ON LOVE; PART DLXVIII
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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 the combined ideas from the beginning of the Epistle of James where the apostle speaks of temptation and how that it should NOT be viewed with disdain but with joy and while this may seem odd, the reasoning offers the more valid approach as the phenomenon of temptation afflicts most ALL men. In this light, the apostle tells us that for the the man who IS seeking God, temptation should be seen as another opportunity to show forth his perseverance and it IS in this accomplishment that one can Truly see the joy. Perhaps we can see that the trying effect of temptation is one of the tools that the aspirant uses in striving toward discipleship and which the disciple uses as he strives toward that perfection of which the apostle speaks; we should remember that this IS the goal of ALL Souls, that his expression in the world be the perfect expression of the Soul. To this end the Master tells His disciples that “every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40) and when we resolve that the Master is the Christ and therefore the Christ Within, we can have the greater understanding of these words as well as the Master’s injunction that we “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). We have discussed before how this idea of perfect is played down by doctrine and not seen as it IS intended and these ideas from James can help us to see the end of this idea, that the man in the world, as an expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul, IS “perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:4). Vincent tells us that this idea of “wanting nothing” IS: more literally, lacking in nothing 4; this understanding takes away the idea of desire.
We noted in the last post that our second selection of verses that deal with Wisdom are a continuation of these ideas on the relative value of temptation and were reminded by Vincent and others that there should be a but inserted so that the saying is presented as “but if“. In this continuation of the thought we see that when one IS tempted and IS having difficulty in resisting, that he can ask for Wisdom to help in this struggle. We noted also that this asking IS the same as we are shown by the Master and that out reality IS that when we ask we are calling upon our own spiritual Power to help to dissuade the mind and the emotions; while we did not phrase it in this way, this IS essentially the process; this IS the use of the conscience of the man who IS aware in his effort to be steadfast and to persevere. The apostle reminds us that we must be focused upon the things of God for this to Truly work; he tells us that for the man whose focus IS on the self and the self in the world and who occasionally looks inward or to God for help in dire circumstances, that he will NOT “receive any thing of the Lord“. Here we should try to see that ALL these things work by degree and while James offers us the straightforward reality of the man so focused, that there may be some better result for another whose focus is perhaps a bit more toward the things of God. The reality of the apostles words are found in the idea that the man who IS NOT focused upon the things of God CAN NOT help but be wavering as he reaches out occasionally in his time of need; this man DOES NOT have the faith, the KNOWING that comes in True focus upon the Lord. And this IS the reality of that man who IS NOT committed to either God nor mammon, that he IS that “double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
In this we can see the Master’s more obscure ideas from the Sermon on the Mount saying: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Can we see the idea here that the man who tries to serve both, the man who IS NOT committed to either, IS “unstable in all his ways“…..that he IS the “double minded man“. While we use the example of the man focused in the self and the world who occasionally seeks for God, we should understand that this can take on many faces and that the idea of occasion can be in any range of frequency that does not move one’s focus off of the self and the interests of the self in the world. We should remember there that the Master links His ideas on God and mammon the the reality if “take no thought” (Matthew 6:25). From here the apostle continues to show how this of separation of attention between God and mammon can produce the man of low degree or the man who IS rich and we should understand these ideas from a carnal perspective on the one hand and from a spiritual perspective as well. We read:
“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways” (James 1:9-11).
The man of “low degree” in the world IS NOT the merely poor man but the man who has made himself so, and this not in wealth and possessions only; for this man the ideas of wealth and possessions have become meaningless, they offer no attraction and neither do any of the other ideas that the Master tells us that the disciple must forsake. This man’s exaltation IS in the idea that he IS in that process of Transformation which ends in his being able to stand with the Master and say “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This man IS then among those who Truly see the reality of “take no thought“, he understands that he must seek “treasures in heaven” and his choice IS God over mammon. On the other hand the there is the rich man and again we must see this as beyond wealth and possession only. Here is a man who may be prominent in his sense of self in the world and may be considered as such by others as well; here we should try to see that this richness IS first a personal assessment as the idea of rich IS ever in comparison to one’s peers and IS largely a function of pride. This man IS NOT exalted and the apostle tells us that he “is made low” which we should understand in contrast to the idea of exalted rather than the idea of “the brother of low degree” as many tend to do. In this combination of ideas we again have that comparison of the man who seeks “treasures in heaven” as opposed to the man who seeks “treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:19, 20, 24).
The rest of this is a warning to those who would be rich in the things of the world and we should remember that this richness includes ALL treasures; ALL that is important to the man in form. In the Sermon the Master paints the things of the world as that they are subject to decay and ARE corruptible; that it IS these that “moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” (Matthew 6:19) and we should try NOT to see these ideas literally nor that these are the only kind of corruption. It IS the precursor to these “treasures upon earth” which must be dealt with by the man who seeks the things of God, the “treasures in heaven“; it is the thoughts and the attitudes that produce them. The idea of the man whose focus us upon the things of the Earth being as the “flower of the grass” IS the reality of this saying; James speaks about the man himself, how that whatsoever that he thinks that he IS shall “fade away” while the Master here speaks of those things that this man treasures directly.
From here the apostle returns to more direct talk on temptation and here we should try to see that he never Truly left this subject, that these ideas of the “the brother of low degree” and the “the rich man” ARE in regard to this as well. We should remember that James IS speaking to men who ARE aware of the reality of spirituality, it IS this man who can find joy in temptation when it IS overcome, it is this man who can seek Wisdom in times of need because his focus is right and it is this man who IS of “low degree” concerning himself in the world. One would ask here then why write these things and the answer would be the same as with the words of the Sermon being directed to disciples and to aspirants. We should see two things at play here; first that the Life of the aspirant, and for some time likely the disciple as well, is fragile, the forces of the ways of the world, the illusion and the glamour, are what are most easily seen and to what the man is most readily susceptible to and in this the words of the Master and His apostles can offer some comfort and minimize the tendency to doubt. Second IS that these words are a guiding light to the man who is considering Repentance if we can say it this way; they offer some idea from a quasi-spiritual view of the benefits of focus upon the things of God and they offer some semblance of instruction to the man who can hear. The apostle’s next words are:
“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).
Here the idea of enduring IS the effect of the previous idea of patience which we understand as steadfastness and perseverance. It IS one’s ability to stand fast in the face of temptation that allows him to endure it and to continue without succumbing. Here we should see the overall success of the man and not the individual temptations or trials that we discussed earlier; this IS the overcoming of duality, this IS the moving from aspirant to disciple and this IS the completed work of the disciple in the world. And we should see this as a most general statement from which the aspirant can KNOW the outcome of his struggle to overcome, that “he shall receive the crown of life” which, while it IS NOT defined, can be seen as a special thing by its very description. Vincent offers us some ideas regarding this first phrase; he tells us that: Is tried (δόκιμος γενόμενος); Lit.,having become approved. See on trial, 1 Peter 1:7. The meaning is not, as the A. V. suggests, when his trial is finished, but when he has been approved by trial. Rev., rightly, when he hath been approved 4. The Catholic version, the Douay-Rheims, frames this as “when he hath been proved” which offers a bit more clarity as we should understand here that there IS NO ONE that approves, it IS rather a man’s own ability to express this completion in the world that IS the proof that he has overcome. The crown here can be seen then as the sign of the completion of one’s work and we should note here that there IS a synergy of ideas: that the overcoming of the temptations of Life and the reality of Loving God are intimately related and produce for a man this “crown of life“. We should remember the the words of the Apostle John who says: “That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:21) and the Master’s injunction that: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and again that: “If a man love me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23, 15). ALL things spiritual are connected in Love.
The apostle returns then to the instructions and to the Truth of temptation for those who have not overcome as he leaves this idea of overcoming as one’s encouragement. In this idea, as with the entirety of this idea of temptation, there is much confusion as we noted in the last post where some confuse this being tempted with affliction and even persecution. These ideas come through to these sayings as well as we read in John Gill’s commentary that: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; Or affliction, which is designed by temptation, as in ( James 1:2 ) and the man that endures it is he that so bears it, and bears up under it, as not to be offended at it, and stumble in the ways of Christ, and fall away from the truth, and a profession of it, as temporary believers in a time of temptation do; but manfully and bravely stands up under it, and does not sink under the weight of it, or faint on account of it; and endures afflictions in such manner as not to murmur and repine at them, but is quiet and still, and bears them patiently and constantly, and so endures to the end 8. There is a general lack of understanding here regarding temptation and that it Truly means that mental and emotional affinity with the things of the world which lure a mans attention. Mr. Gill paints this as trial offered by some force of evil against those who choose God and here likely in a doctrinal view and he continues saying that such persons: expect afflictions, and when they come, they are not moved by them, but, notwithstanding them, continue in the ways and work of the Lord; and such are happy persons 8. This IS a common view in some denominations that is tied to a doctrine that includes Satan as one opposed to the ‘religious’ attitude of the ‘believer’.
Mr. Gill continues to the next verse where he sees the apostle’s words as: Let no man say when he is tempted; Here the apostle uses the word “tempted”, in another sense than he did before. Before he speaks of temptations, as matter of joy and boasting, here of temptations, which are criminal, and issue in shame and death 8. Here, like the common idea of sin and evil, Mr. Gill ascribes this temptation to things which ARE criminal, and issue in shame and death; while there is no basis for this view in either place, these ideas likely fit better with his sense of doctrine. The reality here is that a man understand that the trials will come in the form of temptations and that he should KNOW that these ARE of the world, that the ARE NOT of God in any way. Our reality here IS that there IS NO thing of the Earth that comes from God as we understand these ideas; man IS here in this Earth on his own and the only help that he will get to counter the illusion and the glamour, to fight off the temptations of Life, are those things from within….the Wisdom that gives rise to the steadfastness and the endurance. There IS much confusion in the doctrinal world regarding these ideas; many denominations teach that God tests believers and that some of the Life experiences that one faces are allowed by God or even orchestrated by Him as a test of faith; but there IS NO real precedence for this in scripture except in the misuse of the word peirasmos which they render as trial instead of temptation and understand it as some kind of test. The only sense of trial here should be that it IS the temptation that tries a man, that temptation comes to the man whose focus IS upon God and the trial is whether he IS lured back to the things of the world by the temptation; in ALL reality, it IS the temptation that afflicts men in the world.
The apostle next offers us words that are intended to clarify the reality of temptation and they DO so for any who read them without bias. It IS lust or ardent desire that tempts a man or allows him to be tempted. His desires for the things of the world take hold of his mind and emotions and the objects of his desires are held our before him as the apple before Eve; this IS the reality of ALL of these ideas of temptation that ARE presented by James. And the conclusion IS inevitable and the nature of things IS clearly elucidated by the apostle who tells us: “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“. This IS the nature of Life in the world for the man whose focus IS on the self instead of on God and this IS perhaps the hidden reality of the Master’s words “take no thought“.
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.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8)
Today’s Quote of the Day is in regard to the new birth which Nicodemus did not understand and which many today do not understand either. The words of the Master tell us of a total commitment to the Lord as the way to the Kingdom and these verses say that as well. This total commitment is being born again. The differences in language aside, we should try to see the relationship between these ideas of being born again which is the essence of discipleship for it is only in discipleship that one can Truly see the Kingdom. These are much misused ideas because they are seen from the perspective of the man in form and no from the perspective of the Soul living through form.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
