ON LOVE; PART DLXIV
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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 discussed the reality of the Sermon on the Mount, how it should be a guiding Light for ALL who call themselves Christians and how that these ARE His word which must be followed by ALL who seek the Truth of salvation which IS freedom from the wiles of the world, from its illusion and its glamour, and those who strive toward the Kingdom of God and discipleship. We discussed how that these instructions, cautions and encouragements of the Sermon ARE offered to men in such as way as they dictate the proper action of the man in the world and we should note that ALL who are properly focused upon the things of God DO KNOW these things and this IS much as the disciples in Jesus’ day did; we should understand the idea of instruction and caution then as for ALL men. The point here IS that if a man would live according to these instructions, cautions and encouragements, that his Life would be changed as his focus would shift by means of his way of Life. Here we should see that it matters NOT from what direction change may come; it can come as the prompting of one’s Soul moves a man toward righteousness or it can come as doing righteous things according to the Master’s words….the result IS largely the same and there IS likely some part of each way to be found in each direction. In the end the reality IS the same, that the man who desires the Kingdom of God must keep His words; there are NO shortcuts, and NO affirmations and NO religious rites that can accomplish this for a man.
Many doctrinal approaches to the Kingdom proclaim that salvation IS a gift and while this may be so, the idea of this word rendered as gift IS misunderstood by doctrine as many believe that there is no responsibility on the part of the man in the world. This IS NOT True, there is always the responsibility of the man to keep His words and this idea of gift would be better understood a ‘something given‘ and here we should see that salvation IS given to those who keep His words. And this IS freely given to ALL men who should ask and it IS this and similar ideas that are covered under the Master’s words from the Sermon saying: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). It must be understood here however that this asking, seeking and knocking IS NOT in the carnal sense as it is seen by some; this asking, seeking and knocking IS in the spriritual sense and is done in the fashion of keeping His words. And the reality of this is found in the Master’s words on attaining the Kingdom, that this IS ONLY by means of keeping His words which the Master frames this way: “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). Again, there ARE NO shortcuts to salvation and aside from the ideas that are presented to us in specific terms as we see here, there ARE the general ideas of the fullness achieved by keeping His words in the instructions and the commandments that He gives us; commandments which we must follow as these must become our expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul in the world.
Some may say that these commandments are intended for the disciples and those who may choose this calling in Life but the reality IS that it IS ONLY by discipleship and it IS only by choosing this calling and keeping His words that the reality of salvation IS possible; it IS ONLY in these High Ideals of living according to the “will of my Father which is in heaven” that a man can attain the Kingdom of God. And this was our point in the last post, that doctrine dilutes the Master’s message and obscures the reality of the Kingdom and discipleship. In our view this IS done over the centuries to allow the man who ‘chooses’ God to live comfortably in the world of men but this was never the idea expressed by the Master who offers us the gift of His words to follow and the words of His apostles to clarify and to amplify them. But these words are interpreted for the common man by the same self-proclaimed authorities who write the doctrines and pass them on from generation to generation so that the Power and the Truth of His words are obnubilated by the very doctrines that are purported to explain them.
Again, the Sermon on the Mount IS an important part of a man’s instructions in living according to His words and any ideas that ARE contrary to the expression of the Universal Love, brotherhood and harmony that He teaches will NOT serve to bring a man to the Kingdom of God. We repeat here again our own view of this Love and how this IS NOT only intended as a personal undertaking but IS intended to effect ALL men by the contagious activities in Love by the individual:
On a personal level this IS to express that Love that He teaches us; in business it IS the Golden Rule that treats ALL, employees, customers and even competitors in the same way that one would want to be treated. And in politics it is the expression of Love and Goodwill toward ALL in honesty and truthfulness and, in the combination of Love and the Golden Rule, to work for the benefit of whom the Master calls “the least of these my brethren” (Matthew 25:40) both at home and abroad; and, to work for legislation that enhances the rights of ALL over the selfish interests of money and political leverage.
We must remember as well that there ARE NO exceptions offered by the Master insofar as Love and while there may be the intimation of this in some of the apostles’ writings we should understand that this IS the effect of their own personalities in the world of men. ALL things are resolved in Love and there can be NO greater idea expressed regarding this Love that the Master’s words saying:
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).
“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28).
This IS the reality of Love as the Master teaches; there IS NO exception and no variation or, to use a phrase from James, there IS NO “shadow of turning“; from our perspective there IS NO thing in His words but Universal Love for ALL. This IS a difficult undertaking and this sense of Love IS the proving ground for the aspirant and the man who Truly seeks God. This IS at the same time the subject of the Great Commandments which, when properly understood, tell us to Love ALL men and that we Love God through this Love for ALL men and for the entirety of His creation.
There IS a great schism between the Truths pronounced by the Master and the doctrines that purport to interpret them and Love and the Way of Love IS a prime example of this as the Love that IS taught by doctrine IS NOT that Universal Love that IS intended in the Word of God. There IS another place that this same type of schism interferes with the reality of the words of the Master and His apostles and this is the nature of Life in this world and what is the intended approach to this Life versus the view of doctrine. In this we see a large part of the very nature of doctrines that ARE so organized that they can allow for the man to live in physical and psychological comfort in the world rather than, as the Master pronounces, the idea that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). While there IS NO direct pronouncement that we should do this same thing, there are many places were we are told this in more parabolic terms and none are more profound than those found in the Sermon, in His words on treasure and on the reality of “take no thought“; and, we should not forget the reality of following Him in ALL that He does. Similarly His many words on riches and on mammon are either NOT understood or plainly ignored as there IS NO adequate teaching in doctrine that teaches the Master’s Truths.
It IS our objective to move on to the Epistle of James as the next project for our blog and as we move into this we should understand his perspective which in many ways mimics the same ideas that the Master offers us in the Sermon on the Mount. This IS primarily in the idea of the treasure of one’s heart as a man’s expression, the ultimate reality of the Master’s teaching on Love and the relationship of the spiritual man, the man who would follow the Master in this world and the very nature of the world and its pleasures or riches. On Love we KNOW the ideas of the Master above as He shows us the scope of it and we KNOW the importance and the intent in the Great Commandments at the top of our essay. On the idea of treasure which IS ultimately and intimately linked to a man’s relationship to the world, we KNOW the Master’s words from the Sermon saying: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Here we should see the idea of treasure as what IS important to a man….this WILL be where his heart IS and can include ALL varieties of things but most importantly his thoughts and attitudes; we should also remember here that other saying regarding what IS in one’s heart, what IS the result of his treasure, as the Master tells us that: “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). This is framed with the idea of treasure in Luke’s Gospel where we read: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). These words from the Master ARE from Luke’s verison of the Sermon and we should ever understand the interrelationships between ALL these sayings. In the Master’s use of the word rendered as speaketh we should not see only what a man may say, we should see the totality of his expression in the world; his thoughts, attitudes, actions and those possessions that are treasured as well.
In the area of the relationship of a man to the world there ARE many the words from the Master regarding treasure, riches, and forsaking but for us the most important is His teaching in the Sermon on “take no thought” and while He uses specific examples of the staple items that men DO need, His words should be understood as ALL encompassing as we can see clearly in the lead saying that a man should “Take no thought for your life” and this IS framed the same way by Luke. But men miss these points; both in what we see as clear speaking and in the relationship to so many other sayings that tell us these same things; that we should attend to the things of God and NOT the things of the world. Repeating again a selection of the sayings of the apostles regarding this relationship between the man who would follow the Lord and the world:
- The Apostle John tells us: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:5).
- The Apostle James tells us: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
- The Apostle Paul tells us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).
- The Apostle Paul also tells us: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
- The Apostle Peter tells us: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
Our comments on these ideas are in In the Words of Jesus part 952. Here we should point out that the True relationship IS that there IS NO relationship and, as we will see in the coming essays, James has much to say on this . We will begin our look at the Epistle of James with this first group of sayings:
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:1-4).
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.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8)
Today’s Quote of the Day is in regard to the new birth which Nicodemus did not understand and which many today do not understand either. The words of the Master tell us of a total commitment to the Lord as the way to the Kingdom and these verses say that as well. This total commitment is being born again. The differences in language aside, we should try to see the relationship between these ideas of being born again which is the essence of discipleship for it is only in discipleship that one can Truly see the Kingdom. These are much misused ideas because they are seen from the perspective of the man in form and no from the perspective of the Soul living through form.
