Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART LXIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:3-12).
We posted yesterday some more ideas on the relevance of the United Nations work as it reflects on the overall intent of the teachings of the Master and of most ALL world religions. It is in the expression of GoodWill which IS Love in Action that the United Nations strives to meet the criteria, as an organizational entity, of the Love and the brotherhood which we KNOW is required to meet the High Calling of discipleship and to be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. In this understanding our support of this world body can be seen as a requirement in its own right as is our support of any efforts toward GoodWill and Right Human Relations. There is neither time nor room for the petty jealousies, those engendered by a sense of self and what that self’s ideas on what should be done and how it should be done, to continue to interfere and to hinder and True effort toward GoodWill in the world today.
We also posted the preface and the Foreward to the 2012 Report on the Progress; today we will look at the Overview of this report which captures the essence of the remaining pages:
Overview
Three years to the deadline, we can report broad progress on the MDGs: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed to by world leaders over a decade ago have achieved important results. Working together, Governments, the United Nations family, the private sector and civil society have succeeded in saving many lives and improving conditions for many more. The world has met some important targets—ahead of the deadline.
•• Extreme poverty is falling in every region: For the first time since poverty trends began to be monitored, the number of people living in extreme poverty and poverty rates fell in every developing region—including in sub-Saharan Africa, where rates are highest. The proportion of
people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 24 per cent in 2008—a reduction from over 2 billion to less than 1.4 billion.
•• The poverty reduction target was met: Preliminary estimates indicate that the global poverty rate at $1.25 a day fell in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate. If these results are confirmed, the first target of the MDGs—cutting the extreme poverty rate to half its 1990 level—will have been achieved at the global level well ahead of 2015.
•• The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water: The target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water was also met by 2010, with the proportion of people using an improved water source rising from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010. Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.
•• Improvements in the lives of 200 million slum dwellers exceeded the slum target: The share of urban residents in the developing world living in slums declined from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent in 2012. More than 200 million gained access to either improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing. This achievement exceeds the target of significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, well ahead of the 2020 deadline.
•• The world has achieved parity in primary education between girls and boys: Driven by national and international efforts and the MDG campaign, many more of the world’s children are enrolled in school at the primary level, especially since 2000. Girls have benefited the most. The ratio between the enrolment rate of girls and that of boys grew from 91 in 1999 to 97 in 2010 for all developing regions. The gender parity index value of 97 falls within the plus-or-minus 3-point margin of 100 per cent, the accepted measure for parity.
•• Many countries facing the greatest challenges have made significant progress towards universal primary education: Enrolment rates of children of primary school age increased markedly in sub-Saharan Africa, from 58 to 76 per cent between 1999 and 2010. Many countries in that region succeeded in reducing their relatively high out-of-school rates even as their primary school age populations were growing.
•• Child survival progress is gaining momentum: Despite population growth, the number of under-five deaths worldwide fell from more than 12.0 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. And progress in the developing world as a whole has accelerated. Sub-Saharan Africa—the region with the highest level of under-five mortality—has doubled its average rate of reduction, from 1.2 per cent a year over 1990-2000 to 2.4 per cent during 2000-2010.
•• Access to treatment for people living with HIV increased in all regions: At the end of 2010, 6.5 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS in developing regions. This total constitutes an increase of over 1.4 million people from December 2009, and the largest one-year increase ever. The 2010 target of universal access, however, was not reached.
•• The world is on track to achieve the target of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of tuberculosis: Globally, tuberculosis incidence rates have been falling since 2002, and current projections suggest that the 1990 death rate from the disease will be halved by 2015.
•• Global malaria deaths have declined: The estimated incidence of malaria has decreased globally, by 17 per cent since 2000. Over the same period, malaria-specific mortality rates have decreased by 25 per cent. Reported malaria cases fell by more than 50 per cent between 2000 and 2010 in 43 of the 99 countries with ongoing malaria transmission.
Inequality is detracting from these gains, and slowing advances in other key areas: Achievements were unequally distributed across and within regions and countries. Moreover, progress has slowed for some MDGs after the multiple crises of 2008-2009.
•• Vulnerable employment has decreased only marginally over twenty years: Vulnerable employment—defined as the share of unpaid family workers and own-account workers in total employment—accounted for an estimated 58 per cent of all employment in developing regions in 2011, down only moderately from 67 per cent two decades earlier. Women
and youth are more likely to find themselves in such insecure and poorly remunerated positions than the rest of the employed population.
•• Decreases in maternal mortality are far from the 2015 target: There have been important improvements in maternal health and reduction in maternal deaths, but progress is still slow. Reductions in adolescent childbearing and expansion of contraceptive use have continued, but at a slower pace since 2000 than over the decade before.
•• Use of improved sources of water remains lower in rural areas: While 19 per cent of the rural population used unimproved sources of water in 2010, the rate in urban areas was only
4 per cent. And since dimensions of safety, reliability and sustainability are not reflected in the proxy indicator used to track progress towards the MDG target, it is likely that these figures overestimate the actual number of people using safe water supplies. Worse, nearly half of the population in developing regions—2.5 billion—still lacks access to improved sanitation facilities. By 2015, the world will have reached only 67 per cent coverage, well short of the 75 per cent needed to achieve the MDG target.
•• Hunger remains a global challenge: The most recent FAO estimates of undernourishment set the mark at 850 million living in hunger in the world in the 2006/2008 period—15.5 per cent of the world population. This continuing high level reflects the lack of progress on hunger in several regions, even as income poverty has decreased. Progress has also been slow in reducing child undernutrition. Close to one third of children in Southern Asia were underweight in 2010.
•• The number of people living in slums continues to grow: Despite a reduction in the share of urban populations living in slums, the absolute number has continued to grow from a 1990 baseline of 650 million. An estimated 863 million people now live in slum conditions.
In the years ahead, we have the opportunity to achieve more and to shape the agenda for our future: The 2015 deadline is fast approaching. The contributions of national Governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector will need to intensify as we take on the longstanding and long-term challenge of inequality, and press forward on food security, gender equality, maternal health, rural development, infrastructure and environmental sustainability, and responses to climate change. A new agenda to continue our efforts beyond 2015 is taking shape. The MDG campaign, with its successes as well as setbacks, provides rich experience on which this discussion can draw, as well as confidence that further success is feasible.
•• Gender equality and women’s empowerment are key: Gender inequality persists and women continue to face discrimination in access to education, work and economic assets, and participation in government. Violence against women continues to undermine efforts to reach all goals. Further progress to 2015 and beyond will largely depend on success on these interrelated challenges.
•• MDG progress shows the power of global goals and a shared purpose:
The MDGs have been a fundamental framework for global development. A clear agenda, with measurable goals and targets, and a common vision have been crucial for this success.
There is now an expectation around the world that sooner, rather than later, all these goals can and must be achieved. Leaders will be held to this high standard. Sectors such as government, business, academia and civil society, often known for working at cross-purposes, are learning how to collaborate on shared aspirations. The comprehensive statistics and clear analysis in this year’s MDG Report give us all a good idea of where our efforts should be directed.
Sha Zukang
Under-Secretary-General for Economic
and Social Affairs
This overview shows us the progress as well as the concerns regarding the implementation of these lofty goals which seek only to bring the lowest and the poorest of our brethren and neighbors out of their current state of abject poverty and living conditions and into a less abject state when measured by the standards of those living in the developed countries of the world. Can we see in these ideas the gist of the Master’s message regarding the HOW of one’s relationship with the Christ and with the Father as it is presented in the verses that we have been using and which we repeat again for clarity?
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:34-40).
Can we see the reality of the Master’s words in the designated work of the United Nations? Still, many denominations and sects of Christianity, and likely other religions as well, are openly opposed to the United Nations and this is likely because the have never viewed it from the perspective of the teachings of the Master but only from the dictates of their own individual doctrines. As we have long said, there is a great divide between the church view of the teachings of the Master and the actual teachings of the Master which are about naught but Love and brotherhood leading to discipleship and the Kingdom of God which is, as we well KNOW, within each and every one of us. Much of the Christian fear is due to their projected notion that the United Nations is becoming that New World Order, or One World Government, and that One World Religion that they claim is spoken of in the bible and which they say will be headed by Satan himself. This is more the product of fear and of the rather senseless attempts at prophesy and interpreting what is deemed prophesy from the both the Old and the New Testaments. Many there are that devote their time and their energy to prophetic parts of the bible rather than the actual words of the Master and His apostles that have to do with the here and now; a here and now that is an ever changing panoply of Life in form.
Why this attraction to prophesy is so large a part of the Christian experience from many denominations is a difficult question to answer but the Master does give us guidance. He does this in two ways:
- First He tells us that the time is a Great Unknown, that NO ONE does KNOW nor can KNOW and He tells us this as He tells us parabolically of the ‘prophetic end’ saying that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:35-39). There is a clarity here that is ignored by ALL who seek to KNOW and who have deluded themselves by thinking that they KNOW this unknown; and not those outspoken ‘end of time’ preachers only but ALL who try to interpret and teach their interpretations as Truths going so far as to identify the nations that they believe are involved in the purported prophesies of the Book of Revelation. It is in part this interpretation of Revelation that has created much animosity between nations and cultures and in our context here, against the United Nations.
- The second guidance we get from the Master is in the teachings on being ready which He gives us by way of a parable, The Parable of the Faithful Servant which we cover in detail in In the Words of Jesus part 103. The way this is written in the Gospel of Mark is the most direct of all the synoptic gospels, here we read: “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:33-37).
We close today by reminding all that United Nations Day is Wednesday the twenty-forth of October and we should try to, at a minimum, hold good thoughts regarding this, our best hope for world peace and harmony, and Pray in one is so inclined.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
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Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In relation to the Christ |
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GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Life |
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Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Truth |
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Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
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.:
So that we do not forget that the reality of this ALL is still LOVE which is our Truth regardless of whatever other realizations may come to us in Life, we present here again the Apostle Paul’s words followed by our own understanding of this reality:
….but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8-10).
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’
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- ** United Nations Website: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html
- *** Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
