ON LOVE; PART CMXCVII
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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 our last essay by calling Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit” which IS rendered as longsuffering the hallmark of the disciple and, by measure, the aspirant. We should try to see how that it IS this aspect of Love that IS found at the heart of the reality of agape, a reality in which there IS NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9) which the Apostle James shows us IS the very quality of Love. In longsuffering, in makrothumia, a man will think and act in accord with the Master’s words and in the reality of Love as this IS presented in the Great Commandments, and explained in the Golden Rule. In longsuffering, in makrothumia, a man will see past his carnal differences with others, he will see past the worldly factions erected by men and their doctrines, and he will be able to glimpse the reality that the Life of everyman IS his spiritual being and that each IS on the very same journey to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
The reality of longsuffering IS the reality of Love through the realizations of Truth that come to the man whose focus IS upon God and the things of God. The reality of longsuffering IS simply based in the understanding that flows into the Life of the man who Truly seeks the Truths that come in the revelations of grace which come as the Presence of God. And it IS one’s realization of the Truth and one’s revelations of grace that come in keeping His words as Jesus tells us in what we have been calling the trifecta of spiritual reality; and it IS these realizations and these revelations that ARE the deeper meaning of being in His Kingdom. Jesus’ words on these things ARE rather clearly stated and while He may not clearly depict the idea of Truth nor how one actually enters into His Kingdom; and while He DOES NOT explain for us the dynamics of how He and the Father make their abode with a man, He DOES tell us the Way that these things come to a man; we read Jesus’ words again saying:
- “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).
The Truth of “the fruit of the Spirit” IS that it IS spiritual, that it comes from the Spirit which the Apostle Paul tells us IS contrary to the flesh and while this dichotomy IS missed by most ALL men, the reality remains. It IS in the Life of the man who IS Truly “led of the Spirit” that “the fruit of the Spirit” becomes his natural expression and we should here understand that it IS in a man’s expression of Love that he will find his own evidence that he IS so led. In this we should see the reality of Jesus words as they pertain to one’s own view of his Life; in His words saying that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16) we have the tool of self-examination and the means by which we can progress spiritually. And Paul helps us here to see the idea of Love in several divisions as he gives us aspects of Love which ARE measurable in the self-examination of one’s own thoughts, attitudes and actions in this world. We read the apostle’s words again:
“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).
The single idea of Love, of agape, IS a broad term that reflects the totality of one’s commitment to God and to his fellowman. While it IS easy to say that this Love IS NOT the mental and emotional attractions and attachments that one may have for others or for things, it IS more difficult to say just what this Love IS other than to reflect upon the idea that in such Love there IS NO “respect to persons“, that it IS Universal, and that it IS the essence of the Golden Rule. In this we find the value of Paul’s lists of both the works of “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit“. We must see these lists as spiritual ideas however and NOT in the carnal tone that IS most frequently interpreted from the apostle’s words. In our long discussion of “the works of the flesh” we found the deeper ideas that would keep the man who Truly seeks God away from his expression of “the fruit of the Spirit“. We discussed at length how that one’s infidelity toward God, that IS one’s focus upon the carnal aspects of Life, and one’s attraction to the things of the world as his idols, ARE contrary to things spiritual. We discussed also how that one’s reliance upon his own psychic abilities, even those that ARE presumed to be spiritual, will detract from a man’s forward progress in True spirituality.
These ARE those ideas that we have placed against the first of the Great Commandments which we have again at the top of our essay. In addition to these there ARE those “works of the flesh” that we see as against the second of the Great Commandments and these center around the idea of factions. It IS in the factious thoughts and attitudes of men that the hatreds, the wrath, the variance and the emulations arise as well as those ideas that can be found in the renderings of Paul’s other words. These ARE, ALL of them, contrary to one’s expression of “the fruit of the Spirit” which CAN NOT be expressed without the expulsion of the very idea of factions from one’s Life. Finally we have those “works of the flesh” that Paul writes as methe and komos and in these we should see the tendency of men to view their own lives as spiritual, and perhaps even spiritually complete, when they have yet to Truly express “the fruit of the Spirit“; in these ideas we should try to see men’s failure at self-examination against the apostle’s list of that fruit.
As we say above, in the broadness of the idea of Love, much can be and IS missed and this IS especially True as regards “the works of the flesh” as these ideas can and ARE manipulated in the minds of men so as to free them from the carnal ideas of these burdens. However, when we can divide this idea of agape into more definable parts, we can then better see our own value as a spiritual man in this world; here again we must seek out and understand the spiritual connotations that ARE intended by the apostle. We discussed these ideas in regard to chara which IS rendered as joy and which IS NOT that sense of happiness or gladness that IS portrayed in doctrine; we should see the seriousness of the work of the aspirant and the disciple and understand this word chara in its relationship to charis which IS most always rendered as grace.
We discussed as well the spiritual connotations that should be taken from Paul’s word eirene which IS rendered as Peace; this IS not that sense of Peace that is of the world, as Peace between men or nations, but this IS that Peace that comes in one’s focus upon the things of God. This IS that Peace of which Jesus says “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). As a “fruit of the Spirit” this Peace IS one’s expression, a sense that the disciple. and by measure the aspirant, displays and offers to the world….a sense of the inner tranquility of the man whose focus IS upon God; this IS the man who IS free from the fetters of worldly living and concern. Finally, we have discussed the depth of Truth found in the reality of longsuffering which IS rendered from the Greek word makrothumia. In this word we have an aspect of Love that sees past men’s carnal differences and views men as Souls, as spiritual beings and “children of your Father which is in heaven” even as this goes unrealized by those upon whom the disciple looks.
In these ideas from the apostle we ARE better able to see ourselves, to examine ourselves in the Light of these ideas that ARE “the fruit of the Spirit“. We can see or NOT longsuffering in ourselves which IS to see how that we ARE free from the factious behavior of men….which IS to see ALL men in the same Light and to have NO “respect to persons“. And we can see also the sense of Peace in ourselves, Peace as an expression and Way of Life that sees past carnal concerns and the need to deal constantly with thoughts and ideas concerning the self in this world. We can measure here just how free we ARE and in this how much Truth we have according to Jesus’ words saying that “the truth shall make you free“.
In chara which IS rendered as joy we have a more difficult word to identify with as a fruit that one possesses and expresses. In the common idea of happiness and gladness there IS nothing that can be seen in the context of fruit as Jesus defines this as He says of the disciple “that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). In this sense and in the understanding that such fruit IS of the Spirit, the simple ideas of gladness and happiness CAN NOT be the apostle’s meaning and it is here that we should remember that this word chara IS a sister word to charis which IS grace. If we can see that chara, as a “fruit of the Spirit“, IS the expression of some spiritual idea, then it IS easy to see this as one’s expression of the grace received; and here then there IS again the ability for one to self-examine his expression to see if it IS in accord with Jesus words of Truth.
Jesus tells us that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) and this IS NOT a complex saying yet it IS one that IS missed by most. The Master’s intent IS lost in the context through with He offers this idea, the context of the pseudoprophetes which IS the false teacher. This IS the man who brings what IS purported to be the Truth of God but which IS in reality the Truth of men. Here, while so many ideas that Jesus and His apostles ARE taken and used out of context, simple ideas like this one ARE sorely missed. To KNOW the false from the True one must be able to discern the basic Truths that ARE His words and this IS the rub: men DO set themselves as authorities and by their own belief in what they represent and what they say they may appear to be True….they may appear to be bearing fruit. Paul’s list however can show us a deeper view of the prophet and the teacher but ONLY when this IS viewed from the spiritual perspective in which it IS written.
Jesus warns us again of the reality of this idea of men teaching the false as the True; men who ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:7) over the Truth of His words and we read this idea again in His words to His disciples saying: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Here we should try to see how that the word that IS rendered as Christ has the meaning of anointed; in this context it IS much easier to see the reality of “false Christs, and false prophets” as men who claim the anointing of God in their lives, an anointing which IS the Presence of God and the realization of the Truth that comes through keeping His words.
This idea of pseudoprophetes, this idea of “false Christs, and false prophets“, aside we should be able to see that in His words saying that “by their fruits ye shall know them” a much more universal reality. It IS NOT limited to seeing that “a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit” but also expands to show that “every good tree bringeth forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17) but since men CAN be and ARE deluded by the authoritative presence of the teacher, it IS a most difficult endeavor to see the one from the other. This IS the reality of Life in this world under the reign of illusion and glamour that shows the authoritative presence his own sense of Truth and thereby allows him to teach “the commandments of men” to others in place of the Truth. Here, both parties ARE generally unaware.
There need NOT be any sense of evil here as this idea IS understood. In these ideas we can see the illusion of fruit in men who ARE NOT thinking and acting in the way of the Master nor of His apostles. These ARE men who ARE yet regarded as spiritual authorities and their teaching and their way IS most often seen as fruit. When however we measure such fruit against the Truth of Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit” from the spiritual perspective we can better discern who it IS that DOES “bear much fruit” but, to be sure, the greater Truth ONLY comes as we measure ourselves.
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.
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.
