Great and Awesome Plan of God. And it IS this Plan that we see in the words of the Apostle Paul that we so often use to enhance our own understanding of the purpose and the result of Life in form. Paul tells us:
“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” (Romans 8:20-21).
In this we see our reality, our past and our future. As Souls taking form and losing that sense of God by being “made subject to vanity“, which we KNOW as illusion and glamour, we find ourselves in these rounds of incarnation, “not willingly” but by reason of the Plan of God. Paul frames this for us saying that this subjection is done “by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” and in these words we understand and see the Plan of God. We see also in the word rendered as hope the reality of expectation as we KNOW that there IS NO need for hope from the perspective of OUR God. And we are “the creature“, the Soul made to express his Life here on this Earth while losing sight of his own reality because of the vanity, the illusion and the glamour to which he is subjected. This is our reality and it IS His expectation that we “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“; this is our goal and our destiny and this IS the Plan of God to bring ALL His children home again to the Kingdom of God.
So again we are here in the world and there are many who are awakened or who are awakening today and it these who ARE and who will be the harbingers of the New Age as men and women of GoodWill. The church can play its rightful part in this and need never understand the working of the Energies of change nor try to teach them as all that is required is their right discernment of the words of the Master regarding the thoughts and actions of a man; those thoughts and actions that will bring him individually and en masse into the Kingdom of God which must eventually be understood to be within the man in form. Most ALL sin as we understand it, as man’s focus upon the self and the world of things, are the result of our not rightly discerning the Master’s words and, more importantly, the intent of His word as they are ever clouded in the minds of men who live in the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, of life in form. We are fortunate to have His words and even in the inaccuracies that abound in within them, the translation issues and our inability at times to understand what is from the personality of the writer and what is from his Inner Man, his Soul from whence comes that Wisdom from above, there can be NO mistaking Jesus’ intent as He expounds the Truths of the reality of man and his relationship to God behind parables and proverbs and, more often that we would care to admit, in plain language. At times it seems that we would, as men lost in this world, rather debate the obscure than to heed the straightforward and this is based in the way that the Master’s words are received by each individual man and this reception is mostly based upon what and how His words and His intent are learned.
As we prepare for Easter and a shift in the nature of our essays toward those ideas that from scripture that relate to His death on the cross and His resurrection, we will take this opportunity to start and finish our discussion on the words at the head of this essay and which have been at the head for many days now. These words from the Apostle James are clear and straightforward as is most of what the apostle has to say and we were introduced to these when we were discussing the power of desire and lust as it works out in the emotionally driven minds of men yet today. Speaking to the disciple and the aspirant, James tells us about the power of temptation rather than the error of lust and we KNOW the relationship here IS strong. Temptation is the precursor of desire, of lust and of the errors that are incumbent in fulfilling them, temptation is that point in the development of desire and lust where the man who can see the duality of Life can stop the process by moving on to something else. In this we should try to see that it is much easier to deflect a temptation that it is to ignore the desires and the lusts that afflict us in our emotionally driven minds as desire and lust can and do easily overwhelm the good sense of many. And this is the message of the apostle, that when temptation comes to an aspirant or a disciple that he should endure it and do so by not letting it temptation become desire and lust. Another part of James’ message is intended for those who are believing that they are hearing from God and being told this or that regarding worldly things; here the apostle is saying that these things DO NOT and CAN NOT come from God and this we KNOW is True of the things of the world. In Jame’s words we should see that to give in to temptation and to believe that it is from above lead a man deeper into carnal Life and further away from the Glory that he seeks. James ends his comment telling us not to err and in this we should see that he refers to his words above and to his words that follow as well where we read that: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17); in this we should try to see the reality that the good and the perfect gifts ARE NOT of this world, they ARE heavenly.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
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:
Leaving again the Great Invocation, we encourage ALL to read and reread it and our comments as in these words can be found the keys to our spiritual reality.
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 see them as the Potent Powers of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit albeit on a much smaller, microcosmic, scale.
