{"id":4002,"date":"2012-07-19T22:20:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-20T02:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=4002"},"modified":"2012-07-19T22:20:09","modified_gmt":"2012-07-20T02:20:09","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-387","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2012\/07\/19\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-387\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 387"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law<\/h2>\n

ON GOD; Part CLXVIII<\/h2>\n

We started yesterday’s post with the idea that we had finished with those sayings by the Master that had been at the top of our essays for so many days and then proceeded to discuss the last line of one of them for the balance of the post. Our premise was that in this last line is the caution and the instruction to us ALL on the actions of the heart<\/strong> <\/em>or the consciousness<\/em> of a man and the focus<\/em> or his Life, his treasure<\/em> as the Master paints it. We noted how the same verses are found in both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels but in different contexts and which were presumably spoken at different times; this however does not matter as they are both recorded as His word and with the one telling us of the idea of speaking<\/em> of the abundance of the heart<\/strong><\/em>, that is that whatsoever a man’s treasure<\/em> is becomes what he will speak and we added here the ideas of acting and even thinking. The other, Matthew’s version, tells us of speaking idle words; the Master says: “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment<\/em>” (Matthew 12:35-36). We have referred to this phrase a few times in our posts and mostly as a way of commenting on the words of Jesus Himself, that they are not idle words and that every one has a meaning or, as we have been seeing, meanings. This very statement is likely an example of this idea of many meanings insofar as we KNOW that He is referring to speaking while at the same time we can realize that based upon the lead in statement there is profoundly more depth and we should try to understand the stretch of this Greek word laleo<\/em> that is translated as speak<\/em> into the same realms of acting and even thinking that we have shown above. Perhaps this is from the perspective that what a man IS in consciousness<\/em>, where his heart<\/strong> <\/em>is, are\u00a0invariably\u00a0those things that he will think on and he will speak<\/em> of. Can we see this in His words? Can we see the use of this phrase by the Master to refer to ALL idle things that a man may say or do as being those things that pertain to the world and its unimportant nature as regards the heart<\/strong> <\/em>of man? His focus<\/em> and his time and attention spent on worldly things and pursuits is but idle time when viewed from the perspective of the Soul, the Christ Within.<\/p>\n

As we posted yesterday there is much in regard to this idea of speaking as it is action or as it is the\u00a0precursor\u00a0to action in the writing of the Apostle James who tells us of the power of the tongue. Can we see that so many of the bad things, evil and worldly things of one man against another, are begun with the use of the spoken word and by extension the written word as well? And, can we see the idea that James puts forth as regards the control of the tongue as its being a sign and signature of the True\u00a0disciple\u00a0of the Lord? And, can we see how this saying by James reflects the words of the Master insofar as the speaking of a man being of the abundance, or the totality of the treasure<\/em>, of his heart<\/strong><\/em>? The focus<\/em> of a man’s consciousness<\/em> is what will bring out the words and the actions for which he is ever responsible. There is a bit of negativity in James words when he tells us that “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison<\/em>” (James 3:8) but we should not let this detract us because the Master does tell us that we can be “…perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>” (Matthew 5:48) and in this state of discipleship there is no question that the tongue is tamed. Perhaps here the apostle refers to man as the man in the world and not the man whose focus<\/em> and attention are on the things of the Lord.<\/p>\n

The next ending saying that we presented from the verses that we have been studying regards again the treasure<\/em> of the heart<\/strong>. In the last we ended with the idea that it is from the abundance that a man will speak, act and think and we define that abundance above as the totality of what the man is focused upon. In our next saying we find the same theme but to a different end; here the Master tells us that we are KNOWN by the things that are in the heart<\/strong> and that the things that a man focuses<\/em> on will define him. Of course this need not be a single thing and in most cases it is not as man shares his consciousness with a career, a family and\u00a0leisure\u00a0pursuits but in all likelihood one of these will be of a supreme\u00a0importance\u00a0to him. We should remember also that mankind is much more sophisticated and complicated today than it was when the Master spoke these words and Life is so much more complicated as well. In this we should understand that although there may be a multiplicity of different things that take a mans attention in Life there are few that are meaningful enough to him to be counted as the treasure<\/em> of his heart<\/strong><\/em>. As a reminder the fullness of the Master’s words are:<\/p>\n

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\u201cLay 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<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 6:19-21).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We should note that it is toward the actual treasure<\/em> that this saying is interpreted by many but for us this is not so; for us treasure<\/em> is the focus<\/em> of one’s Life and this is either focus on this world or on the things of God. Our other saying makes this a bit clearer although it does have its own degree of complication insofar as the idea of speaking as it tells us of the “good treasure of his heart<\/em>” and of “the evil treasure of his heart<\/em>” (Luke 6:45) which cannot be readily seen as the actual treasures<\/em> of this world. Both of these are for us\u00a0representative\u00a0of that which is the focus of one’s Life, that which takes a man’s time and attention. Our ending statement here is of course the Master’s saying that: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also<\/em>” and it is in this that the crux of the Master’s overall saying lies. He is telling us a fact and he is giving us a caution and when we combine this with our saying from yesterday from Luke’s Gospel: “for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh<\/em>” (Luke 6:45)\u00a0we should be able to get a rather clear picture of what the Master’s teaching is. Plainly speaking He tells us that it is what we focus<\/em> upon that becomes the content of our consciousness<\/em> and that this is either the things of God or the things of the carnal man and this content of treasures, <\/em>of the things that take his attention, is the same that makes up the abundance of one’s heart<\/strong> <\/em>and it is based on this content that a man will act and, in the\u00a0combination, the man will be KNOWN.<\/p>\n

We should understand here that this all has little to do with riches except from the perspective that those who do focus<\/em> upon the material things of the world can more easily be distinguished. Those other kinds of treasure<\/em> are much more\u00a0elusive\u00a0and are better covered by the illusion<\/strong> and the glamour<\/strong> of the world; these include the wide spectrum of\u00a0attitudes and feelings that a man holds dear and these are the ones that can be seen as either as focused upon God or upon the world. There are no worldly type treasures in heaven although some parts of the church do teach that this is so and in this we should understand that the treasures in heaven are the treasures<\/em> of\u00a0consciousness<\/em>\u00a0and the focus<\/em> of it on the things of God. There is an interesting story that is printed in Vincent’s works that reflects upon this idea of riches; it is about the Master’s Apostle Thomas and it goes thus:<\/p>\n

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Lay not up treasures<\/strong> (mh< qhsauri>zete). Lit., treasure not treasures. So Wyc., Do not treasure to you treasures. The beautiful legend of St.\u00a0Thomas and Gondoforus is told by Mrs. Jameson (\u201cSacred and Legendary Art\u201d): \u201cWhen St. Thomas was at Caesarea, our Lord appeared to him and said, \u2018The king of the Indies, Gondoforus, hath sent his provost, Abanes, to seek for workmen well versed in the science of architecture, who shall\u00a0build for him a palace finer than that of the Emperor of Rome. Behold, now I will send thee to him.\u2019 And Thomas went, and Gondoforus commanded him to build for him a magnificent palace, and gave him much gold and silver for the purpose. The king went into a distant country and\u00a0was absent for two years; and St. Thomas, meanwhile instead of building a palace, distributed all the treasures among the poor and sick; and when the king returned he was full or wrath, and he commanded that St. Thomas should be seized and cast into prison, and he meditated for him a horrible death. Meantime the brother of the king died, and the king resolved to\u00a0erect for him a most magnificent tomb; but the dead man, after that the had been dead four days, suddenly arose and sat upright, and said to the king, \u2018The man whom thou wouldst torture is a servant of God; behold I have been in Paradise, and the angels showed to me a wondrous palace of gold and silver and precious stones; and they said, \u2018This is the palace that\u00a0Thomas, the architect, hath built for thy brother, King Gondoforus.\u2019 And\u00a0when the king heard these words, he ran to the prison, and delivered the apostle; and Thomas said to him, \u2018Knowest thou not that those who would possess heavenly things have little care for the things of this earth? There are in heaven rich palaces without number, which were prepared from the beginning of the world for those who would purchase the possession through faith and charity. Thy riches, O king, may prepare the way for thee to such a palace, but they cannot follow thee thither.\u2019\u201d<\/em>4<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While this story alludes to the idea that there are\u00a0in heaven rich palaces without number<\/em>, we should understand that there is no physical presence of things as we KNOW them here on Earth. The Master tells us that the “the kingdom of God is within you<\/em>” (Luke 17:21) and this should be enough to show us that this Spiritual Realm IS NOT a physical one and that IT IS a Realm of Being that is apart from this existence and man’s existence in the afterlife as well, as this is still a part of the Life of the personality of the man on emotional and mental levels of existence. In this we can find some better understanding of the varied reports of heaven by those who claim to have seen it either by vision or by near death and even death type\u00a0experiences. In some cases where the person believes to have been out of their physical bodies, they are reporting on what it is that they believe they have seen. While these may seem like the reality of heaven, they are more like dream states in which the personality itself creates the illusory visions of heaven, which is for each person different; the reality of heaven is beyond the afterlife and it is the\u00a0privilege of those who can attain it through the ways that the Master instructs and all of which require the\u00a0single mindedness\u00a0of following Him<\/em> which is keeping His words<\/em> and one’s focus<\/em> upon God.<\/div>\n
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We will end here for today and continue in the next post with our last point. We should note that the analysis above regarding heaven and the afterlife of a man is not based in\u00a0scripture\u00a0as there are no defining terms for either in the Master’s word and only allusions by his apostles. Our analysis is founded in the reality however that a man is not this body nor this personality which is the combination of the\u00a0physical\u00a0presence plus the emotional and mental natures which do not die with the death of the physical form; these are more permanent although we cannot say for sure how this works nor what it means. We can posit with some certainty that when a man reincarnates he takes neither of these with him from a prior Life but this is ALL a great mystery. We can say however with some confidence that the Soul is above and beyond these things and that it requires Soul contact here in this world in order that it may stay with the man after the death of his body. This is another way of our saying that the Kingdom of God is within, it IS the Christ Within, and when this can be expressed through the Life in form then one has attained His Kingdom; it is here and it is now. This very Truth is also portrayed for us in the story of the\u00a0legend of St.\u00a0Thomas and King Gondoforus<\/em> that we read above. Ponder on this.<\/div>\n