ON LOVE; PART CMLVIII

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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 ended the last essay with the final two words from the Apostle Paul’s list of what ARE “the works of the flesh” and we noted that we see these last ideas as a third segment of words that represent those things that a man can DO to himself; things which can keep him from “the kingdom of God“. We noted how that the idea of drunkenness in ALL of its possible manifest forms can and DOES drown out any sense of Truth that a man may have and when we consider that the apostle IS speaking to aspirants to discipleship, men who have chosen to follow the Lord, we can more clearly see how that Paul IS using this Greek word methe. Unlike the words from the first segment which ARE those things that ARE contrary to a man’s relationship with God and unlike the words of the second segment which ARE those things that ARE contrary to that Love that men must express according to the second of the Great Commandments, this third segment IS those things that will deter a man from any progress on the Path to Truth and represent thoughts, attitudes and actions that will keep one’s attention on the carnal and the sensual ideas of Life.

We noted how that the idea of methe which IS rendered as drunkenness can be readily understood and it IS relatively easy to see how that one’s reliance upon drugs and alcohol IS one’s purposeful evasion of the realities that come in Life. This IS True from the carnal perspective and can be just as True from a spiritual perspective as for some the spiritual ideas of Truth ARE difficult to see in one’s own Life and before one’s own family and friends. This IS the caution that we should see in Paul’s words and, as we noted in the last post, this IS the caution that he also offers us in his Epistle to the Romans where he calls “rioting and drunkenness” as among the “the works of darkness“. Here, the relationship between “the works of darkness” and “the works of the flesh” IS given to us in the apostle’s end note where he admonishes men to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13-12, 13, 14). In this we have the same basic idea that we find in our subject verses as he tells us of those things that the man who Truly strives CAN NOT DO; we read the apostle’s words again saying:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:17-24).

These ideas that ARE spoken to disciples and to aspirants ARE NOT seen in their True Light, as those things that will keep a man from “the kingdom of God“, by most of the doctrinal church which sees their own interpretation of the apostle’s other words that seemingly offer salvation as a greater Truth. Here, in a way, we can try to see how that this approach to the Truth, an approach which sees those more convenient ideas of atonement and salvation by the simple idea of believing, as carrying more weight than these straightforward words to the Galatians and the Romans, as a form of drunkenness in itself. In the ease of the doctrinal approach that embraces the out of context ideas of salvation from Paul’s words saying “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10), we have a True diversion from the One Truth that IS expressed in Paul’s words above and in our trifecta which we repeat again; we read:

• “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“ (John 8:31-32).
• “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” (Matthew 7:21).
• “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).

In Jesus’ words above we have the essence of the One Truth as He shows us the Way to that Truth and, if this IS that Way, ALL other approaches that DO NOT embrace this Way are but a diversion. It IS in this sense of diversion that we should try to see the deeper ideas of drunkenness and understand that this IS a state of mind in this world that DOES NOT necessarily require an outside agent of drugs or alcohol. And this idea of drunkenness IS readily accepted by parts of the church who take this word into their own doctrinal practices and claim that they can be ‘drunk in the Holy Spirit’. Our point here IS of course in regard to the trifecta and it IS here that we should understand that the Presence of God in one’s Life IS the Presence of the Holy Spirit and this comes ONLY to the man who will keep His words or, by measure, strive to DO so. Any other applications of the reality of the Holy Spirit in one’s Life IS likely closer to the deeper idea of drunkenness that it IS to the essential Truth.

As we said in the last essay, the ideas behind the Greek word methe ARE easier to discern that those that lie behind komos which IS rendered in our subject sayings as revellings and in Paul’s words to the Romans as rioting. In the most common understanding these ideas are NOT so closely related; rioting includes the idea of violence while revelling IS more inclined toward festivities although these ideas can merge perhaps in a dictionary definition of rioting as unrestrained revelry ⁷. While this IS the common understanding today, the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines rioting as: Reveling; indulging in excessive feasting ¹ and in this we get both the idea that the King James Translators used and the better understanding of rioting as revelling in the apostle’s use of komos in Romans.

What then DO we take from this idea of komos as a thing that would keep a man from”the kingdom of God“? In the last essay we posed this idea as it IS, as a “provision for the flesh“, and as a self induced diversion from the Truth of keeping His words. Here we can try to see the idea of one’s revelling in his own carnal Life, being happy and more than satisfied with his own degree of carnal focus and we should understand here how that this can overcome most ALL men regardless of one’s sense of religion. We can see this idea in the 1913 Webster’s definition of revel where we read: To move playfully; to indulge without restraint; this thought IS a bit less clear in the 1828 version were this IS worded as: To move playfully or without regularity ¹.

From a spiritual perspective there must be some deeper idea found in this idea of komos and the rendering as revelling DOES NOT quite capture this unless we look as revelling in a more psychic way rather that the physical ideas that ARE generally seen. We can see this in the definitions from our more modern dictionary where to revel IS defined as: to take great pleasure or delight ² and the examples given ARE to revel in success and to revel in luxury. In these ideas we can see a bit clearer what IS the apostle’s likely intent here; if we can see how that men DO revel in any and all of their successes and find great joy in the whatsoever carnal benefits that they may have or acquire, we can come closer to the greater Truth. Here, like in the idea of drunkenness, where the apostle’s intent IS clearly spiritual and his message IS that one should not allow himself the stupor of carnal possessions or ideas, we have the message that one should NOT take joy in the things of the world but that he should rather “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

To rightly understand these ideas one must also understand that dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual and it IS with this thought that our subject sayings begin; Paul tells us here that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other“. Here we should try to see the totality of this dichotomy; we should try to see that even Earthly things that one may believe ARE for God ARE carnal if they concern the self or the self in this world. This idea that even those things that one may believe ARE for God can be a part of the drunkenness and the revelling that Paul IS showing the aspirants and disciples at Galatia IS missed by most ALL men. And so IS the carry forward in time of the apostle’s words to the Epicureans and the Stoics in Greece in his day; men DO NOT see how that this idea IS NOT ONLY intended as a critique of what the Greeks may DO in the name of their Gods but it IS rather a critique of ALL such things….these ideas ARE as True today as they every were; we read: God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things (Acts 17:24-25).

Can we see how that this idea IS the epitome of the dichotomy that we read in Jesus words and in the words of His apostles? And can we see how that this IS the better idea of Paul’s intent here in this use of revelling. Can we see that in his speaking to disciples and aspirants that he would caution them to NOT revel in the things that they may DO, nor to seek out those things that may cause such joy in one’s own personal accomplishments….be they presumably for the Lord or for the self in this world. We DO find this same idea in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, ahead of the ideas that the apostle gives us which we cite above and in previous posts. Paul tells the disciples at Rome this: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

We should see in these words the meaning of Paul’s use of komos which IS rendered as revellings; we should see how that “to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” IS just that. And we should note as well how that this idea combines the idea of drunkenness as he tells them to “to think soberly“. In this we can try to understand the varied meanings of drunkenness, that it DOES NOT require one’s imbibing or using drugs but can be nonsober thoughts of the nature that Paul shows us in these words to the Romans. The point here IS that these ideas of drunkenness and revelling ARE NOT limited to the physical actions of men in this world but these ARE intended in a spiritual way and if we can try to see how that the illusions of Life in this world can become what one DOES get drunk on, then we can better understand this segment of Paul’s list. We close today with the apostle’s idea from Romans in its context; we read:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 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. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3).

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.

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts