ON LOVE; PART DCCCXXII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “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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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? 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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12)
We began the last essay with our view of the confusion that perplexed the Eleven as the Master speaks to them about the Presence of God in their lives and we should remember here that the questions posed to Jesus begin much earlier and in relation to His immanent departure from them. This IS a topic that His disciples never seem to quite understand nor want to accept as we noted in the Apostle Peter’s rebuke of the Master and those infamous words that Jesus speaks: “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23). While there ARE many views regarding this saying by the Master, the reality IS in the idea that Jesus IS putting forward and NOT in the use of the word Satan. If we can see Satan as the Master presents the idea here, we could see rather clearly that His reference IS to the the things “that be of men” which IS the carnal things, the things of the world, which ARE the Truth of sin and of evil.
And here IS an important point in the Life of the aspirant and the disciple of the Lord: Peter IS a disciple and the leader of the group in many ways. Peter IS among the three disciples who are invited to take part of the special moments that ARE recorded in the gospels: the raising of Jairus daughter, the Transfiguration and accompanying the Master to the deeper part of the garden at Gethsemane. We should NOT forget as well how that it IS Peter whose trials and tribulations are recorded for us in the gospels and that it IS Peter’s Perfected Life that IS on display in the Book of Acts; it IS Peter who IS set for us as the example of the True disciple of the Lord. It IS in this context that we should try to see the relationship between the reality of discipleship that the Master paints for us in His closing statement on the subject according to Luke, that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), and the yet deeper ideas that ARE presented in Jesus’ words to Peter saying “thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men“. It IS in the combination of these ideas that we can see the deeper reality of forsaking ALL, that this forsaking DOES NOT ONLY concern those things of the world but rather ALL things….every thought, attitude and action that one may have that ties him to the carnal Life and to the things of the world. This IS the reality of True discipleship, this IS the reality that ALL of one’s focus comes to be upon the things of God and this IS the deeper Truth to the Master’s injunction that one “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25).
This IS of course a most difficult enterprise and it IS in this sense of difficulty that men have created their doctrines which tend to minimize the Master’s admonitions regarding Life in favor of their own varied views of Truth. When we can see the ideas behind Jesus’ words that show us that it IS the God Within that must become the Life without, ALL of His words can begin to make more sense to the carnal mind which, in this realization, IS being fed by and controlled by the Spirit Within and NO longer by the personality of the man in the world. Can we see Peter in this Light? Can we see that while Peter had forsaken ALL things carnal to be a disciple of the Master, that he still had his own personality sense as we see in his verbal attempt to protect Jesus, an attempt which results in the Master’s words that address the apostle as Satan above? And can we see how that Peter’s thoughts ARE still on himself and his wellbeing as he says to Jesus “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (Matthew 19:27). It IS in the combination of these thoughts that we find the Truth of forsaking and in this we find the reality of the focus of men upon the things of God…that the fuller the focus upon such things that DO NOT concern the self in the world, the fuller the measure of one’s realization of the Presence of God in his Life.
In ALL of this we should also try to see and to understand that it IS NOT only His departure that IS perplexing to the apostles, it IS the unrealized totality of their own commitment, their own ‘fullness of focus‘, that IS keeping them from seeing the fullness of the Truth of the Christ and of God. And here we must understand that ALL of these ideas ARE a part of His words which can be summed up in His earliest teaching from the Sermon on the Mount as He tells them and us that we must “Take no thought for your life” and that the choice between “God and mammon“(Matthew 6:24) must be made in a most complete way…..that one’s treasure, one’s focus and attention, must be upon the things of God. While so many believe yet today that it IS only what one may eat and wear that IS dealt with in Jesus’ admonition that we “Take no thought“, and while so many believe yet today that it IS riches and wealth that are dealt with in the ideas of treasure and of mammon, the greater Truth of His saying that men should “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21) IS found in the totality of ALL these words including those that tell us that “the light of the body is the eye“. In this most misunderstood saying we should see the reality of True sight, the reality of seeing the things of the world, evil if you will, as opposed to seeing the things of God singularly and without opposition. The Truth of His words here ARE NOT seen clearly when these verses are taken individually; it IS in the totality of His words here that the Truth IS revealed.
Here we should try to see that while the apostles have given up ALL things carnal, ALL possessions and wealth, and while they have forsaken family and friends for the Lord, they still do have some share of the thoughts and the attitudes that keep them tied to the world. We see this in Peter in our example above and we see this in Jesus’ other two chosen apostles, John and James, who together seek a higher position than the rest. While this request of the Master, that He would “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory” (Mark 10:37) may be seen as of a spiritual nature, the reality is that these two are seeking favor for themselves which IS a Truly carnal thought and one which the Master dismisses by showing them their role as servants, a role that the Apostle Paul shows us in those ideas that we discussed in the last essay as he calls the disciple as “now being made free from sin, and become servants to God” (Romans 6:22). In the Master’s words from the Sermon we should see the idea that ALL that follows IS His commandment as we read “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments” (Matthew 5:19) and from the perspective of the aspirant and the disciple we should see yet more; we should see that ALL of His words ARE His commandments….none ARE suggestions. ALL of His words point us in the direction of the Kingdom of God, of discipleship and toward attaining the Presence of God in one’s Life as we read again in these most important words:
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
Here the Apostle Judas questions the Master’s meaning, the meaning of His Presence in the Life of the man who keeps His words and earlier in this same chapter we find Philip and Thomas questioning similar ideas and we should see that their confusion continues through to our current selection. Thomas question IS much the same as what we see below as this follows upon the idea of “whither I go” (John 14:4) which, when seen in combination with Philip’s question regarding the deeper ideas of the relationship between the Father and the Christ, gives us Jesus many words on the Presence of God, the Presence shown in the idea of we as we read above, as well as His words on the Holy Spirit as that Inner man who “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). As we move again into our current selection from the sixteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, we see that the Eleven still DO NOT understand and while many think that this questioning IS unrelated to the previous, we should understand their continued confusion regarding their own realization of these Truths. We read again:
“A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs:c but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father” (John 16:16-25)
As the Master earlier shows them that they DO KNOW and that they DO have the Holy Spirit, we should be able to see the reality of realization; that while they KNOW as spiritual men, they DO NOT see this as carnal men….men who ARE yet somewhat focused upon the self in this world. And we see this in Jesus words as He tells them “whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14:4) and as He shows them the Spirit of God saying “ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). In these latter words the idea of “shall be in you” IS a doctrinal adaptation that reflects men’s ideas regarding the Holy Spirit; Vincent tells us that: Some editors read, ἐστίν , is in you 4, and some translations DO reflect this more sensible idea that plays much better in conjunction with Jesus speaking of their KNOWING and how that He “dwelleth with you“.
When we look at the Master’s words in this view we can better see the idea that ALL IS a matter of realization, that the very Presence of God in the Life of the disciple IS this realization. Here we should try to see that the Holy Spirit of whom the Master says “you know him, because he remains with you and is in you” (Good News Translation) or that “You know Him, because He remains by your side and is in you” (Weymouth Translation) IS the Presence of God and that it IS this realization that comes to the man who keeps His words as we read above. The realization of His Presence IS the reciprocal action in the Life of the man who keeps His words, and while this idea IS NOT so clearly stated, there are many words from the Master and His apostles that show us this Truth. We should KNOW then by the questions that ARE asked by the apostles that they DO NOT yet have these realizations, they DO NOT see the Holy Spirit in their own lives nor do they see the Presence of God and it IS in this light that the Master tells them yet again that He IS leaving and that it IS in His place that they can have such realizations; we read: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). It IS in the translations and in the interpretations that men come to believe in a Holy Spirit that operates according to the various doctrines and here one CAN ask how IS it that the Master will send the Holy Spirit when He also says that He IS with them and in them already.
It IS in this dilemma that IS fed by the Apostle John’s own words saying “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive : for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified“, that much confusion exists. This IS a parenthetical saying by the apostle that IS NOT to be seen as concurrent with the Master’s words saying “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38-39) but rather as an explanation of the Master’s intent. And, when we note that the word given is inserted by the translators and understand the reality that IS intended in Jesus own words of “He that believeth on me” refers to those who see Him as Master and DO according to His words…..those who accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4, we can then see the deeper ideas that ARE also expressed in Jesus words above “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“.
We close here then in repeating that the Eleven DO NOT yet understand and they DO NOT yet have such realization of the Presence of God and, from the current selection we see that they DO NOT see this idea of His Presence behind His own parabolic words saying “A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father” which IS the same thought that IS behind His previous words saying “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you“. Both of these ARE the reality of their realization of the Presence of God, their realization of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
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.
Repeating a Quote of the Day from the past that has some significance in relation to what we are discussing here, that the Kingdom of God and therefore God is within us ALL and that it IS His Presence which a man realizes by measure as he begins his journey to the Kingdom of God. Here Lord Tennyson poetically tells us just how close God Truly IS and how it is that we touch Him
Speak to Him, thou, for He hears,
and Spirit with Spirit can meet
Closer is He than breathing,
and nearer than hands and feet.
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892)
From the poem The Higher Pantheism which puts forth the authors spiritual belief. Whether we agree with him or not, the quote if spiritually perfect for all of Christianity as well as any other world religion.
The thought behind the idea above IS NOT unlike that which we have been carrying as our Quote of the Day for many essays; It IS in the closeness that Lord Tennyson shows us that we should see the idea that “God dwells in the inner part of every man” which we read in the previous Quote of the Day. For us this saying and the previous one show us the closeness of the spiritual self to the Father and then too the closeness of the spiritual self with the personality of man. Men may like to think of God as something outside and above but the reality, as we have seen in so many of the sayings of the Master, is that God is with us and in us and we need only to let ourselves be drawn and to focus upon Him. And, if we can use these words from the Gospel of Thomas here we can perhaps see much: “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father“
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
