IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 340

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON GOD; Part CXXIII

My Soul has Purpose, Power and Will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.

My Soul must foster Love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.

I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.

My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

Over the last several days, since this affirmation was moved to the main section of our post’s essays, we have tried to look at it through its inherent similarity to the gospels and to the teachings of the Master and we have explored in some depth the ideas of Love, of service and of the Will of God. We could conclude here by simply saying that these three are one; that inherent in His Will is the requirement to serve as it does say above and as the words of the Master clearly depict for Himself and those who would follow Him and, that the very nature of our service is Love, again as it says above and also as the Master teaches us. As a disciple of the Master we know that we must forsake ALL and, from a spiritual perspective, we must lay down our mortal and carnal lives as the Master showed to us in His Life and in His total abdication of His Earth Life as He proceeded towards His death on the Cross. In this we should be able to see and perhaps even understand the magnitude of what it is that He tells us saying that: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). In this final act as a man in form the Master tells us and shows us that the height of service is in forsaking ALL and that this is a supreme act of Love; it is this that Truly makes a man a disciple.

Saying the stanza’s in this affirmation with intent and with focus upon the spiritual Path is the way of the aspirant; doing these things in daily Life is the way of the disciple. Both the disciple and the aspirant should however understand the ideas that are behind these words although it is not necessary to understand them in any particular way. The way of the disciple is clearly stated by the Master in the gospels and by the Buddha in His writings and though they may seem different, they are virtually the same as there is no real difference between forsaking ALL and resisting the desires of the world. The way of the aspirant is the way of one who knows this and knows the Truth of discipleship and who does as the Master says endeavoring always to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). The relative difference between what we see as the aspirant and the reality of discipleship is but a matter of degree as is so much in Life and it is up to each of us individually to decide for ourselves at what point we are at any given time and in this we should see the Apostle’s words “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly” and again a bit later “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Romans 12:3, 16). Paul offers these ideas in the context of how one, as a disciple and an aspirant, should act before other men and we choose these words out of total thought so as to remind us all of our right and humble intent which should echo the teachings of the Master saying: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Likewise we should add here that saying from the Apostle James on which we spent considerable time saying “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13) and from which we have derived our own understanding based upon the help of Vincent in understanding the meaning of converstaion 4 (In the words of Jesus part 322). In this saying we see that if we believe we are wise in any way then we must show that Wisdom through our “good life“, in our “works in in meekness of wisdom“. Works here means ALL that an man can do and we should understand meekness in the way that we have developed over time in these posts which is, in a phrase, humble restraint.

That we KNOW our own place is rather unimportant insofar as specificity is concerned so long as we KNOW our hearts, our conscious attitude, toward Life and toward God which are in reality ONE and the same. If we strive as the Master instructs it matters not our degree of religiosity; it only matters that we follow the sayings of the Master which tells us in yet clearer terms what the James tells us above which we repeat here from the American Standard Version (ASV) “let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom“. This corresponds to and sets the action tone for the Master’s “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). In our last post we said that: this is the hallmark of the aspirant, that he actively and willingly seeks to do God’s Will and today we add that Gods Will is found in these sayings from Jesus and James performed in Love and, of course, seeking no thing for the separated self.

In a word we can summarize this ALL as GoodWill and this is Love in Action in one’s good Life and works in humble restraint. GoodWill should encompass the entirety of one’s being; it should be the keynote of Life and in this word is contained the fullness of the Master’s saying on Love that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“; a saying that we find in so many places in the bible starting in Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8. And again as it is framed a bit differently in John’s Gospel as to say that “That ye love one another” and this we discussed in some detail in the last post; this idea is repeated by the Master and His apostles as here in John 13:34 and again in John 13:35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:8, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 Peter 3: 8, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7. 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, and 2 John 1:5 and this list does not include other allusions to Love and other ways of saying this same thing. In addition to these ideas on Love, GoodWill also incorporates the Golden Rule as the monitor of how we are to Love and to Live; the Master says that: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12) which is worded elsewhere as “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).

Any question as to what this all means and to whom is should apply is the product of illusion and of glamour as the words of the Master and His apostles are abundantly clear. We should here add to our ideas of what is the hallmark of the aspirant that although one may still suffer through some degree of illusion and of glamour, that he is free from them in this respect; as regards Love, Brotherhood, Harmony, Peace, Understanding and that overall sense of Unity through which we are called simply Humanity….in a word, GOODWILL.

The idea of GoodWill as we present it is not readily defined in English dictionaries. The 1828 and the 1913 Webster dictionary that we normally use in our essays does not even list the word but the 1828 version does list a hyphenated version with a single word meaning: GOOD-WILL, n. Benevolence¹. Our more modern dictionaries do list the word as a single thought but they apply rather superficial meanings except for this same idea of benevolence: 1. friendly disposition; benevolence; kindness. 2. cheerful acquiescence or consent. 3. Commerce . an intangible, salable asset arising from the reputation of a business and its relations with its customers, distinct from the value of its stock and other tangible assets**. Dissecting this word into its component parts of good and will we can perhaps see the direction; however, the defining terms for good are voluminous and for the most part unrelated to our quest for understanding. Within this all however there is an entry in the 1828 version of Webster’s that bears repeating: 1. Valid; legally firm; not weak or defective; having strength adequate to its support; as a good title; a good deed; a good claim. 2. Valid; sound; not weak, false or fallacious; as a good argument. 3. Complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; having the physical qualities best adapted to its design and use; opposed to bad,imperfect, corrupted, impaired. We say, good timber, good cloth, a good soil, a good color. 4. Having moral qualities best adapted to its design and use, or the qualities which God”s law requires; virtuous; pious; religious; applied to persons, and opposed to bad, vitious, wicked, evil. 5. Conformable to the moral law; virtuous; applied to actions¹. The second part of this is then will which is a rather complex word for which we did not seek definitions when we covered this as the Will of God as there are no adequate defining words to express this. Instead we used the gospels to help us to understand the meaning within the context that this Will it is used. Here however we are looking for the human expression albeit when we are Truly expressing GoodWill it is for the most part from the Inner Man, the Soul. Again we must pick and choose what it is that we will repeat as the definitions are verbose and changeable over time; for example the 1828 version, that we used for its ideas on good, calls will a faculty of mind while the 1913 version give us a more spiritually accurate understanding saying that the will is The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects¹.

From our perspective none of these defining terms of good or of will really suits the ideas that come forth from a spiritual perspective. The Soul does not choose as we read above from Webster’s but it is the consciousness of the man that does, ‘choosing’ to focus upon the world of things or to focus on the Soul and the Christ Within. This is not in reality a function of the spiritual will as this will is ever focused upon the spiritual life. The same is rather True regarding the word good as we commonly understand it and this should be seen in the Master’s saying that “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18); in this we should see the proper spiritual emphasis. From our perspective the idea of will can be seen as a function of motivation or rather the cause of it; good will will be the nature of those motivations that find their source in the higher realms of spiritual Life and thought while the worldly aspects of will will be the nature of those motivations that find their source in the lower self and in self-interest and self-devotion which we saw recently in the idea of emulation.

So, we are left here with a word, benevolence, to describe our understanding of GoodWill and in this we can accept as a suitable definition for our use, a definition that we have been using regularly; our own definition of Love, 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. This takes benevolence as a definition of Love and treats good will as a synonym for it and with this in mind, let us look at the common understanding of this word benevolence as, from a spiritual perspective, this can then be ascribed to GoodWill.

• Webster’s 1828 and 1913 versions have virtually the same definition saying: The disposition to do good; good will; kindness; charitableness; the love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. An act of kindness; good done; charity given¹.
• Our more modern definitions are a watered down version, spiritually speaking, that says: desire to do good to others; goodwill; charitableness: to be filled with benevolence toward one’s fellow creatures. an act of kindness; a charitable gift**.
• In the King James Version (KJV), the Greek word eunoia is translated as both benevolence and good will in Paul’s Epistles.
• Another Greek word eudokia is translated in the KJV as good will but in the ASV as pleased thereby changing the entire message of the verse. The angel says “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” in the KJV which is translated as “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” in the ASV which gives the connotation in still other translations to the effect of “peace among the people who please God” (Luke 2:14). Looking at what is a good use of the idea of good will in the KJV changes, based on doctrinal bent, in many of the other  translations and this is unfortunate as we should ALL be able to understand the clarion call of the angels proclaiming the birth of the Christ in its right sense no matter what version of the bible one uses.

We should be able to see in our word GoodWill the Love and the benevolence as it pours out to ALL. This is the nature of the worldly expression of the Christ and this it to be our expression as well. For us this is a word of great moment as in it is incorporated the Love that IS God, the Love that IS the Christ and the Christ Within, as the active expression of the man in form who is acting his part as a disciple or an aspirant in the world. In this we should understand our own simple definition of GoodWill as Love in Action. This idea of GoodWill can also be seen as the Will to Good and we will pick up with this theme in the next post.

We close here today with another affirmation called An Affirmation of GoodWill and we do so in preparation for the Christ Festival which is also known as World Goodwill Day, and which is the designation of the Full Moon of June, the Gemini Full Moon, which occurs on June 4th at 6:13 AM EST; 11:13 AM GMT. Around the world many use this time in group meditation which is esoteric in nature and directed at bringing into the world a greater amount of the Light of the Kingdom of God and, as we know, that Light is evident and brought forth through every disciple and every aspirant and ALL men and women of GoodWill throughout the world.

An Affirmation of Goodwill

WE, THE PEOPLE OF GOODWILL, CONVINCED:

• that there is potential for good in every human being
• that the human family can live together in right relations and at peace
• that right relationship between peoples and nations and between humanity and the earth is the key to world peace and progress
• that practical goodwill is the key to the right relationships

RECOGNISING THAT:

• the only way to guarantee a future of peace and progress for the whole human race is for enough men and women of goodwill to accept responsibility for the establishing of right relations, and to work actively with the principles of unity and goodwill.

AFFIRM OUR INTENTION:

• to practice goodwill in all our relationships, in all daily affairs and in our attitudes and actions towards those of other nations, ethnic groups, religions and social backgrounds, and towards the earth
• to support and cooperate with those in positions of influence and responsibility who use goodwill and reason, instead of force and coercion
• to encourage, publicise and work for an attitude of practical goodwill in local, national and international groups and institutions.†

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.

Keeping the Lord’s Prayer as our Quote of the Day we come now to a most difficult part of this prayer to interpret and this is the saying of the Lord in prayer “And lead us not into temptation“. From a religious and a doctrinal perspective as well as in common sense there is not facility for God to lead a man into temptation. If we approach this from a spiritual point of view as we did the rest and especially the request for “daily bread” we can likely make some sense of this idea in a the way that fits into the Master’s overall teaching. Remembering that Jesus is speaking to disciples and to aspirants directly and to the multitude rather indirectly but in the same words and we should try to see the meaning of these words based upon the duality of Life in form. The aspirant and to a lessor degree the disciple are caught in the world of duality, hearing from the Soul, the Christ Within, and from the personality, the man in the world of form. So much of the Master’s teachings are to help the conscious man to know the difference and to understand the actions of the higher, to recognize the Wisdom from above. This is before the Apostle James interprets for us the meaning of the Master’s words. Looking at this in this way we can glimpse the idea that this phrase of the prayer is to our God and our God Within to protect us from the glamour and the illusion that is inherent in the duality of Life in form; that in the flow of Wisdom from above there will come to the consciousness the ability to KNOW and to not be tempted, deceived if you will, by thinking what is of the world is from above. This is a similar but a more direct approach to this than we have previously given as our former interpretation was more toward the use of this Wisdom to wrong ends and a prayer that we would not do so. Today we better realize that the discernment of the Wisdom from above is infallible in that the wisdom from below can only masquerade for it and not replace it.

The closing part of the prayer, “but deliver us from evil” should be seen as what we would want in not being subjected to the illusion and the glamour as the results of duality. That we KNOW in our consciousness the source of the Wisdom which, when it is from above, is free from evil and when it is from below that we will recognize it as such. As we have said many times we should not look at this translated word evil as is the common connotation of it; we should rather look at it as plainly not good and in this case we can see that the evil is in reference to the temptation which is the mistaken sense of believing that what is from below as being from above.

This concludes our look at The Lord’s Prayer which has gone a bit long but which is for our ‘celebration’ of the Festival of Christ and World GoodWill Day as a prayer given to us by the Christ. We will post the other Great World Prayer, The Great Invocation, which we also received from the Christ as our next Quote of the Day.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done,

in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

[For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.]

Amen.*

We will leave this prayer for a few days and try to get a better understanding of it and then move on to The Great Invocation which is, as we are told, given to us by the Christ as well. More than 2000 years separate the receipt of these invocations by the world of men and their language and tenor reflect the changes in the nature of man and his societies over this course of time. The Lord’s Prayer and a brief interpretation are included in the Prayers and Meditations section of the front page of this Blog.

• †   From World GoodWill, an activity of Lucis Trust, a non-profit, educational organization. For free copies of An Affirmation of Goodwill call or write World Goodwill
• *   From the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; this version is from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662
• ** “goodwill.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 02 Jun. 2012.
• ¹ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888