ON LOVE; PART DLVIII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
In the last essay we discussed what we see as the whole of the Master’s instructions, ALL His words, in a single verse, a verse that has always had the power to change the world if ALL would accede to it. In the unlikelihood of this happening however, there IS no excuse for the man who would be the Master’s True follower to NOT do so in His own Life and Jesus gives us several sayings that accommodate this view which Emmet Fox offers us in his own words saying:
I PRACTICE, the Golden Rule of Jesus instead of merely admiring it. He said, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The important point about the Golden Rule is that I am to practice it whether the other fellow does so or not***.
This IS the reality of the Christian attitude, the True Christian attitude, and while a man may say to himself that he CAN NOT do this because he will seem weak and be taken advantage of, we should recognize the illegitimacy of these ideas in Jesus words like:
- “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
- “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). This is expressed by Luke a bit differently as we read: “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12-4-5).
In this first saying we should see the whole of the Truth. Love ALL men and in Loving ALL men this expression of the Golden Rule is a requirement; here it matters NOT what one may think of another or DO to him, the True follower of the Master will observe this High Ideal of Love. In these other sayings we see the low importance that the Master allows us to place on our carnal lives and how that it IS the Life of the Soul that matters. Here we should understand that the Soul IS divine and apart from the body; the Soul only uses the body as his vehicle of expression. The Soul IS untouchable from the perspective of Life in the world and this DOES NOT mean that these words from the Master are wrong, it means that men DO NOT see the Truth behind His parabolic language. We should remember here the dual nature of death, that there IS the death of the body and there IS death in sin, death in living in and for the self in the world. In this we should understand that the only one who can harm the Soul, or the Soul’s expression of Life in this world, IS the man himself; it IS by one’s own carnal actions that this death is accomplished and it IS one’s own expression of Truth that CAN save the Soul if we can say it this way. The Apostle James offers us this idea: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
Our point here today IS NOT in the saving however, it IS in the True response to a man’s concerns about his wellbeing in the world. The Master tells us that this should NOT deter us, that we should Love ALL and treat ALL men in accordance to the Golden Rule and He tells us as well that the carnal form and this present Life are meaningless in the whole of the scheme of things. Perhaps this IS the greater Truth to martyrdom; that a man will continue in His words despite any consequences as opposed to a man insisting on pronouncing his faith or his beliefs against those who would have him deny it. In the end it IS ever the DOING that matters.
This IS the Golden Rule as men have come to call it and we should remember that whatever thoughts there ARE that this IS intended to be reciprocal ARE patently false and IS only the product of the tendency of man to find safe harbor for his own actions of lack of action. In its simplicity is found the single greatest tool for the expression of that Love that the Master offers us in the Great Commandments that we are carrying at the top of our essay. And, while this is rendered a bit differently by Luke, the intent IS the same:
- “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
- “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).
Our next sayings are, as we said in the last essay, the beginning of the Master’s instruction about our journey; our journey to being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. First He tells us parabolically of the Way, the narrow way to the Kingdom of God and he cautions us regarding the difficulty:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
In this word strait which means narrow we see the reality of the Way to the Kingdom; of course there IS no actual gate, this idea simply puts the entry into more human terms. There IS a narrow way to the Kingdom and that way IS that one keep His words and here we should try to see that in the idea of finding this Way to the Kingdom is the greater reality of DOING what is necessary to pass through. And therein lies the Master’s caution; that few there ARE that can pass that way. This reality IS not appreciated by most doctrines which fail to understand the True nature of the Kingdom; that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). What they imagine this saying to mean fails to account for the reality of DOING. In this view, John Gill tells us that: Enter ye in at the strait gate; By the “strait gate” is meant Christ himself; who elsewhere calls himself “the door”, ( John 10:7-9 ) as he is into the church below, and into all the ordinances and privileges of it; as also to the Father, by whom we have access unto him, and are let into communion with him, and a participation of all the blessings of grace; yea, he is the gate of heaven, through which we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all by faith and hope now; as there will be hereafter an abundant entrance into the kingdom and glory of God, through his blood and righteousness. This is called “strait”; because faith in Christ, a profession of it, and a life and conversation agreeable to it, are attended with many afflictions, temptations, reproaches, and persecutions. “Entering” in at it is by faith, and making a profession of it: hence it follows, that faith is not the gate itself, but the grace, by which men enter in at the right door, and walk on in Christ, as they begin with him 8.
Mr. Gill relies upon faith and grace and he holds those who choose the other gate as men in sin as this IS understood by doctrine; these are men who are: walking in the way of sin, which leads to eternal ruin. The gate of carnal lusts, and worldly pleasures 8. Some however have a clearer picture of this Truth as we read in the Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible: Enter ye in at the strait gate–as if hardly wide enough to admit one at all. This expresses the difficulty of the first right step in religion, involving, as it does, a triumph over all our natural inclinations. Hence the still stronger expression in Luke ( Luke 13:24 ), “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” for wide is the gate–easily entered. and broad is the way–easily trodden. that leadeth to destruction, and–thus lured “many there be which go in thereat.” Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life–In other words, the whole course is as difficult as the first step; and (so it comes to pass that). few there be that find it 8.
In Luke’s version of this which the authors above mention, there IS the same note of personal responsibility but it IS offered in a clearer fashion as we are told to strive. In Matthew’s version, while it says the same thing in essence, this IS offered in a more general way saying “Enter ye in at the strait gate“. In Truth, this IS really the stronger as it says clearly where one must enter while the idea of “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” says that this should be our objective and our goal and that thing that we try to accomplish. To draw yet another line here we can see that the man who IS able to enter IS the disciple who IS keeping His words while the man who strives IS the aspirant whose focus IS on trying to enter therein. In the end it IS by entering “in at the strait gate” that a man achieves the Kingdom of God and here we understand that “few there be that find it“; most KNOW NOT where to look nor how as they ARE held captive by the illusion and glamour of Life in the world. We should ever remember that there IS NOTHING short of keeping His words that will allow for a man to enter the Kingdom which should be seen as that Most Holy Place.
This IS then the Master’s first instruction regarding the spiritual journey of a man and here we see that we must enter the narrow way of keeping His words; a narrow Way that takes us out of the world of the self and the things of the self and puts our focus firmly upon the things of God. The next point that the Master offers us IS that we must be ever careful of who it is that we listen to, that there ARE those who will try to mislead or to show another way that IS NOT this “strait gate” and we should try to see that among these “false prophets” IS our own carnal nature in the world. We read:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
This saying IS a general caution against believing any who claim to speak in Jesus name or speak as representatives in any way of God. this IS NOT however the way that this IS understood by most in Christian circles. Many see this as the teaching of others that do not conform to their own views, others see this as the Jewish teachers of the day; we however see this in more general terms and understand Jesus reference as to ANY who do not teach the Truth of His words and who at the same time profess that their words ARE His Truth of that they are inspired by God. The issue here IS NOT the claim but it IS rather the teaching itself and this IS what the Master speaks of as the fruits; it IS what they teach that sets them as True or false teachers. We should not be fooled here by the idea of “ravening wolves” as while there may be some that we may think as such, the Master is more referring to the teaching of those that put their own ways, doctrines and beliefs above the Truth of the word of God. As an example here we can try to see the ‘devout’ Christian preacher who makes allowances in his doctrine for slavery or the one who teaches that one must only Love a Christian brother and not ALL men as the Truth of His word tells us. Another rendering of this word in the King James Version is extortioner and while this makes less sense in the sentence, perhaps we can see the idea of stealing the Truth and replacing it with a lie in the hearts of those who attend to their words. Modern examples here could be seen in the pedophile priest, the teacher that burns Korans, and the Ku Klux Klan as a Christian organization; some of these one can KNOW but not ALL and not always and our point here is that one must KNOW that the message IS True as it IS seldom possible to see the heart of the teacher. It IS in this reality that the Master repeats again that “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”.
The Master uses many words here in this group of sayings but the important ones are beware and that “Ye shall know them by their fruits“. The rest are perhaps for our better understanding; that looking upon a man who hates or has prejudices against others, one will KNOW that he CAN NOT “bring forth good fruit“; he can only “bring forth evil fruit“, fruit that is aligned with his nature. Much of the outward appearance of these type of “ravening wolves” may have disappeared from the landscape today but the caution IS still valid, men must beware, they must ever attend to what it IS that the let themselves believe in place of the Truth that the Master gives us. In the end the reality here is that it IS the man who lives according to the word of the Lord, the man who has no self interest and who only promotes the Truth of His words, that can be seen as a True teacher, a True prophet and in this we should understand the disciple. In ALL others there is likely the seed of hypocrisy and it IS with ALL others that a man must beware. As few as there be that have found the strait gate, this IS the number of those teachers that can Truly be trusted and, as the Master tells us in the preceding saying, “few there be that find it“.
Our next sayings are another caution; this time to the man who professes to be a follower of the Master but who at the same time does not keep His words. Here the caution IS that while a man may believe that he IS accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God, he IS NOT unless he Truly does his part. We read:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
In a way these sayings are related to the previous. From the perspective of hearing and believing the teacher who DOES NOT offer the fruits of the Kingdom, who DOES NOT teach the Truth of His words, many erroneously believe that they are ‘saved’.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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.
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:16-21).
Today’s Quote of the Day from the First Epistle of John is his reflection on God and on Love. John tells us that God is Love and, as we have discussed, Love is certainly as aspect and an attribute of the Godhead and one which is supremely represented by the Christ. John tells us further that without Love there is no relationship with God and likens the Truth of dwelling in Love to being in His Kingdom and in His Presence. He draws for us the idea of Love for ones fellowman being the prime prerequisite for Love of God for although one may say that he Loves God, it cannot be True unless he first Loves his fellowman. In John’s words the equation is certain: “he who loveth God love his brother also“. And, lest we forget that the idea of Love that the Master teaches in not the emotional attraction that we live with daily, we repeat again: LOVE is….
In a general sense love is 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’. To this we add the ever important High Ideal as taught by the Christ: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- *** From The Fifteen Points by Emmet Fox; © 1932 HarperCollins Publishers Inc
