ON LOVE; PART MLX
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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 Jesus’ words that close out what IS called the Sermon on the Mount and we should understand from the parable with which He ends His dissertation that ALL the forgoing IS His words. ALL of the precepts and ALL of His thoughts on the interaction between men and God and between men and men that He had given to His disciples and the assembled crowd ARE what He calls here “these sayings of mine” and what He calls in the trifecta “my commandments” and “my words“. In each instance the Master tells us that it IS these things that He says that must be kept, that must be DONE. In the parable he compares the DOER to the “wise man, which built his house upon a rock” while in the trifecta He shows us that the man who DOES keep His words garners the reward of His Presence.
The Apostle James helps our understanding here by telling us that those who DO NOT keep His words ARE deceived and deluded and it IS the combination of these ideas that IS our message regarding the way that doctrines have usurped these Truths; James tells us “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). In the idea that doctrines have usurped the Truth we should go to the definition of the word that tells us: to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right; to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully 7. In this we should try to see that there IS a Truth that the Master teaches us and that the ONLY real authority, the ONLY True legal right, IS founded in His words. ALL that IS taught that IS contrary to this IS done without authority and here we should NOT be confused by the duality of the words we ARE using.
The purveyors of the doctrines of the churches and those who continue to teach and insist upon the rightness of their words and their ideas DO NOT have this authority but they have, at the same time, taken spiritual authority over the lives of the masses. On both sides of this IS that sense of usurping according to the definition above; men teach doctrines and thereby usurp the Truth and men exercise spiritual authority over the lives of others thereby usurping the call of the Master who tells us that men should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20) and NOT be “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). And we should see here that “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” IS ALL of His words including those that ARE the Sermon on the Mount. Repeating part of our closing words from the last post, we read:
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
We should note here that our selection begins with Jesus words that should be seen as the very definition of Love, of agape, as we show in the introduction of our essay above. If we can take the idea of the strait gate in accordance with this idea we can then see the deeper reality of the Way of Love which IS the reality of keeping His words as the Apostle Paul tells us in our selection from Galatians saying: “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. That doctrines may NOT see the relationship of these ideas of the strait gate and the Way which IS Love IS of no consequence, this IS ever the Master’s point and a point made clear by His apostles. This brings us to our own next point….that His next words in the Sermon ARE spoken toward those who teach whatsoever IS contrary to His point.
The Master tells us of Love as the Golden Rule and then continues to show us that the Way IS narrow and difficult and when we can see how that to Truly live according to the Golden Rule satisfies both the narrow and the difficult, we can better understand the nature of the Way. We often discuss how that the Master goes on then to distinguish between those who who Truly “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” and those who DO NOT but who at the same time believe that they DO but before we go there we should try to understand the relevance of His words on “false prophets“. We should try to see here that this idea of prophet IS reference to those who DO bring the Truth, those that teach the Truth as it IS revealed to them by the unction or the anointing according the the Apostle John and by the Holy Spirit according to the Master.
The “false prophets” in this context ARE they who teach those things that ARE contrary to His Truth which IS revealed to the man who He tells us will “continue in my word” or strive to DO so. Any other revelation IS NOT His Truth and we should understand here that the source of the revelations and realizations IS ever founded in the Presence of God which IS the reality of the Holy Spirit in one’s Life. When we can see this in the terms that ARE dictated by the trifecta which tells us that it IS in keeping His words that the Truth IS revealed, that His Presence IS realized, and that one can enter into a realization of the Kingdom of God, we can then tie ALL these ideas together. We read Jesus words that ARE our trifecta 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).
There IS surely NO mystery here but in the illusions and glamour of Life in this world most ALL men lose sight of the Master’s vision of Truth and replace it with their own sense; here again we should see the Apostle Paul’s caution saying: “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). It IS when we can see this faith as that KNOWING that comes in keeping His words that we can better understand the very idea of the “false prophets“; it IS these who DO NOT KNOW but who believe that they DO; it IS this man who DOES “think of himself more highly than he ought to think” and who takes authority over the Truth.
While this may seem another harsh indictment of so much of the religious community today and over the last two thousand years, we must ever understand that ALL IS the result of that vanity of which Paul speaks; a vanity that leads men to see their lives in terms of this mortal existence and to interpret scripture according to this vision. As we have often discussed, it IS the True state of man that IS the reality of those “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35). It IS because “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20) that this sense of illusion and glamour has overwhelmed the world. Could we but understand that this IS according to the Great and Awesome Plan of God; could we but understand the deeper significance of the journey and see how that the very idea of Redemption, the Union of the Soul, the Christ Within, with one’s expression of Life in this Earth IS the ultimate goal, we will be able to see how that ALL of the mysteries as promised by Jesus ARE revealed.
Jesus tells His disciples that “it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11) and while so many consider themselves to be in this role of disciple, they DO NOT see the relevance of Paul’s words that a man IS “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think“. Neither DO they see the reality of Jesus’ own defining ideas on just what His disciple Truly IS. In a word, the Truth of the disciple IS found in one’s submission to the Great Commandments which ARE His words and which ARE the crux of ALL of the spiritual progress of men. Most ALL of this IS lost in the doctrines of men that DO NOT see the totality of the commitment that IS the disciple of the Lord, doctrines that would rather parse Paul’s words and those of the other apostles to find the more convenient way. While we DO NOT KNOW at what point in one’s journey a man DOES move from the aspirant to the disciple in Jesus’ terms, we DO KNOW the value of striving and of measure and perhaps it IS this that we should find in Paul’s words that ARE our ongoing selection from Galatians; we read:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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).
Paul IS speaking to men who have some measure of spiritual enlightenment and he offers here a list of cautions and warnings that we should see as the plight of ALL who embark upon the journey to Truth. While he tells them that they “have been called unto liberty“, he does NOT say that their journey IS complete nor DOES he call them disciples. It IS interesting to note that the Greek word mathetes which IS always rendered in terms of disciple IS NOT used outside of the gospels and the Book of Acts….it IS NOT used to address any in the epistles of the apostles. Paul writes to those who “have been called unto liberty” here and he uses such ideas as saints and “beloved of God” (Romans 1:), “the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1) and other similar greetings; in these ideas we should try to see the complete range from aspirant to disciple.
Few Truly KNOW their own status on the journey or their own place upon the Path and we should understand here how that to be KNOWN as a disciple Truly sets one apart. Here we should try to see the converse of Jesus words above where He speaks of the false teacher; the man who thinks that he has the Truth that IS reserved for the disciple but who DOES NOT; just as “Ye shall know them by their fruits“, so too for the disciple….”by their fruits ye shall know them“. When we relate this idea on fruit, and understand that it goes both ways, to our selection from Galatians, we can better see that Paul’s cautions on “the works of the flesh” and his list of “the fruit of the Spirit” ARE examples of such fruits.
Doctrines take the idea of called as some kind of direct invitation from God to a man and in this view we should see that this too IS a rather nebulous idea. If we subscribe to the idea that any one person can be specially invited by the Lord, we then DO NOT subscribe to the idea that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). The latter IS scriptural while the former idea IS doctrinal. If we can see however that to be called IS to answer the call of one’s own Soul, one’s own Christ and God Within, then we can see more clearly the ideas that we have been presenting in our posts. The Soul IS ever prompting the heart, the consciousness of a man that IS heretofore focused upon his Earthly Life, and it IS in answering this call that one can be seen as kletos which IS rendered as called.
Paul refers to himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1) and here we should try to see the depth of his claim. His awakening on the road to Damascus IS his calling and whether we see this as Jesus calling aloud from a cloud or we see this as Paul’s own Christ Within, his own Soul, calling so loudly to a doctrinally spiritual man that he had NO choice but to finally respond, we DO have the same basic idea. Paul IS “called to be an apostle“, to be more that a disciple if you will, while those to whom the apostle writes ARE “called unto liberty“. This idea should be seen through the way that this Greek word eleutheria which IS rendered as liberty IS related to eleutheroo which IS rendered as “make you free” in Jesus’ words of the trifecta above.
Here we should see that they ARE called to be disciples and we should understand here that while they have answered the prompting of their own Souls to the Good, the Beautiful and the True….the things of God, they ARE NOT yet fully delivered according to this same Greek word eleutheroo. Here we DO assume that were they complete, were they delivered and free according to the Master’s words, that they would NOT need such cautions and warnings and promise as Paul offers them in “the works of the flesh” and his list of “the fruit of the Spirit“.
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 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.
