ON LOVE; PART DLIX
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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 essay we looked again at the Great Truth of the Golden Rule as offered to us by the Master. This age old dictum predates the Advent of the Christ who, by His own use of this idea, promoted it to become The Way, the gateway if you will, to ALL spiritual understanding and the achieving of one’s spiritual reality. While some believe that the roots of this maxim ARE found in other sayings regarding reciprocity, this IS NOT in our view the Truth; the roots of this saying which IS commonly understood as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you“, are Truly found in the teachings on Love which also predate the Christ who repeats and reemphasizes the idea that “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” which originates in the law as expounded by Moses many centuries earlier. In the more corporate reality of the Jewish religions, this is commandment WAS NOT accepted with the intent of its offering but was allowed to slip into the abyss of doctrines and traditions. The Master revives this idea as the cornerstone of the new dispensation which has come to be KNOWN as Christianity, but here too the intent is lost in a similar abyss which is created by those who take authority and create doctrines.
In the Truth of the Master’s teachings these two thoughts are forever intertwined; first, in the second part of the Great Commandments that we have at the top of our essay again today which we read “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and then there ARE the explanatory ideas of the Golden Rule which, while explaining the idea of self Love and to a degree Love itself, also tells us just who the neighbor IS; we read this as “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). The idea of self Love is found in one’s inner understanding of the first part of the Golden Rule; what IS it that a man would have done for him and to him? This IS the identity and the degree of Love that a man should express and in this reality, a man must be honest with himself and understand that most every thing that the Master teaches is covered in this thought. In a word we can say here that whatsoever a man would accord to himself, he should accord that same to EVERY MAN; If a man wants to be treated by others as free and important and beneath none, then he must accord this same treatment to ALL men. And this IS the reality of just what this Love that the Master teaches us IS; it IS NOT that emotional and perhaps mental attachment or attraction to others, it IS the detailed respect and GoodWill that a man expresses to ALL men in accordance with the Golden Rule; it IS the seeing of ALL men as brothers and neighbors and understanding that there IS NO True foundation for difference as ALL are a part of the ONE Humanity, living in this ONE World, and ALL ARE a part of the Life of the ONE God who created ALL. In this Golden Rule the clarity of the neighbor is offered in the simple word men; ALL men. This word is offered without regard to sex or age or any dividing characteristic; this word is offered as the fullness of the idea of mankind; ALL mankind.
And from the perspective of religion we should see the indelible link between these sayings and the intent of the Master in giving us these words; He tells us of both that His words are established law and that they are the reality of the prophets and this we read as:
- 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“
- “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets“
This IS the reality of religion and the only other place that this idea of “the law and the prophets IS used IS in the Master’s speaking of Himself and His work in this Earth. He tells us that “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached” (Luke 16:16) and in this we should see the greater reality that He IS, through His teaching, the revitalized law and the Truth of the prophets and the Kingdom of God and that His words ARE the Way to the Kingdom….the ONLY Way. We should see in the Master’s teaching the replacement of the corporate view of religion, that the words of the Lord are no longer addressed to the nation nor to the Jews as a people; the Master speaks to each man and he speaks to their hearts that they can understand the deeper Truths of Life and of the Kingdom. Perhaps we can see the problem here is that men listen with their emotions and their minds and equivocate to themselves the divide between the self in the world and his anticipated benefit, and the spiritual Life of the man as expressed from the heart that is focused upon the things of God.
We continued onto the next sayings which are Jesus instructions on the reality of Life in this world for the man who DOES NOT focus upon the Truth of God but who listens to the words of others for his guidance. Here the Master cautions us to beware of what we attend to and who we accept as a teacher; that many there are that will mislead the hearer with smooth words that DO NOT express the Truth of God but rather the interpretation of these Truths by men whose interest IS in themselves. We read:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
We must ever remember that the fruits ARE the teachings and while a man may be able to pick our the apparently self-centered teacher, he CAN NOT see into the hearts of ALL. Here we should read that there are many that would extort the Truth in favor of their own interpretation and that the way that we can KNOW such teachers IS by the fruits of their words; that they teach the Truth of God. But this IS a caution that is not heeded by most men who follow blindly the dictates of teachers whose primary interest IS in their own benefit and it is unfortunate that this caution IS NOT seen by these teachers themselves who are deluded by their own selves, by their own personalities in the world. The reality of illusion and of glamour effect ALL men and it IS very difficult to dissuade a man who once believes he has seen the Truth. The Truth of the fruit IS invariably found in the selfless teacher, the man for whom teaching IS NOT business but IS the reality seen through the calling of his own Soul and we should be ever careful in understanding that the things of the self ARE more than just worldly possessions; that they ARE more so a man’s thoughts, his attitudes and his actions.
Here, when we think about the Master’s use of the word good, we should be reminded of the “good things” that come from God for the man who asks; we must remember that these things are spiritual and the things of God and not the carnal things of the world. So the “good tree” and its production of “good fruit” which ARE also spiritual things and the things of God. This IS an important reality that most men DO NOT clearly see, but this IS NOT for lack of the Master’s defining the idea as we read in the encounter of the rich young man with the Master: “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:17-18). This IS the reality of the Greek word agathos which IS rendered as good in English but which, based upon the usage that we see here, should likely have a deeper meaning; the word of God, the things of God and the nature of God are more than the common idea of good and should at least take on the higher meanings of this word good from the English dictionary; this would include excellent which word shares some the ideas of perfect.
Our next saying has deep meaning for the lives of men in this world as it shows forth that it IS ONLY those who DO express the fruit of the Kingdom, the “good fruit“; it IS only those who ask for and receive the “good things” that can Truly be included in this saying as among those who can enter the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom IS a special place which IS reserved for those who can express this perfection by degree and while we DO NOT KNOW at what degree being accounted worthy may begin, we can be relatively sure that it encompasses keeping His words.
“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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus words clearly say that it IS NOT the man who calls upon His Name, nor IS it the man who prophesied, nor the man who “cast out devils“; nor IS it the man who claims “many wonderful works” who will enter the Kingdom of God. It IS ONLY the man who has done, who IS doing, the Will of the Father. Regardless of whether one reserves the idea of heaven or the Kingdom of God as that place of a future state or if one understands the Truth that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), the reality IS the same; that there IS a requirement and that requirement IS that one “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. We have discussed these sayings many times in our posts and for us there IS NO escape from the conclusion which DOES coincide with the Master’s caution a few verses back; that there is a “strait gate“, a narrow Way, that leads into the Kingdom and that “few there be that find it“. Here in these current verses we find the reality of that meaning which we can say as that this narrow Way IS paved with His word and lest one follow His words, one WILL NOT find the Kingdom of God.
Here in this saying ALL of the previous ideas in this series are pulled together; it matters not that a man thinks that he IS worthy, it matters not that a man believes that Christ will save him or that he may have faith in the Truth of His words; it ONLY matters that a man keep His words. We have ofttimes said that there are no shortcuts and no convenient affirmations of faith that will gain the Kingdom for a man; there IS ONLY the DOING and there are many sayings from the Master and His apostles that tell us this and in many different ways. We posted the entirety of John Gills commentary on the first verse of this saying in In the Words of Jesus part 921; we find in Mr. Gills commentary the doctrinal view which paints this saying with words and ideas that ARE NOT offered by the Master but which are necessary to allow men to claim some part in the Kingdom. This IS the nature of doctrine as it dilutes the Truth which becomes then some series of thoughts that allow for a man to believe that his everyday actions will allow him the Kingdom based upon the faith and the believing, the rites and the affirmations, of a particular doctrine…and most ALL major religions see this doctrine in their own way.
The matching saying to this from the Gospel of Luke IS simpler and IS presented to us as a rhetorical question that asks: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). This message is a Soul searching one if we can use that term here; this message begs us to see His reality as it IS expressed in His words according to Matthew. Yes this IS a difficult task, to keep His words, but it IS the only thing by which we find the “strait gate” and the narrow Way which IS paved with His words; this entry IS ONLY accomplished in following in the words of the Lord. And it IS this same thing that the Apostle James speaks of in saying “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22); this is keeping His words and to NOT DO so while believing that this can be replaced by any form or manner of behavior, IS but self-deception. This IS the cold and the hard Truth of the Master’s message and this IS the reality of Life in the world in that day and still yet today; while ALL this WILL NOT make a man feel good about himself, he should realize that his good feelings ARE but a delusion in a world of illusion and of glamour. The man who will Truly achieve the Kingdom IS the man who will strive toward that goal and this striving IS found in the application of one’s Life to keeping His words; the Master tells us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) which we KNOW has the same meaning as the like saying found here in this Sermon on the Mount according to Matthew.
As to our current saying and the version from Luke that both speak about calling on His name and believing that this will suffice, or that anything short of keeping His words will take one to the Kingdom of God, we should note that both immediately precede what is called the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders with which the Master ends this version of His Sermon. We read these final words as:
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
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
