IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 238

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON GOD; Part XXV

We spent much of our time yesterday on the teaching of the Master which tells us that “ Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Understanding the confusion regarding the reality of being born again, we set forth some of the Masters other sayings regarding entry into the Kingdom of God and we took the position that if what one does that he considers being born again is in line with the precepts of these other sayings, then this is the True rebirth. However, if what one does in consideration of being born again does not meet or seek to meet the high standards set forth by the Master regarding the Kingdom then this man is likely fallen under that saying by the Apostle James who tells us that: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) which saying agrees with that of the Master regarding the Kingdom saying that “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). Now there should be no uncertainty in this logic as not only does it make sense of the various sayings but at the same time it is in line with the overall tenor of the gospels and the epistles.

The church ideas on being born again vary much from denomination to denomination and the confusion in this is similar to that of baptism which, as we have previously addressed, has many denomination specific doctrinal injunctions. Be it infant versus adult or confirmed believer versus regular congregant or immersion versus sprinkling or pouring, there are many variations that are practiced and insisted upon even to the degree that if one is not baptized according to a particular doctrine he may not become or stay a member. Much the same is the idea of being born again as this is also included in the doctrines of many denominations and, like baptism, with little or no uniformity with some on the negative side of the issue even going as far as to say that the Master was speaking to Nicodemus only. The reality is, as we discussed yesterday, found in the Master’s words regarding the Kingdom and as we can see, much like the rituals performed by the Jews and railed against by the Master, a preponderance of “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7) in both of these aspects of Faith. We will not get into the doctrinal differences any deeper here except to say that if these baptisms and affirmations do succeed in bringing about that repentant attitude and the accompanying change of focus from the the world of things to the things of the Spirit which causes that transformation in ones Life, as spoken of by the Apostle Paul, and creates a follower of the Master as one who is keeping His words, then it is a right and a beautiful thing.

For us being born again is that natural event that overtakes and overcomes us when we focus our lives upon the Christ and the Christ Within and let that Light of the Soul pour down into the personality consciousness thereby beginning that transformation to Soul or Christ consciousness and thus the rebirth of the Self. This we can say is the birth of the Christ in the cave of the heart and this sets one firmly upon the Path to that strait gate which opens into the Kingdom of God; this is a great step towards that fullness of being “born of the Spirit“. We should ever understand that the first act of focus causes one to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24) and in this striving is following Him and keeping His words, it is believing on the Master; both that Master that is the Christ and that Master that is the Christ Within. While the understanding that to “see” and to “enter into the kingdom of God” requires that one be born again is within the words of the Master, we should see that there is no guarantee that being born again is the means of entry; we see only that it is a requirement. Of all the sayings of the Master that we elucidated yesterday, there is only one that is a positive statement by which we should understand that we have done All and that is “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). All of the others are more guideposts than ways of entry and each includes a requirement which, if we ponder on them, is included in this positive statement above.

Regarding born again we find cannot see and cannot enter so that while it is a requirement, it is not the way but it is part of the positive way above. From our other points yesterday we should see that repentance, righteousness, single minded seeking, humility and innocence as children, not trusting in the things of the world and obedience and persistence are all required to gain entry, to be accounted worthy, and they are all contained in the single positive saying above. Individually these are good and beneficial guideposts but these are not individually keys to the Kingdom of God. We must always remember here that the Master tells us that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) and we should take this as our reminder that all of this happens within and according to the Plan of God and that no intercession is required to attain this lofty goal. And, taken at His word, the Master tells us that this Kingdom is here and now and there is no waiting for death or resurrection or any of the other ideas that have been added by the various doctrines of the churches.

There is another reality here that is missed by all who see this physical Life as Life. What we refer to above is the realization by the conscious Self that one is living and acting in the Kingdom of God. It is the pouring of the spiritual Light, the Light of the Soul, into the personality consciousness that brings about the Kingdom of God in any Life for the Spirit and the Soul are ever in the Kingdom; they never leave this place where exists ALL that is of the Good, the Beautiful and the True. It is here, in realization, that we should also see the entwinement of the various Christian ideas of eternal life, the Kingdom of God and salvation as these can all be seen to be in many ways synonymous. There is also a microcosmic look at evolution to be found in the realization that one goes through in a lifetime and this is related to the evolution of consciousness that we have previously discussed. The man in form must successively overcome the pulls of the physical appetites, emotional draws and mental illusionary attractions in his effort toward True Self realization. As we have spoken of before there is much to distract the man as these are all very powerful and habit forming aspects of the human experience and it is the noise that these aspects produce in the consciousness of the man that inhibits his hearing the call of the Soul. This is of course an arbitrary perspective but one that is a reality in the lives of many. The reality of this all for any given individual is found in his karmic responsibility and the previous progressions made toward controlling the personality consciousness; this allows for his bringing into his next incarnation certain abilities and disabilities that account for much of the accumulated differences between people. It is these differences that can make realization as spoken of above easier or harder for any individual and which leads people along different paths and leans their personalities in different ways. For one man the physical appetites may hold sway in his Life, for another emotional issues of any kind and for another there may be mental propensities; of course, this can be in any combination and in any direction causing stability or instability in any of these aspects and the range of different values is a broad as it the population of the Earth. Each man is on his own personal journey.

We must remember that all things work in stages and by degree and this being born again and its affiliated realizations are no exception; there is a beginning and likely an end point as well at which some new thing that we cannot comprehend may begin. So what then is being born again? It is the first real step in  any one lifetime toward Soul consciousness or Christ consciousness and it requires that to some degree the Life of the man is tending more and more toward focus on the Christ and that ardent desire to live a Life that is following the Master and keeping His words. There is no shortcut to this; no affirmation or baptismal ritual will accomplish this unless it is accompanied by that ardent desire and the necessary degree of repentance. As we saw in yesterday’s post, one cannot hold dear the things of the world and be in the Kingdom of God or be a disciple of the Christ and it is here, at being born again that this journey begins. Born again is the beginning but it can be seen also as the journey itself for like most all else there is an infinite range of degree that covers the process. This birth of the Christ in the cave of the Heart should be seen to mean that one has heeded the call of the Christ Within and has begun that necessary repentance that at first sheds the gross things in ones Life and then leads all the way to the perfection that the Master tells us that we must possess saying “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In turn the conscious Life progresses and its fruits are seen till we reach that point where He tells us: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). In doing this all one must be heeding the call of the Soul which is akin to, striving to enter at the strait gate and seeking first to enter but most importantly, if this act of rebirth is not to be doomed as a feeble attempt, one must be committed to fulfilling the full spectrum of the requirements of attaining the Kingdom as we posted it in the last post and of which we repeat a short form and without explanation here again:

• “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
• “That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
• “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
• “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
• “how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24).
• “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” (Matthew 7:13-14).
• “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

And, finally the synthesis of ALL of this is found in this saying by the Master which is inclusive also of all that is commanded that we do:

• “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).

In closing today let us be reminded that most all of us can and do hear the call of the Soul. Whether it be the pangs of conscience or the desire to do some good or even that haunting desire to seek more knowledge, it is the call of the Christ Within. Many answer and join a church or a society or even do some volunteer work and all this is good but the True answer is to heed the call and to move closer to God with an open heart and without those preconceived ideas that doom so many. This is ALL a great mystery as the Master has told us and the keys to it are NOT to be found in the doctrines of the churches but in the cave of the heart and it it the birth of the Christ in that cave that will reveal ALL. Through the Truth of being born again comes the Love and Wisdom of God and this is the measure of it as well. As the Light of the Soul, the Christ Within, flows through the consciousness, the heart of man, it brings with it that Love and that Wisdom which can help to change the world and of which the Master tells us to: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

In this Light is the Love of God and this concludes our look at the idea that “God is Love” (John 4:8) except that we should say that if “God is Love” that this should be of paramount importance to all who desire to follow Him and, if we follow Him we must per force keep His words which include these on Love:

“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)

We should remember always to link to this Greatest Commandment that other saying of the Master that gives to us the practical understanding of how to love one’s self plus the practical instruction on how it is that we CAN Love our neighbour; He tells us:

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“

(Matthew 7:12)

Unlike so much of the Master’s sayings that come to us in the form of parables and for which we can only surmise that we have the spiritual presence to understand, these sayings are very straightforward and they are the key to many of the promises of spiritual life; they are the very key to the Kingdom of God. To these sayings we add our adopted definition of the Greek word agape (agapao) which is translated into the English words Love and Charity and which is:

‘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’

GOODWILL IS LOVE IN ACTION

Note on the Quote of the Day