Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCV
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).
We have been kind of stuck on these words below, words that we payed little attention to over the many months that we have been writing these almost daily essays. These are however words that are very important in the Life of the man in form as they set for us the stages, from the human perspective, that one must travel through in his journey to the Kingdom of God. We say journey because we do not KNOW a better word but we must ever realize that this journey IS one of recognition and realization because as we KNOW, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). The concepts of Repentance and Transformation have been rather easy for us to understand and discuss and this is likely because that are the the stages in which we are operating as Souls expressing through form with some degree of success as aspirants to the High Calling of discipleship. These steps or stages are familiar because we have made the choice to change our focus from the things of the world to the things of God and we ARE living our lives in the world in the awareness, the realization, of the True import of the words of the Master and their True meanings in the Life of the aspirant. As we have said there are no rules for this that we can follow except His words and His admonitions to follow Him and we KNOW that in finding Him we find the Kingdom. And it IS NOT that He is lost, it IS we who are lost, lost in the world of illusion and of glamour from which we must escape, from which we must extract ourselves through our striving toward that strait gate that opens into the Kingdom of God.
When are we in the Kingdom of God is a question that we cannot answer confidently nor clearly as there are so many variables that we do not understand and many mysteries that we have not yet even considered. We can say however that when we have reached that stage of Repentance, we have KNOWLEDGE of the Kingdom and when we are Transformed, we are living in the Light that is emitted from the Kingdom through our own Souls that are ever there. These first two stages are not abruptly begun nor are there strict lines of demarcation but both are gradually moved into by the man in the world as his focus changes from the self in the world and the interests of the self to a focus on the things of God which we understand through the words of the Master. While it is not impossible, a man does not wake up one day with an change of focus or the beginnings of Repentance but rather he grows into this based upon his ability to hear and heed the promptings of his Soul, his Christ Within. From staggering glimpses of the reality of Life, the man steadily looks away from the self and his concerns for himself and his focus steadily shifts to the spiritual and the divine. And not ALL make it, many revert back to the self in the world as the easier Life to live and as he does so he convinces himself of the unimportant nature of the spiritual pursuits and, of course, this is the result of the illusion and the glamour in which he lives.
REPENTANCE, TRANSFORMATION AND REDEMPTION LEAD US TO TRANSFIGURATION
Similarly the stage of Transformation has no real staring point but depends largely on the intensity of the Repentance as the whole of this Transformation IS the reality of the new focus becoming the force that controls the Life in form. Before Transformation the mans thoughts, emotions and actions are governed by the personality which is in turn living in the world and in the illusion and the glamour of the world. And this is the point of the Apostle Paul’s words to the Romans as he says: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). Regardless of personal opinion and regardless of status in the world, the man that is not focused upon the things of God IS “conformed to this world” and while he may deny this, it is a Truth that is bound to Life in the world and fed by the powerful forces of illusion and glamour. It is through this illusion and this glamour that a man deludes himself by thinking that he is not conformed; again, it is ONLY when one’s focus IS on the things of God that a man IS NOT conformed and can be Transformed. In the act of Repentance and in the change of focus that this entails, there begins in the Life of the man a Transformation but this IS NOT to say that he IS Transformed; it does mean however that the process has begun and, until the man is complete in his decision to change, Transformation will suffer from the same difficulties as does Repentance itself which is for some sporadic and for others staggering, and yet others will vacillate from decision to indecision, from choosing God to choosing the world. Perhaps we can see the end of being Transformed in the same way that we see the completion of Repentance which is complete only when there IS NO more vacillating no more staggering and no more sporadic action; these are replaced by the steady focus upon God and the steady looking away from the self and the world. Can we say then that one is Transformed when the Light of the Soul IS the steady and overwhelming influence in the Life of the man in the world? Can we understand it this way; that Transformation is a process that ends in being Transformed and that it is at the end of this process that we find Redemption, a state where the Light of the Soul is no longer the steady and overwhelming influence in the Life of the man but IS become His nature?
A ready reference for our understanding of these ideas of Repentance and Transformation can be found in the Master’s Parable of the Sower where the stages are depicted for us in the Master’s use of the kind of ground that a man can be likened to. The parable goes thus:
“And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:3-9).
We have here two things, first of all this IS a parable that is made as as example to the disciples and to those who can understand and see the Truth today. By way of the story above we may have no better clue as to the intended reality of the Master as any did in His day but, with the help of printed scripture and the Master’s interpretation of this for His disciples, we can pretty much get the gist of His message albeit not many Truly take the Master’s intent to heart. Who can Truly say that they ARE the good ground? who can say that they are bringing forth much fruit which we see in His words on discipleship at the end of our essay as the insignia of being His disciple. The Master interpretation of this parable for His disciples goes thus:
“The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they like wise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 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. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:14-20).
Looking at the story and the Master’s interpretation in the Light of our subject of Repentance and Transformation we should try to see that:
- The wayside in the story is that place where the seed CAN NOT grow, it is devoured by “the fowls of the air” which we can relate to the idea that the word, as the promptings from one’s own Soul, CAN NOT be heard as they are devoured by the illusion and the glamour in which we live. This is much the same as the Master tells us as He says that the words do come and are heard but Satan immediately takes them away. Seeing Satan as we do, as the powers and the forces of the world, we can then see and understand the way of the man who does not heed and likely does not even KNOW that he has heard as he is so enamored with Life in the world and is thereby lost in the illusion and the glamour of that existence. Here there IS NO Repentance and this covers the many many millions of people who never look past themselves as the primary entity for which they should care and this is regardless of any religious participation.
- Then there is the stony ground and it is here that Repentance can begin. Perhaps we can see this as the man who has a whim or a faint desire to follow a spiritual path based upon what he is hearing from his own Soul; he decides to look further but there is “no depth of earth“, or no foundation for his seeking. This can be, and likely is, the beginning for many people who sporadically make this decision to refocus on the spiritual Life only to see this fade back into Life in the world. Here we can see again the personal application of the Master’s words on forgiveness which is looking past an occurrence; in this case this would be the fading back into Life in the world. The Master tells us that we should strive and on this forgiveness He tells us “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent ; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4) and, as He says to the Apostle Peter “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). In the Master’s words we should read the idea of offended as it is rendered in other versions, as stumbling or falling away, and in this we can see what happens; there is “no depth of earth” and therefore they “have no root in themselves“; they CAN NOT endure. We should try to see here in the words that are rendered as affliction and persecution the more personal applications as one KNOWS in looking at the apparent burden of no longer being able to conduct one’s Life as a man in the world. This IS the change that Repentance brings and for those who ARE the stony ground, this is a change that they CAN NOT endure.
- Next we have those people who we could consider as being thorny ground where there is a competition of sorts as the man sees and lives in the duality of Life. In the story we have the fruit of the word beginning to grow but as it does it is choked off by the thorns which represent for us the ways of the world and the illusion and glamour that the man has yet to overcome. Here we have a combination of that Repentance, as the choice is made to change one’s focus, and the beginning of the Transformation but the forces of the world are yet too strong in one’s Life. The Master tells us that the good intentions of the man who is thorny ground; in the version of this parable that we have in Luke’s Gospel we read that “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection” (Luke 8:14). Here our understanding of good intentions is in the words that these men “have heard” and “go forth“; this and the general tenor of the idea in the three synoptic gospels. Here we can see the sporadic and the vacillating nature of the man who is not yet Transformed as he moves from the decision to focus on the things of God to the reabsorption into the “cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things“. We should try to see that here in this state the man does not necessarily rebuke his decision to change as we find in the man of the stony ground, we find that he is not steady in his striving as is the next man who is the good ground.
- Being the good ground IS NOT the end. On the good ground there can be and there is much fruit and in the scale given, “some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred” we should see that the good ground is accomplished by degree. Here we have the simplicity of the man in the world hearing the word from his own Soul and letting that word Transform his nature and change his very expression in the world. As we have said, there is a range of degree of accomplishment which we should consider in this idea of being Transformed and we can find this range in the Master’s scale. The greater the fruit produced in the Life of the man in the world, the greater the degree of Transformation until that point where one can say with surety that he IS Transformed which is that state where the man has overcome the sense of illusion and glamour and is expressing the Love and the Power of the Soul without any sense of regression or pause.
As we close for today we should note here that these types of ground that a man IS or can become are not stagnant, that we move along this scale from the wayside to the good ground based upon our daily ability to allow the Love and the Power of the Soul to be expressed in our lives. We can go back and repeat the stage of stony ground over and over and we can advance to thorny ground and then go back to wayside again. We should also try to see that the further along one may go on the scale, the lesser the likelihood that one will regress. This IS the reality of the requirement that we strive as the Master tells us and as we have defined this word from the lexicon saying: to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers; to endeavour with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something 2.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post and again try to complete our work on these sayings below of which we did use one in reference today.
- “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
- “Herein is my Father glorified , that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).
| 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.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
