ON LOVE; PART DII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“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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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
In the last post we discussed some ideas regarding the idea of forsaking as this IS presented to the rich young man by the Master and we noted that doctrine sees this as only in regard to this man, in this time, and some even go so far as to ascribe the idea that the Master’s thoughts on this are that: riches were his idol, our Lord, who knew if from the first, lays His great authoritative grasp at once upon it, saying, “Now give Me up that, and all is right“8. This idea from the Commentary Critical on the Whole Bible on the Apostle Luke’s version IS, when combined with John Gill’s idea that says in part of this verse from Matthew’s Gospel: not that either the law of God, or Gospel of Christ, require this to be done of all men, and at all times; for though it is a duty binding upon all, and always, to relieve the poor and the needy, yet a man is not obliged to give all that he has to them 8, we can rather clearly see their view. Our view of this IS quite different as we see this rich young man as everyman and we see this as a lesson and not a statement directed at ONLY this man. This man asks the Master specifically about eternal Life which we KNOW as we read on is considered a question about the Kingdom of God by the Master who answers in that context and this IS a question that IS on the minds of many. We should try to see here that while this instance IS of a rich man, that the idea of forsaking ALL is not limited to the rich and this we read in the Master’s words to the multitudes, in a part of Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus speaks to His disciples within the hearing of ALL saying: “Sell that ye have , and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:33-34).
These words on the treasure that a man should seek ARE NOT addressed to the rich; these are spoken in the same group of sayings as IS the Parable of the Rich Fool which cautions about keeping one’s excesses for the future and the preceding theme of “take no thought” (Luke 12:22). These commentaries however exhibit the ideas of doctrine on the matter of riches and more; they reflect on the matter of giving and NOT from the perspective of forsaking as here they forget or they ignore the Master’s words that say that we should: “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:42). And to this idea that one should give to ALL without restriction and should lend as well when asked we should note how Luke frames this idea saying “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again” (Luke 6:35); here we should be able to see that in the Master’s mind lending and giving are the same and should one return what IS lent, it is then available for another. The Master’s words are clear but they are altered by doctrine for the convenience of men and this alteration, this change and dilution of His words, began long ago with the origination of such doctrines and continue even in the reality of the Master’s accusative words to the Pharisees saying: “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). This IS the way of man in the world.
And we should note here that Mr. Gill IS partly right in saying that: not that either the law of God, or Gospel of Christ, require this to be done of all men, and at all times; as we read in his comments about this saying about the rich young man but we should recognize that his rightness IS ONLY in regard to the man who does not care about the Kingdom or eternal Life, or True salvation; this IS right for the man who is content to stay in the world, pretending if you will that he is living according to His word. However, if one’s objective and goal IS the Kingdom and eternal Life, if one’s desires to be counted among His disciples, then these words spoken to the rich young man and the thoughts on riches that follow ARE His words, His instructions and His commandments. Here we should realize that the Master’s words ARE ONLY commandments for those who seek to be where He IS; they ARE the Path and they ARE the Way.
Here we should look as well at the Master’s words that follow the rich young man’s refusal to heed the words of Life offered by Jesus; as this man walks away still encumbered by the self in the world and his own sense of what IS Truly important. The Master addresses this in the three synoptic gospels and in each one in a slightly different way which we should see in their combination; He says:
- “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:23-29).
- “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:23-30).
- “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved ? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:24-30).
This IS a complex statement from the Master and here we should see that He DOES NOT say that the rich man CAN NOT enter the Kingdom, He ONLY says that this IS a difficult proposition and He lays the possibility off in saying that “with God all things are possible“. Here perhaps is one place that gives rise to the doctrinal understanding that we read above and in the last essay; here we can see the idea that the Lord will intervene for the man who IS rich and who perhaps gives liberally to the poor and to whatsoever charity. This however IS NOT the reality of this as it IS the God Within who IS the judge and it IS unlikely that the God Within will measure the giving of the man, it IS rather that the God Within will measure the heart of the man and his own view of this in the reality of Love and not under the cover of doctrine. And, when we look at the reality of the Kingdom Within and the Kingdom NOW, we see a very different measure which IS found in the thoughts, the attitudes and the actions of the man here and now. And we should note here that this reality IS offered by the Master as we read His words above; that the man who does forsake ALL for the Kingdom shall receive manifold more that he has given up. Matthew and Mark use the idea of an hundredfold and Matthew does not point to the present except as he separates the next idea of everlasting Life. We should remember here that these ARE is the recollections of the individual apostles combined with their own understanding of the Master’s words as booth Luke and Mark make this idea of the Kingdom NOW more than clear for us as they tell us that the man who forsakes ALL for the Kingdom will “receive manifold more in this present time” as Luke tells us and as “shall receive an hundredfold now in this time” according to Mark.
The point to be taken in these ideas IS NOT that in giving one will receive as is understood by many and, while there may be True in this idea, it IS NOT the subject here as the things that one receives through these sayings are ‘replacements’ for house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands“. This IS NOT ‘replacements’ in kind as should be understood in the idea of manifold or hundredfold as how can this be True of the mother or the wife or even houses as this would be contrary to these very words against riches. Here we should see the spiritual counterparts to these things forsaken and perhaps here we can try to see the fruit of the Spirit which the Apostle Paul tells us is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23) as one’s ‘reward’. Here in these ideas we should see the greater reality as well, that this forsaking IS NOT merely the giving up of one’s possessions and wealth, it IS giving up oneself to the Greater Good of God.
Now we should try to understand here that we ARE NOT advocating that ALL men give up ALL things but rather that the man who desires to enter into the Kingdom, the man who endeavors to be accounted worthy and the man who wants discipleship, endeavor to DO so. And while there is that caveat of “with God all things are possible“, it should be understood that this IS a personal measure of ones True standing against the fulfillment of the Master’s words, the fulfillment of keeping His words. Over the centuries these ideas were taken to mean that a man should be an ascetic, that he should practice self-denial and self-mortification, but this IS NOT what we see as the intent of the Lord as we believe that as disciples we must be a part of the societies that we seek to instruct and in which we seek to engender change by our words and our example. The Lord IS NOT looking for a collection of beggars; He IS looking for a collection of workers who understand His words and live by them as examples to the world.
It IS in this context that we should understand the Master’s teaching of ‘take no thought‘ and it IS in the context of “take no thought” that we should understand this whole idea of riches. Again, we must see here that this idea of forsaking riches IS intended for the man who would attain the Kingdom and discipleship and this forsaking will NOT be accepted by the average man in the world and this regardless of how religious or spiritually oriented he may believe that he IS. It is in one’s own heart of hearts that he must measure his thoughts, attitudes and actions; NOT against doctrine but against the Truth of His words. That the Master tells us this Truth “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven“, should be enough to dissuade any who desire the Kingdom from being rich yet these words are manipulated by so many who seek to find safe harbor in riches and we saw some of this in the doctrinal commentaries that we posted yesterday. There are many who place more importance on the meaning of the eye and the camel than on the pronouncement itself, that this camel through the eye IS easier than the attaining the Kingdom; we cover several of the commentaries on this in In the Words of Jesus part 746. The reality here is that the words are the words and the clever attempts to dilute them are profitless to the man who Truly seeks the Kingdom of God.
Here perhaps it IS better to look at these ideas this way: if a man Truly seeks “kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) that he will by his own volition live according to the words of the Lord. If he may be rich, he will eschew the riches that can keep him from his focus upon God and the things of God; if he is not rich, he will not seek to become so as this would limit his focus upon God and the things of God. Can we understand this perspective? Can we see that ALL IS covered in the self judgement, the constant self judgement, of the aspirant that asks whether the man IS DOING ALL that he can and MUST do to be a teacher and an example for others to follow according to the words of the Master. We close here today by repeating those words from Paul that we posted in the last essay plus another saying from the apostle and we will begin with these in the next essay:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
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.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
God is love;
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him,
That he who loveth God love his brother also
1 John 4:16-21
Today’s Quote of the Day from the First Epistle of John is his reflection on God and on Love. John tells us that God is Love and, as we have discussed, Love is certainly as aspect and an attribute of the Godhead and one which is supremely represented by the Christ. John tells us further that without Love there is no relationship with God and likens the Truth of dwelling in Love to being in His Kingdom and in His Presence. He draws for us the idea of Love for ones fellowman being the prime prerequisite for Love of God for although one may say that he Loves God, it cannot be True unless he first Loves his fellowman. In John’s words the equation is certain: “he who loveth God love his brother also“. And, lest we forget that the idea of Love that the Master teaches in not the emotional attraction that we live with daily, we repeat again: LOVE 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’. To this we add the ever important High Ideal as taught by the Christ: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
