ON LOVE; PART DLIV
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
“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 essay we came to the end of the second part of the Master’s Sermon on the Mount which ends with a rather obscure saying. After the Master tells us that we should have faith in God and in His Truth, that while we DO NOT strive after the things of the world, and while we DO NOT focus on them as our desires, nor focus upon our daily bread and how to achieve it, that ALL will be taken care of as a part of the Way of Life of the man who can “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness“. Two components then are present in His words; first that we must have faith and second that we must be seeking the Kingdom first and striving to keep His words. In this idea we find that the aspirant, the disciple and the earnest seeker ARE covered by His words which for them MUST mean much more than that they should not be anxious Nor be worried about these things or even that they should be concerned. In the end these ideas likely do not matter to the man who IS NOT earnestly seeking the Kingdom as regardless of his mindset, there IS NO free flowing of these things through the lives of those whose focus IS upon them. In the words of our Tibetan brother there is a section on discipleship which can help us to understand the Master’s point:
The disciple has to take himself as he is, at any time, with any given equipment, and under any given circumstances; he then proceeds to subordinate himself, his affairs and his time to the need of the hour. When he does this within his own consciousness and is, therefore, thinking along lines of the true values, he will discover that his own private affairs are taken care of, his capacities are increased and his limitations are forgotten. He takes his place with those who perceive the needs of the coming cycle, wherein the wider plans for the good of the whole must be understood, endorsed and preached, the new and clearer vision for human living must be grasped and finally brought into being. ‡
Since his view of the disciple as regards these words may not be as strident as is our understanding, we should include here in these ideas the aspirant and the ardent seekers as they ARE, or should be, the man who proceeds to subordinate himself; it IS these who can do as the Tibetan says in the reordering of his Life and his focus. The Master tells us that we should have faith by telling us that we DO NOT if we are among those who focus upon these things which ARE a part of the promise as the Master says “if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is , and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you” (Matthew 6:30). Again then he tells us to “take no thought” and here again we should understand that these ideas of food and drink and clothing ARE but examples of those things of the world that men focus upon and that the intent IS the entirety of those worldly things that men focus upon including those about which he man be anxious or worried. The whole of this segment can be seen as Jesus’ attempt to help us prioritize our thoughts and our attitudes so that they point to the things of God and not to the things of the self in the world. As He says to us who can hear: “O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: ) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:30-33), we should hear that we must have faith and that we should not focus our attention upon the things of the world; that ALL that a man may need IS KNOWN and will be added to his Life as he seeks “first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness“.
Who can do this? the aspirant, the disciple and the man who IS Truly seeking the Kingdom and here we should remember that this IS the objective of ALL men, to attain the Kingdom of God….to be accounted worthy of it. And those who CAN NOT or WILL NOT focus on the things of God, their lives continue as they ARE, awash in the illusion and the glamour of Life in the world of men where they can believe whatsoever they want but to no avail. The Master ends this segment, as we briefly discussed in the last post, saying “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). Here he repeats again His admonition that we “take no thought” but here He shows us a greater reality of this thought, that it IS NOT only about those things of the world, but that it IS about tomorrow, about our plans and our schemes for these things in the days to come and, again, this may include that sense of anxiety and worry but this IS NOT the objective of His words….His objective IS that we seek “first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness“; that we focus upon that and NOT upon the minutia of Life in this world. Before we come to the most obscure ending words here we should look at the Master’s Parable of the Rich Fool as we suggested in the last essay. Here we read that:
“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
We note here that this parable immediately precedes Luke’s verison of the Master’s ideas on “take no thought” which are largely the same as our words from Matthew; in Luke we find the thought of what we must do to gain this promise as Luke gives us the Master’s words as “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you“. Here we see that the idea of first is missing but we should understand the same message as from Matthew….simply that we seek the Kingdom. Luke also adds for us the reality of faith; not only that we must have it but also what faith Truly means as he tells us that the Master says: “neither be ye of doubtful mind” Luke follows this then with another saying from the Master which tells us that in our DOING, seeking the Kingdom, that we should KNOW that there is little else that we must do but have faith and to seek; Jesus here tells us “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:31-32). Text of Luke’s version of this goes thus:
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat ; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat , or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:22-32).
We should note here one more thing which IS that according to Luke this dialogue IS addressed to His disciples and this idea should give us that extra understanding that it IS forsaking that IS the underlying intent of His words as there IS NO reality in Jesus telling His own disciples that they should not worry or be anxious; His message to them IS that they NOT doubt, that they have faith in the Truth of these words. We should understand as well that while Jesus IS addressing these ideas to His disciples, He IS doing so in the presence of “an innumerable multitude of people” (Luke 12:1) and this is much the same as we find in the Sermon from Matthew’s Gospel. Next, for those who have difficulty in understanding the relationship between this idea of “take no thought” with one’s focus upon the things of God that comes by this and the Master’s teaching on forsaking for those who Truly seek the Kingdom, the dialogue continues in Luke’s Gospel as we read:
“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. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately” (Luke 12:33-36).
In this combination of the preceding and the succeeding words that surround the Master’s words on “take no thought” from Luke’s Gospel we should be able to better see the intent which IS left a bit more muddy by Matthew but not nearly as muddy as doctrine paints this for us. In Luke we have the idea of the rich fool whose concerns are in regard to his possessions in the world; not worry or anxiety here, but planing and scheming for what to do tomorrow. The Master’s lesson here IS that this tomorrow may never come and in this we should try to see the greater idea of the final words from Matthew, that “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof“. Here, seeing this evil as we present it, as that this IS one’s focus upon the things of the self and the world, we have the similar message to the parable….DO NOT make these plans for tomorrow regarding these worldly things but rather seek the Kingdom of God today. In the end the reality of the Parable of the Rich Fool can take us to the Master’s teaching that we should ever be ready, we DO NOT KNOW what will come upon us and plans for tomorrow in the world ARE NOT the thoughts of the man who Truly seeks the Lord. And this IS the meaning of the succeeding sayings as well as the disciples ARE told to forsake ALL; to “Sell that ye have, and give alms” and in so doing to be ready and able to accept the Lord, discipleship and the Kingdom of God today.
There are many intertwined messages in these words from the Master according to Luke and these are much the same as what is offered us in the Sermon according to Matthew. The underlying idea that we should take here in “take no thought” and ALL the related ideas IS that we should be focused upon the things of God and NOT on the things of the world; that in this focus we should be seeking the Kingdom and the righteousness of discipleship and that no matter what impressions we may get in this world of illusion and glamour, there should be NO waiting till tomorrow; we should ever be ready today with slates that ARE clear of any attachments and attractions to the things of the world. ALL of this can be found in those simple words: “take no thought“.
While in the final words from Matthew’s version; “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34) we can see the message from the parable in Luke’s Gospel, most do not see this and, since most do see this whole idea of “take no thought” as that it pertains to worry and anxiety, this is to be expected. Most also see this idea of evil as trouble which IS not our view as trouble IS NOT a theme that is heretofore introduced except in some of the doctrinal interpretations of the Greek word that IS rendered as evil. According to the New American Standard (NAS), one of two we have Strong’s references for, this IS the only place that this word kakia is rendered as trouble; this IS the understanding of many other translations nonetheless. We should likely see here that the majority of the previous ideas about thought on things and this thought on tomorrow need not be related but this latter idea should stand alone as an extra caution. Here we could see that we are to “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we should “take no thought for tomorrow either. And this IS what these words ARE, cautions that we should NOT think this way but should focus upon the things of God.
As we leave this second part of the Sermon on the Mount we should look as well at the words of the Apostle Paul that we have been carrying as our Quote of the Day. Here in these words the apostle’s instructions ARE of a similar nature to those that we have been studying as He tells them that even these things, these ‘spiritual’ gifts, that they so treasure in the Church at Corinth, are of a worldly nature and that their focus as disciples and aspirants should be on the Truth of God; their focus should be on Love. Can we see that if one treasures any of these gifts which the apostle itemizes as “the word of wisdom“, “the word of knowledge“, faith,”the gifts of healing“, “the working of miracles“, prophecy, “discerning of spirits” ,”divers kinds of tongues“, and “the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10), that he is actually treasuring these things that work in the world of men? And can we see that the apostle’s message IS that the better way, the more “excellent way” IS to Love, to spend one’s focus on the True things of God as this IS what will make a man a Truly spiritual expression of the Truth of God in this Earth. Paul tells us clearly that regardless of what one may have or think that he has, it is nothing without the reality of Love.
But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-3,13 (New King James Version)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 |
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GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
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Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
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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!
- †† A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC OR THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY © 1951 BY LUCIS TRUST
