Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON GOD; Part CXLV

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry , Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:14-23).

“But many that are first shall be last; and the last first“

(Mark 10:31)

Reviewing past posts we find that we have discussed this type of saying in regard to the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (In the Words of Jesus part 89) where is appears at the end in this saying: “I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:15-16). We have always found this type of saying cumbersome as there is no real way to bring the idea into our language; here, using the workers in the vineyard as a backdrop we posited that:

So we have some people who from an early age felt the urging of the Spirit and went about to follow the spiritual way and we have others who from an early age saw the ministry as a career path; both of these are among the first, in this story, to arrive for work in the vineyard. Others, in their youth, felt the call of the world for fun or for career, which was stronger than the call of the Inner Man, and they follow it. Then one day they get a realization that there must be a better way to live and these then also turn and begin follow the spiritual way. And so it goes through life with people at different stages and for different reasons coming to the realization of the Soul within and who begin to follow the promptings. In this parable the idea of intent underlies the idea of time with time being the first qualifier. Those who come to the spiritual life earlier seem to be those who also lose something over the years insofar as the teaching of this parable. The Master is saying that those among the first are thinking that they are better and they think also that they deserve more because they have been working longer for the Kingdom. This is where intent plays its part; do we strive to enter the Kingdom for a reward greater than the Kingdom itself? or do we strive to enter the Kingdom for the sake of the Truth of the Inner Man that is prompting us to go onward? Those seeking to enter for the greater reward are those that are going to think that they deserve more because of the time they spent; those doing it for the sake of the Love of God and one’s brother will accept the Kingdom as reward enough and understand that early or late does not matter.

Now there is a reality here in regard to the the context in which it is given but there is a greater reality in these similar sayings, parabolic all of them, that has heretofore eluded us. Remember that here in this saying from Mark’s Gospel the Master is speaking to those that are disciples and who are asking about their ‘reward’. We should recognize also that in this particular context there is not an all-inclusiveness as there is in the end of the above mentioned parable; in our saying today the idea that many shall be last and in this there is either a randomness or there is a choice. In our understanding of God and of His Plan we do not recognize anything that is random but rather that choices are made, karmic or otherwise, within the ‘free will’ of the Soul in form and likely of the Soul Himself when His time in form is expired, that is when He has reached that Christlike perfection through form. Before we explore these ideas, let us look briefly at the uses of this phraseology in the gospels:

1. “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first“. This is the companion saying to the one at the top of our essay today which we should note is worded the same way and is spoken to Peter and the other Apostles.
2. “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). This is from the parable cited above and we note here there is a inclusiveness and a very different context from that above. Here we KNOW the story is of the laborers coming to work at varying times of the day and being all paid the same wage and we should remember that they are given “their hire, beginning from the last unto the first” (Matthew 20:8). In this we look to our interpretation from the previous essay, part of which is cited above.
3. “And he sat down , and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all“. Here we have this same idea of first and last in the form of an instruction to His disciples which the Master gives after His disciples had be disputing “who should be the greatest” (Mark 9:34-35). Here we should see the idea of choice given to them all so that they should understand that the greatest or first is the one who is most accomplished at being the last which the Master interprets for us as “ servant of all“.
4. There is a sort of companion saying to the above from Matthew’s Gospel that tells us: “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Matthew 20:26-28). Here the context is the similar to the above although it unfolds a bit differently and the bold part here is of the same nature as the saying above; the word chief is the same Greek word protos that is translated elsewhere as first. Here the Master equates the word last with minister and servant.
5. “And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last” (Luke 13:30). The context here is a bit different from all of the rest and is unique to Luke’s Gospel. It involves a similar idea to that of the Parable of the Workers in the Vinyard but is set differently; the whole of the exchange goes thus: “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved ? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying , Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold , there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last” (Luke 13:23-30). In this we can see the idea of the many who believe that they are right with God but who are only doing those outward things; they know the Master and hear his teachings but they do not do them and therefore there will be others who did not have the ‘apparent’ right to the Master and His Kingdom but who have kept His words and these last shall be first. This is easy to see as regards the Jews and the Gentile world in His day yet it is likely as true today and in the same vein as our interpretation from that former essay that we cite above.

There are other instances that are covered by what we have above which occur across the gospels but none that have a different context to those we have above. Our concern today is in the one at the head of our essay as it is of a different nature when compared to  those that put an actual timestamp if you will upon the nature of the saying. The first laborers as in item 2 and those who call the Master Lord, Lord but do not the things that He says as in item 5; these are important lessons for the church of today if they could find a way to see themselves in the words and the intent of the Master. There are many that Truly believe that they are keeping His words and that they are teaching them as well but their doing and their teaching is more about their doctrines than about the reality of His words. This is a difficult thing to say but at the same time it is a reality; any part of His purported church that does not express and teach the Unity of ALL men and the inclusiveness of ALL as well, any who deny the Fatherhood of God as it relates to EVERYMAN, any who refuse to see the depth of the Love of God and the Love of Christ as it pulsates through His ENTIRE CREATION with no respect to persons nor countries nor culture, and any who do not teach that ALL should actively express this Love, are among those who call Lord, Lord to an empty reply and among those who may have entered the vineyard first but will find themselves, in the last analysis, on the outside looking in. 

Our idea today is in the thoughts that come from the lead saying and its companion in item 1 and from their combination with the Master’s thoughts in items 3 and 4. Here, as we said, is the use of choice; this is seen in the wording that “many that are first ” saying that there are some that will not and we must conclude that there is no randomness in this. Combining this with the Master’s teaching to His disciples in items 3 and 4 adds substance to our premise; the wording indicating choice here is found in “If any man desire to be first” and in “whosoever will be chief among you“. Can we see these ideas? that by choice those who are among the leaders, the greatest, the chiefest, the first must humble themselves and care naught about this position; they must become the servants and the ministers and the last to acknowledge completion. Their greatness is found in their desire to serve ALL and not in their desire to accomplish discipleship nor to attain the Kingdom; their motives are Pure and their action is Love. If one could imagine a line that is formed at the gate to the Kingdom and see the Souls that are in this line, one would see that they are ALL disciples by their very nature as known by the fact that they are on this line. Imagine then that there are those who get off of this line and go to the back of it in an effort to help their fellow man to get to that same place that they are; these are the “many that are first” that willingly become last. 

The Master is telling these disciples that they have their reward and is telling them also that some of them, as disciples, will do what we imagine above, they will forsake yet more in order to help their fellowman. Away from the doctrines of the churches this reality is likely the reality of the Christ and all of the Apostles; as we have said before, there was no randomness in the birth of the Master along with the coming forth of His apostles. There is a destiny here for all of them and a choice on the part of the disciples as Souls in the Kingdom of God to come forth into incarnation to help the Master and in doing so to aid the whole of the human family. In our understanding that attaining the Kingdom is the attaining of freedom from this cycle of birth and death we should be able to see this great sacrifice by the apostles and of all disciples who come back into incarnation on Earth to help in the Great Plan of God as it effects man. The Master also can be seen in this as it was His choice to come and His choice to remain with us which we KNOW is True because He told us that it was so saying that “I am with you alway, even unto the end…” (Matthew 28:20).

Who then are we? Aspirants to discipleship we are and it is here that choices must be made. Do we continue on cognizant of our own salvation and our own inclusion into the ranks of discipleship and our attainment of the Kingdom? Or do we continue on despite our own ranking and salvation with only the thought of helping our brothers upon the Path? Without KNOWING, one must believe that each of these is RIGHT as in both we are keeping His words and following Him which includes the forsaking of the things of the world but does not necessarily concern itself with ones motivations and thought process as the Soul that has overcome the world.

We close today with a hint in the words of the Master that can help us to understand this seemingly additional sacrifice that we see in His words; He tells us in this combination of plain speech and parable that: “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:5-10). Ponder on this.

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.

Values to Live By

A Love of Truth—essential
for a just, inclusive and progressive society;

A Sense of Justice—recognition
of the rights and needs, of all.

Spirit of Cooperation—based
on active goodwill and the principle of right human
relationships;

A Sense of Personal Responsibility—for
group, community and national affairs;

Serving the Common Good— through
the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all
is good for each one.

The world of the future depends on what each one of us chooses to do today.

We leave this Quote of the Day again for today with the hope that we can discuss these important points in the next post. We should remember here the premise that we presented near the beginning of our posting of this Quote of the Day: It is interesting to note that the ideas of the Quote of the Day embody much of the Master’s teachings and can set the stage for the beginning of each man’s revelation and realization of the Light of the Soul; that is, that by the intentional practice of these ‘rules’ of conduct one can put himself in the position of a follower of the Master and an keeper of His word and this regardless if he has ever heard of the Christ or wants to be affiliated with any ideas Christian. By keeping these sound principals of Life in mind and practicing them a man can lift himself up above and beyond the world of men and into the world of the Good, the Beautiful and the True as it exists for those in whom the Christ Within, the God Within, is awakened. Ponder on this.

In accord with the ideas that we close with above we bring again to your attention the ideas by which a man should Live. This Quote of the Day is the realty of how we should focus our lives and in so doing, all the other things alluded to above will take care of themselves and this is a great part of the selfless attitude of the disciple and his ability to forsake ALL.