ON LOVE; PART MI
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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).
The Mantram of Unification has been our Quote of the Day for many days as we have NOT been attending to the organizational details of our website. That being said, we ARE aware that the title we give, Quote of the Day, while originally intended to change daily, has NOT. However, the ideas that we have posted for long periods ARE important ideals that DO go with the general tone of the essays to which they ARE attached. With this in mind we ARE changing today to another mantram that shows us the reality of GoodWill from the personal view of the aspirant and the disciple and in the same tenor that we receive from the Truth of Jesus’ teaching. In the words of this mantram we have the Will to Good and the reality of GoodWill as Love in action. We read:
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
We ARE brought to the ideas of this affirmation that outlines the singular purpose of the disciple, and by measure the aspirant, by the two words that we ARE discussing from the Apostle Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“. These words ARE chrestotes, which IS rendered in the King James Bible as gentleness and by most others as kindness; this word has the primary meaning of goodness but, with the next word in the list always rendered as goodness, the primary meaning is avoided by most ALL in this verse. This next word IS agathosune and in the combination of these two words, and with the help of Vincent, we have come to the idea that both of these ARE in reference to the reality of GoodWill as we understand it….as Love in Action.
If we can see both of these Greek words as GoodWill, the one, agathosune, as the flow of this aspect of Love into the consciousness of the man in the world and the other, chrestotes, the outflow of this Love toward men, then we can see how that these ARE both fruit and ARE as well aspects of the primary fruit which IS Love. We should note here that Paul uses the Greek word eunoia in his Epistle to the Ephesians and while the context IS toward the servant and his attitude, the reality of the idea which IS rendered as “good will” IS the reality that we seek in his words that ARE rendered as goodness. We read: “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free“(Ephesians 6:5-8).
In these words we have the transference of “the will of God from the heart” to the outward expression of the man treating man with “good will doing service, as to the Lord“. Can we see the import here? and can we see how that this IS NOT different than our ideas above regarding these two words that ARE rendered as gentleness and goodness in the apostles list of “the fruit of the Spirit“? In these words the idea rendered as “good thing” comes from the root word of agathosune which Paul uses in his list that we repeat 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).
We should try to see here how that “the will of God from the heart” comes in the realization of a man in his consciousness of the Truth of His Will which IS clearly found in the Truth of the Master’s words….this we can relate to agathosune, as the flow of this aspect of Love into the consciousness, the heart, of the man in the world. To the Ephesians Paul relates agathos, the root word, to “the same shall he receive of the Lord” and here we can see the same idea. On the other side we have the idea of with “good will doing service, as to the Lord” which we can relate to chrestotes although Paul uses eunoia which reflects the will and here the will to Good; for us however both reflect the outflow of this Love toward men. And we should see here the deeper dynamic of this flow…..that it treats men with that GoodWill that IS “as to the Lord“. Our sense of the difference between these two words, agathosune and chrestotes, IS based in the ideas that we get from Vincent who gives us Jerome’s thoughts on these saying: The distinction as drawn out by Jerome is that ἀγαθωσύνη represents a sterner virtue, showing itself in a zeal for truth which rebukes, corrects, and chastises, as Christ when He purged the temple. Χρηστότης is more gentle, gracious, and kindly 4.
While we DO NOT agree with Jerome’s ideas here we DO come away with his thoughts on the difference in these words and while we may be giving the wrong meaning to either, our reality IS that in the combination of these IS the Truth of the inward flow of Love into the heart and the outward flow toward ALL men “as to the Lord“. There IS NO clarity as to which word means which form of goodness as the apostle seems to use these words interchangeably in his writings with both referring to the goodness of God and also to the outflow of GoodWill by men. In his Epistle to the Ephesians Paul speaks again about “the fruit of the Spirit” and here he uses only the word agathosune which IS rendered there as goodness; we read: “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:9). That there IS a difference in these two Greek words IS apparent and when we see that the idea of kindness or of gentleness IS a rather diluted idea in regard to a “fruit of the Spirit“, we can then perhaps understand that it IS the nature of GoodWill that IS the apostle’s intent. It IS GoodWill that IS attached to Love in the idea of benevolence and it IS GoodWill that is at the heart of the second of the Great Commandments and the reality of the Golden Rule.
Regardless of how we see these words the intent IS Good, goodness, and GoodWill and ALL of these ARE Love. In these ideas from Paul we ARE to Love ALL men, that IS that we ARE to see them and treat them as we see and would treat ourselves. In these ideas we ARE to have NO “respect to persons“; as the Apostle James tells us saying that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). We should try to see how that Love requires GoodWill and that GoodWill IS NOT ONLY kindness or gentleness but IS an overall attitude of Love according to the Great Commandments; perhaps in this we can find Paul’s reasoning for including both these words which can be rendered as goodness and which we see as GoodWill. There should be NO doubt by any that the intent of the apostle IS GoodWill which relates to Love and to a man’s relationship with ALL others; and again, any carnal ideas of his intent DO NOT measure up to the reality of “the fruit of the Spirit“. We should remember here that this fruit comes to a man as his revelations and his realizations which ARE based in his keeping His words and that these ARE that KNOWING, the Presence of God and being in His Kingdom according to our trifecta which we repeat here again:
- “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).
From the perspective of the disciple and the aspirant, the essence of the ideas incorporated into the trifecta, the essence of keeping His words, IS found in his expression of Love to ALL. While it IS well to understand the idea of KNOWING and to have the Presence of God with the realizations and the revelations that this brings, the greater reality IS found in what these bring into the Life of a man. This IS of course “the fruit of the Spirit“; and it IS the expression of this fruit that IS the reality of discipleship and, by measure, the the reality of the Life of the aspirant. This IS according to Jesus words as He tells us that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) and we should understand that it IS this man whose expression IS some measure of “the fruit of the Spirit” that IS the “good ground” according to the Parable of the Sower.
And from the perspective of the aspirant and the disciple, this expression of Love as the primary reality of “the fruit of the Spirit” IS GoodWill and it IS in this expression that we will find the other ideas that the apostle presents in Peace and in longsuffering. It IS in the understanding that comes in the realization of the Truth that a man finds the reality of that Peace that becomes a part of his expression of Love as GoodWill. It IS in this same understanding that sees that the True man IS the Soul and NOT the outer appearance or carnal expression and in this IS the meaning of that idea of longsuffering which IS that sense of patience that IS required to see ALL men as the same….to have NO “respect to persons“. And it IS this understanding that IS the product of the grace of God which idea we can find in Paul’s inclusion of the Greek word chara in this list of fruit; a word that IS rendered in terms of joy but which IS closely allied to the greater idea of grace.
In these ideas, in these aspects of “the fruit of the Spirit“, IS the expression of Love by the disciple and the aspirant. It IS in one’s possession of this fruit that a man can come to realize the meaning of the words of our affirmation below as the Quote of the Day; it IS in one’s possession of this fruit that he MUST express the reality of the idea that ‘My Soul must foster love among the sons of men‘ and understand that as an awakened Soul in this world that ‘this is its major purpose‘. And in this IS the very reality of Paul’s many words that have been the fodder of doctrines since the beginning. While Paul speaks about what seems to be a dichotomy between works and faith, the reality IS that it IS faith that moves one to works and, for the aspirant and the disciple, for any man who Truly seeks God, DOING the work of the Lord becomes his ‘major purpose‘. It IS in the misconstrued and nebulous ideas of grace and faith that the reality of the Life of the man who Truly seeks the Lord IS lost, and it IS in his confusion that pits the carnal will against the Truth that he IS lost until such time as he can cast away ALL but the words of the Lord.
It IS with this idea in mind that we post the trifecta in most every essay as it IS in Jesus’ words that the reality of Life IS found and NOT in the misinterpreted words of the apostles and especially the words of Paul. It IS when a man can come to question the ideas of the many doctrines that pose as the Truth and then accept the answers that lie within his own being that he can begin to progress; it IS in this progression that he will find the Truth of Repentance, and, in the change of focus that this IS, find the reality of “the fruit of the Spirit” IS his by measure. In focus upon the Lord in Truth IS the reality of striving to keep His words which IS the very same idea as Jesus injunction that we “Strive to enter in at the strait gate“. This IS the Way to the Kingdom and in the Master’s words we read that “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” IS the only man who can enter.
ALL of the words of the Master and His apostles can be reduced to the reality of Love as the expression of the man in this world and so too can these nine ideas that Paul gives us as “the fruit of the Spirit“. It IS this expression that IS the reality of GoodWill and it IS the ability to offer this expression that IS the reality of grace which we should read here in Paul’s list as chara. It IS in chara that a man can see and understand, can realize, that Love IS the way and in this we should try to understand the purpose of the Life of the man who Truly seeks God and the Truth….that he ‘must foster love among the sons of men‘. While these ARE NOT difficult ideas to understand in the context of the words of the Master and His apostles, they DO cut against the established ways of religion and against the carnal ideas of men whose lives ARE obnubilated by the illusion and the glamour in which he lives.
And this IS the cost of discipleship: that a man must overcome the carnal instincts and then will to love and tread the Way of Love. It IS in this that one can take upon himself the Life work and strive toward the goal that results in his own reality that All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
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.
We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
