ON LOVE; PART MLXVIII
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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).
In the last essay we continued our discussion on the words of the Master that tell men to “Be ye therefore ready” (Luke 12:40) and linked this idea of readiness to the associated idea of watching from the same parable. We noted how that the idea of gregoreuo which IS rendered as watching IS defined by the lexicon as “give strict attention to, be cautious, active” and in this we should see that same sense of active waiting as we find in the Apostle James words about the husbandman who “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it” (James 5:7).
This waiting and this watching must be active else there can be NO readiness and to the man who believes that he IS ready Jesus also says “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). We should try to understand here that for the man who Truly seeks the Kingdom of God, the man who Truly wants the fullness of His Presence and His Truth, there must be a constant and an active striving toward that goal and the reality of that striving IS the essence of His words that we post again as our trifecta of spiritual reality:
- “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 very idea that has permeated the Christian doctrines of men for many centuries, that men ARE saved by their affirmations and their believing according to the common understanding of those few words written by the Apostle Paul to the Romans, IS in staunch opposition to the reality of readiness and the Truths of the trifecta above. We should understand here as well that the whole idea of salvation as this IS understood by doctrines IS yet another misplaced idea that came into the Christian era from the Jewish ideas of the Old Testament, and this despite Jesus parabolic warning against this in His parables that speak of the new wine in old wineskins and the use of new cloth to patch the old.
In the last essay we discussed this same idea of Jesus’ teaching that the old and the new were NOT compatible from a different perspective. In many of the doctrinal ideas we find the intermingling of the old and the new as men lay claim to the promises and the blessings of the Old Testament without ever seeing that men have ever had a role in attaining them, a role which IS that they “shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee” (Deuteronomy 28:1). Our point here IS NOT that if one DOES play his role today and DOES as the Lord says that he will attain these promises; our point IS that if one should “hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God” that he will receive the promises of the trifecta according to the words of the Master and His apostles.
We ended the last essay with our thoughts on the idea of covenant which IS easily seen in terms of reciprocal action. The quid pro quo IS simple enough to understand by men DO NOT see this because of the way that their many doctrines oppose this rather clearly stated idea. It IS simple to see this reciprocal activity in the words from Deuteronomy and it IS simple to see this quid pro quo in the words of the trifecta….if a man will keep His words, he will receive the blessings and the promises. And we should take this idea yet further; we should discount the idea of carnal gain as part of the grace of God. While we DO NOT quite understand the working of the covenant in the days of Moses and the prophets as this affects the individual, we can rather clearly see how that NOT complying with their part of the covenant left the Jewish nation in peril.
And since God DOES NOT change we should try to see how that the old covenant worked by looking at the True working of the new. If we can see that the whole of the new covenant IS embodied in our trifecta, we can then understand the deeper Truths that Jesus so clearly presents to us. While this IS NOT the doctrinal view of spiritual Life and while the whole idea of DOING and striving IS lost in the doctrinal assertions of the atoning quality of Jesus’ death, the straightforward Truths of the Master’s words CAN NOT be ignored by any man who Truly seeks the Lord. For this man the whole idea of covenant clearly shows the Truth of the trifecta as the revelations and the realizations that come to a man who will strive to keep His words.
When we can see that it IS these revelations and realizations of His Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom that ARE the Promises and ARE the blessings from the beginning, we can then begin to better understand the deeper Truths that ARE the story of the Jewish nation as well. Although Jesus went to great lengths to show men the Immanence of God, doctrines continue to rely upon the Transcendent nature of the Godhead which IS taught through the Old Testament to men who could NOT yet see the deeper Truths. These deeper Truths, these mysteries if you will, ARE the reality of the Immanence of God in the mortal Life of everyman and it IS this that Paul shows us as he tells us:
“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (to fulfil…: or, fully to preach the word) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ inc you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:25-27).
For greater clarity we include above the footnote to the King James version that gives us a better context of the apostle’s intent: that he IS fully teaching them including “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints“, and it IS ONLY in men’s failure to see God as Immanent in His creation that this reality still goes unseen. We should try to see here how that this mystery, and ALL of the mysteries of scripture, ARE ONLY seen by the man who strives toward the Truth….the Truth that comes, as Jesus tells us, to those who DO “continue in my word“. It IS from the reliance of men upon the old covenant and the Old Testament that the deeper Truths ARE lost and, again, it IS against this very reliance that the Master speaks.
And we should understand here that the blessings and the curses that Moses shows the Jews ARE intended for the mass of men, for the nation of Israel even before it has been established; the blessings and the curses ARE for the people as a whole. While so many yet today believe that they have the blessings, the whole of the context of Moses words missed: To attain the blessings one must “hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee” and to suffer from the cursing the opposite IS True. We should see that the opposite ideas, the curses, will befall men who “wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day” (Deuteronomy 25:15).
These opposite ideas ARE the converse of the covenant between God and His people and it IS in the failure of the Jews as a nation that the whole of their Old Testament journey IS colored. As we discussed in the last essay, we should try to understand that while the individual may have benefited from his own ability to “hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments“, he was still subjected to whatsoever befell the nation as a whole. This same principal IS True yet today as nations take on the color of their majority thoughts and attitudes and attain their own version of the blessings and the curses of Life itself. And we should remember that these thoughts and attitudes DO include, and perhaps even overly reflect, the combined religious thoughts and attitudes of men as well as those that ARE social and political.
We should try to see here the reality of these blessings and these curses in more spiritual terms than ARE commonly understood and understand that it IS the coloring given by the national thought and attitude that DID reflect upon the history of the Jews through their interaction with other national cultures. A nation with the right thoughts and attitudes; a nation that DOES “hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments” IS one that can stand free in the Truth and understand the world around them; and this point IS shown to us by Jesus. Jesus IS born under Roman rule and he died according to Roman rule and, at the same time, He never revolted nor did He incite revolt among the people; He understood the reality of Life in that day.
He did however revolt against the ways of the Jews who diluted and changed the very meaning of “the voice of the LORD thy God” and He did incite revolution against the Jewish leaders….against the way that they were “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). While the clarity of Jesus’ words from our trifecta should be deafening, the doctrines of men, which reflect their thoughts and their attitudes, have NOT come to see any real measure of the Truth as they continue themselves to be “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. Here too however we should see that there ARE those who DO benefit from the Promises and the blessings while the whole of the nation, as a religion, continues to endure the curses; and here we should see those curses as the opposite of the revelations and realizations of His Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom.
We should see these curses as the continued carnal bent of humanity as a whole and understand that this carnal bent IS based in the combined religious thoughts and attitudes as well as those that ARE social and political. And we should understand here that this IS the normal and actual way of men in the world as they ARE yet subjected to the illusion and the glamours of Life in form; the vanity that causes them to NOT see any real measure of Truth and to continue in their: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4.
While it IS the illusion and the glamour that ARE the major causes of men’s carnal bent, this IS perpetuated by the deception which James shows us in his clear and blunt saying that men should be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). It IS this carnal bent that doctrines teach men as they combine the Old and the New Testaments and the old and the new covenants in a blend that confuses and confounds the Master’s Truths. Here again we must try to understand that although Jesus DOES show us that it IS the disciple who has some measure of Truth and although He specifically defines the disciple, men choose to look past His words and presume that they DO KNOW….and it IS this presumption that doctrines teach.
The Master tells His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). We should see here that the many “that are without“, the many who believe that they ARE disciples but fail to meet Jesus’ own criteria, believe and teach their presumptions as Truth and it IS these same that Jesus speaks of saying “Beware of false prophets“. The mysteries ARE revealed to the disciple and by measure to the aspirant who strives toward discipleship according to the trifecta and we should try to understand here how that the disciple and the aspirant ARE among those of whom Jesus says “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15, 20).
It IS by one’s expression of “the fruit of the Spirit” that a man IS seen as a disciple and an aspirant, not so much by other men but rather by other KNOWERS of the deeper Truths. It IS in the Life of the disciple, and by measure of the aspirant, that we should see the propensity to NOT revolt nor incite revolution against the ways of men which he understands in terms of the illusion and the glamour which Paul frames saying “the creature was made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20). And it IS in the Life of the disciple, and by measure of the Life of the aspirant, that we should see the propensity to DO as Jesus DID in today’s world which IS to revolt against the religious ways of men and their doctrines which dilute and change the very meaning of “the voice of the LORD thy God“. We close today with our selection from Galatians and we should try to see how that Paul’s words here offer the same Truths in different terms.
“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).
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.
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
