{"id":4860,"date":"2012-10-23T22:24:54","date_gmt":"2012-10-24T02:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=4860"},"modified":"2012-10-23T22:24:54","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T02:24:54","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-477","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/23\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-477\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 477"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

ON LOVE; PART LXIX<\/h2>\n

\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/h6>\n

GoodWill\u00a0IS Love in Action<\/h2>\n

\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/h6>\n

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.\u00a0And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father<\/em>” (John 14:3-12).<\/p>\n

We posted yesterday some more ideas on the relevance of the United Nations work as it reflects on the overall intent of the teachings of the Master and of most ALL world religions. It is in the expression of GoodWill which IS Love in Action that the United Nations strives to meet the criteria, as an organizational entity, of the Love and the brotherhood which we KNOW is required to meet the High Calling of discipleship and to be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. In this understanding our support of this world body can be seen as a requirement in its own right as is our support of any efforts toward GoodWill and Right Human Relations. There is neither time nor room for the petty\u00a0jealousies, those engendered by a sense of self and what that self’s ideas on what should be done and how it should be done, to continue to interfere and to hinder and True effort toward GoodWill in the world today.<\/p>\n

We also posted the preface and the Foreward to the 2012 Report on the Progress; today we will look at the Overview of this report which captures the essence of the remaining pages:<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h2>\n

Three years to the deadline, we can\u00a0report broad progress on the MDGs:<\/strong>\u00a0The Millennium \u00a0Development Goals (MDGs) agreed to by\u00a0world leaders over a decade ago have achieved important\u00a0results. Working together, Governments, the United Nations\u00a0family, the private sector and civil society have succeeded in\u00a0saving many lives and improving conditions for many more.\u00a0The world has met some important targets\u2014ahead of the\u00a0deadline.
\n\u2022\u2022 Extreme poverty is falling in every region:\u00a0<\/strong>For the first time since poverty trends began to be monitored,\u00a0the number of people living in extreme poverty and poverty\u00a0rates fell in every developing region\u2014including in sub-Saharan Africa, where rates are highest. The proportion of
\npeople living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent\u00a0in 1990 to 24 per cent in 2008\u2014a reduction from over\u00a02 billion to less than 1.4 billion.
\n\u2022\u2022 The poverty reduction target was met:\u00a0<\/strong>Preliminary estimates indicate that the global poverty rate at\u00a0$1.25 a day fell in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate. If\u00a0these results are confirmed, the first target of the MDGs\u2014cutting the extreme poverty rate to half its 1990 level\u2014will\u00a0have been achieved at the global level well ahead of 2015.
\n\u2022\u2022 The world has met the target of halving the proportion\u00a0of people without access to improved sources of water:\u00a0<\/strong>The target of halving the proportion of people without\u00a0sustainable access to safe drinking water was also met by\u00a02010, with the proportion of people using an improved\u00a0water source rising from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent\u00a0in 2010. Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people\u00a0gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as\u00a0piped supplies and protected wells.
\n\u2022\u2022 Improvements in the lives of 200 million slum dwellers\u00a0<\/strong>exceeded the slum target:\u00a0<\/strong>The share of urban residents in the developing world living\u00a0in slums declined from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent\u00a0in 2012. More than 200 million gained access to either\u00a0improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or\u00a0durable or less crowded housing. This achievement exceeds\u00a0the target of significantly improving the lives of at least\u00a0100 million slum dwellers, well ahead of the 2020 deadline.
\n\u2022\u2022 The world has achieved parity in primary education\u00a0<\/strong>between girls and boys:\u00a0<\/strong>Driven by national and international efforts and the MDG\u00a0campaign, many more of the world\u2019s children are enrolled\u00a0in school at the primary level, especially since 2000.\u00a0Girls\u00a0have benefited the most. The ratio between the enrolment\u00a0rate of girls and that of boys grew from 91 in 1999 to 97\u00a0in 2010 for all developing regions. The gender parity index\u00a0value of 97 falls within the plus-or-minus 3-point margin of\u00a0100 per cent, the accepted measure for parity.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022 Many countries facing the greatest challenges have\u00a0<\/strong>made significant progress towards universal primary\u00a0<\/strong>education:\u00a0<\/strong>Enrolment rates of children of primary school age increased\u00a0markedly in sub-Saharan Africa, from 58 to 76 per cent\u00a0between 1999 and 2010. Many countries in that region succeeded in reducing their relatively high out-of-school rates\u00a0even as their primary school age populations were growing.
\n\u2022\u2022 Child survival progress is gaining momentum:\u00a0<\/strong>Despite population growth, the number of under-five deaths\u00a0worldwide fell from more than 12.0 million in 1990 to 7.6\u00a0million in 2010. \u00a0And progress in the developing world as\u00a0a whole has accelerated. Sub-Saharan Africa\u2014the region\u00a0with the highest level of under-five mortality\u2014has doubled\u00a0its average rate of reduction, from 1.2 per cent a year over\u00a01990-2000 to 2.4 per cent during 2000-2010.
\n\u2022\u2022 Access to treatment for people living with HIV\u00a0<\/strong>increased in all regions:\u00a0<\/strong>At the end of 2010, 6.5 million people were receiving\u00a0antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS in developing \u00a0regions.\u00a0This total constitutes an increase of over 1.4 million people\u00a0from December 2009, and the largest one-year increase\u00a0ever. The 2010 target of universal access, however, was not\u00a0reached.
\n\u2022\u2022 The world is on track to achieve the target of halting\u00a0<\/strong>and beginning to reverse the spread of tuberculosis:\u00a0<\/strong>Globally, tuberculosis incidence rates have been falling since\u00a02002, and current projections suggest that the 1990 death\u00a0rate from the disease will be halved by 2015.
\n\u2022\u2022 Global malaria deaths have declined:\u00a0<\/strong>The estimated incidence of malaria has decreased globally,\u00a0by 17 per cent since 2000. Over the same period,\u00a0malaria-specific mortality rates have decreased by 25 per\u00a0cent. Reported malaria cases fell by more than 50 per cent\u00a0between 2000 and 2010 in 43 of the 99 countries with\u00a0ongoing malaria transmission.<\/p>\n

Inequality is detracting from these gains,\u00a0<\/strong>and slowing advances in other key areas:\u00a0<\/strong>Achievements were unequally distributed across and within\u00a0regions and countries. Moreover, progress has slowed for\u00a0some MDGs after the multiple crises of 2008-2009.
\n\u2022\u2022 Vulnerable employment has decreased only marginally\u00a0<\/strong>over twenty years:\u00a0<\/strong>Vulnerable employment\u2014defined as the share of\u00a0unpaid family workers and own-account workers in total\u00a0employment\u2014accounted for an estimated 58 per cent of\u00a0all employment in developing regions in 2011, down only\u00a0moderately from 67 per cent two decades earlier. Women
\nand youth are more likely to find themselves in such insecure\u00a0and poorly remunerated positions than the rest of the\u00a0employed population.
\n\u2022\u2022 Decreases in maternal mortality are far from\u00a0<\/strong>the 2015 target:\u00a0<\/strong>There have been important improvements in maternal health\u00a0and reduction in maternal deaths, but progress is still slow.\u00a0Reductions in adolescent childbearing and expansion of\u00a0contraceptive use have continued, but at a slower pace since\u00a02000 than over the decade before.
\n\u2022\u2022 Use of improved sources of water remains lower in\u00a0<\/strong>rural areas:\u00a0<\/strong>While 19 per cent of the rural population used unimproved\u00a0sources of water in 2010, the rate in urban areas was only
\n4 per cent. And since dimensions of safety, reliability and\u00a0sustainability are not reflected in the proxy indicator used\u00a0to track progress towards the MDG target, it is likely that\u00a0these figures overestimate the actual number of people using\u00a0safe water supplies. Worse, nearly half of the population\u00a0in developing regions\u20142.5 billion\u2014still lacks access to\u00a0improved sanitation facilities. By 2015, the world will have\u00a0reached only 67 per cent coverage, well short of the 75 per\u00a0cent needed to achieve the MDG target.
\n\u2022\u2022 Hunger remains a global challenge:\u00a0<\/strong>The most recent FAO estimates of undernourishment set\u00a0the mark at 850 million living in hunger in the world in the\u00a02006\/2008 period\u201415.5 per cent of the world population.\u00a0This continuing high level reflects the lack of progress on\u00a0hunger in several regions, even as income poverty has\u00a0decreased. Progress has also been slow in reducing child\u00a0undernutrition. Close to one third of children in Southern Asia\u00a0were underweight in 2010.
\n\u2022\u2022 The number of people living in slums continues to grow:\u00a0<\/strong>Despite a reduction in the share of urban populations living\u00a0in slums, the absolute number has continued to grow from\u00a0a 1990 baseline of 650 million. An estimated 863 million\u00a0people now live in slum conditions.<\/p>\n

In the years ahead, we have the<\/strong>\u00a0opportunity to achieve more and to\u00a0<\/strong>shape the \u00a0agenda for our future:\u00a0<\/strong>The 2015 deadline is fast approaching. The contributions\u00a0of national Governments, the international community,\u00a0civil society and the private sector will need to intensify\u00a0as we take on the longstanding and long-term challenge\u00a0of inequality, and press forward on food security, gender\u00a0equality, maternal health, rural development, infrastructure\u00a0and environmental sustainability, and responses to climate\u00a0change.\u00a0A new agenda to continue our efforts beyond 2015 is taking\u00a0shape. The MDG campaign, with its successes as well as\u00a0setbacks, provides rich experience on which this discussion\u00a0can draw, as well as confidence that further success is\u00a0feasible.
\n\u2022\u2022 Gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment\u00a0<\/strong>are key:\u00a0<\/strong>Gender inequality persists and women continue to face\u00a0discrimination in access to education, work and economic\u00a0assets, and participation in government. Violence against\u00a0women continues to undermine efforts to reach all goals.\u00a0Further progress to 2015 and beyond will largely depend on\u00a0success on these interrelated challenges.
\n\u2022\u2022 MDG progress shows the power of global goals and a\u00a0<\/strong>shared purpose:<\/strong>
\nThe MDGs have been a fundamental framework for global\u00a0development. A clear agenda, with measurable goals and\u00a0targets, and a common vision have been crucial for this\u00a0success.<\/p>\n

There is now an expectation around the world that sooner,\u00a0rather than later, all these goals can and must be achieved.\u00a0Leaders will be held to this high standard. Sectors such as\u00a0government, business, academia and civil society, often\u00a0known for working at cross-purposes, are learning how\u00a0to collaborate on shared aspirations. The comprehensive\u00a0statistics and clear analysis in this year\u2019s MDG Report give us\u00a0all a good idea of where our efforts should be directed.<\/p>\n

Sha Zukang<\/p>\n

Under-Secretary-General for Economic
\nand Social Affairs<\/p>\n

This overview shows us the progress as well as the concerns regarding the\u00a0implementation\u00a0of these lofty goals which seek only to bring the lowest and the poorest of our brethren and neighbors \u00a0out of their current state of abject poverty and living conditions and into a less abject state when measured by the standards of \u00a0those living in the developed countries of the world. Can we see in these ideas the gist of the Master’s message regarding the HOW of one’s relationship with the Christ and with the Father as it is presented in the verses that we have been using and which we repeat again for clarity?<\/p>\n

\n

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them,\u00a0Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me<\/strong><\/em>” (Matthew 25:34-40).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Can we see the reality of the Master’s words in the designated work of the United Nations? Still, many denominations and sects of Christianity, and likely other religions as well, are openly opposed to the United Nations and this is likely because the have never viewed it from the perspective of the teachings of the Master but only from the dictates of their own individual doctrines. As we have long said, there is a great divide between the church view of the teachings of the Master and the actual teachings of the Master which are about naught but Love and brotherhood leading to discipleship and the Kingdom of God which is, as we well KNOW, within each and every one of us. Much of the Christian fear is due to their projected notion that the United Nations is becoming that New World Order, or One World Government, and that One World Religion that they claim is spoken of in the bible and which they say will be headed by Satan himself. This is more the product of fear and of the rather senseless attempts at prophesy and interpreting what is deemed prophesy from the both the Old and the New Testaments. Many there are that devote their time and their energy to prophetic parts of the bible rather than the actual words of the Master and His apostles that have to do with the here and now; a here and now that is an ever changing panoply of Life in form.<\/p>\n

Why this attraction to prophesy is so large a part of the Christian experience from many denominations is a difficult question to answer but the Master does give us guidance. He does this in two ways:<\/p>\n