Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART XVI
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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I am reminded today of how the doctrines of the churches play out in the lives of those who are taught them, reminded by the frustrations of a mother who recently lost a child and who is blaming God for her plight and for the death or, as we should say, for taking him away from her. These thoughts are likely shared by many who find themselves in similar situations regarding loved ones but none is more tragic than to lose a child. In our studies on the Constitution of Man and the True nature of Life in form we should have the correct view which is that the body that dies is not the man nor the child, it is merely the body that one uses and that the essence of Life and consciousness continues in what we call the afterlife as the True man, the Soul, prepares for yet another round, another incarnation in form upon this Earth. Viewed from this perspective it may still hurt to lose a loved one, their presence is surely missed and in the understanding that mortal life and death are but stages in the True Life of the Soul this can become the limit of grief. Grief with the knowledge that God did not have a hand in this any more than the Soul of the deceased himself except in the matter of accident or violence where we must understand that we are all subject to the waves of events that surround us and of which we have little or no control as men in form.
Perhaps it does not matter to a mother who loses a child or to any who lose close loved ones but I believe that if the Truths of Life and death were better understood, especially away from the doctrines that teach of heaven and hell, that there would eventuate a new type of acceptance of that bridge that we all must cross called death. That the Christian world does not accept the idea of reincarnation has no basis in scripture except perhaps in an obscure passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews which tells us that “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Based upon our understanding of Life and of Life in form we can accept this saying as fact but from a different perspective than that which it is reckoned to be in doctrine. Speaking to man in form, to the consciousness in the body the saying is a reality, this body does only die once and there is no coming back to it. As regards the judgement part we should understand this in our way, that as Souls each of us makes judgement as to what has been accomplished and what has been accrued in spiritual collateral and this idea of judgement is intimately entwined with the karma of each. We have discussed this topic of reincarnation or rebirth in several essays and in much detail in In the Words of Jesus parts 35-36 and while our position may have advanced some since then, the basics of our theories are unchanged.
Returning now to our ongoing topic on discipleship and the Kingdom of God we come now to those things that the Master likens the Kingdom to. In the last post we looked again at the verses below on discipleship and reflected again on how these words of the Master are rather clear and yet at the same time rather ignored by many who claim this High Calling. We went on to discuss again that the Master’s teachings on being accounted worthy of the Kingdom have met a similar fate being replaced by the doctrines of the churches in a dilute manner that does not realize the Master’s words on where this Kingdom can be found and this in His saying that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This caused us to reflect again on the ways of doctrine versus the words of the Master and we listed some of what the Apostle Paul has to say regarding such diversion. What we say as an indictment of the varied doctrines that do not properly portray the words nor the intent of the Master and this is also apparent in our opening ideas on reincarnation and the Truths of Life and death. We ended with the Master’s words on hearing and in these words should be a lesson for ALL men as we are ALL ensconced in the illusion and the glamour of Life on this Earth. It is only in that Wisdom from above that we can be freed and this Wisdom only comes through our ardent focus on the things of God.
So how do we describe the Kingdom of God and what properties can we ascribe to it? The Master tells us much of the Kingdom albeit most ALL in parable as He did say that He was doing and as we have noted in past essays, even in the times when He did explain His parable to His disciples, the did not yet understand. His basic words are in these verses which follow here and we should understand that those to whom He is speaking are disciples and that they necessarily conform to these sayings on discipleship which we post here again. We read regarding His teaching in parables: “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:10-11). And on discipleship:
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).
In the allied saying from Matthew’s Gospel we read:
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).
The Apostle John tells us this of the Masters words on discipleship:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
“Herein is my Father glorified , that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).
Let us here go through some of the Master’s and His apostles words on the Kingdom; some we have discussed in recent posts and we repeat them here in this context of gaining understanding of the nature of His Kingdom.
- “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear” (Luke 19:11). This verse follows upon the exchange between the Master and Zacchaeus which we discussed but a few posts back and is a reflection on the Jews expectation as seen by Luke. By itself this has little meaning for us but let us add to these ideas of expectation this: “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-25). What is was that the Jews and their religious leaders were expecting of the Kingdom is unclear except that whatever it was did not and would not happen and of this the Master tells them why which we interpret as His saying that the Kingdom is not a place and it is not a thing that should come; it is a state of being and that state is within us.
- “Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and where unto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it” (Luke 13:18-19). Can we imagine this from the perspective that we have developed over the course of these essays? As the Kingdom is within and as God is within so we can see in these the sameness that they possess. Let us then take the mustard seed as the Christ Within and let us cast this ‘bit of heaven’ into the garden of Life in form and we will find that here it will grow in greatness until the diligent man reaches discipleship and attains to the Kingdom.
- “And again he said, Where unto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (Luke 13:20-21). Remembering that these are parables we see here that the Kingdom is like leaven which is a substance that has an uncontrollable effect on that which it is put into. Here the leaven is put into meal which we must assume is the flour from which one would make bread and this leaven, by its presence, effects all. So we have the kingdom which is, like the leaven, hidden in each part of the threefold man, the instinctual form, the emotional nature and the mind. Understanding that the word translated as hid can also be seen as mingled or mixed as it is stated in other translations of the scripture and in this, with the idea of hiding replaced by mixing or mingling, we can see a different understanding. The presence of the Christ Within or the Kingdom Within in these parts of the nature of man can, by one’s focus upon it, effect the whole nature of the man. These ideas may seem alien to the doctrinal Christian and while they may not be factual realities, they are, at the least, possible outcomes that make much more sense than the wranglings of doctrine.
- In simple sayings like “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Luke 12:31) we should be able to understand that the Kingdom IS here and now and here we should understand that other saying by the Master that can clarify this; He says “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). There are no time constraints on either of these and we should understand by this and the Master’s other sayings that the Kingdom IS and that when we seek it we WILL find it here and now.
- “And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and risebnight and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come” (Mark 4:26-29). Here we have a difficult idea to discern and there is no direct comparison for the Kingdom; the story is one of the Earth and we must see these ideas as they pertain to the realm of the Soul. Taking the Parable of the Sower as a guide we find that the seed that is cast on the good ground is what matters and not the seed itself. So let us look this way; the Kingdom is as the seed on the good ground, which is the focused man; this seed springs up and grows and the man knows not how. The Master explains that as the Earth brings forth fruit of itself so the man in form focused on the Christ Within will do so as well.
- “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath foun , he hideth, and for joy there of goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” (Matthew 13:44). Here is a testimony as to the value of the Kingdom and perhaps here we have the reality and the understanding of the Master’s idea of forsaking in that when one finds the Kingdom he will willingly let go of ALL that he may have in order to posses the Kingdom to its fullest. Here we should see that we do not forsake ALL to become a disciple we forsake ALL because we are a disciple.
- “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-16). Looking here we cannot readily see the comparison between the Kingdom and the man; if however we let this Kingdom reflect the Christ Within, the Soul, we can make the connection as the Soul IS like the man seeking pearls as he seeks to influence the carnal nature and in so doing we have then the “pearl of great price“. The consciousness in form realizes the value of this pearl and is willing to part with ALL that had been heretofore important in order to continue to posses this Kingdom.
In most all of these the action on the part of the man in form who realizes the Presence of the Kingdom and the Christ Within is rather automatic and the Master is telling us of how this can work out for those who, by their focus, set their attention on attaining the Kingdom and discipleship.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post and we leave our saying on faith and believing for yet another day.
- “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
- “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?…..For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:25, 32).
- “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not…….” (Matthew 24:23-26).
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.
We leave our quote of the day for another day as in it we find some of the realities of what is man as Spirit, Soul and the Life within the form. In this affirmation we find our understanding of our relationship to God and our relationship to man. Our relationship to God is as Part and Parcel of Him; our relationship to man is in service.
I am a point of light within a greater Light. I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine. I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God. And thus I stand I am a way by which men may achieve. I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand. I am a beam of light, shining upon their way. And thus I stand. And standing thus, revolve And tread this way the ways of men, And know the ways of God. And thus I stand.Today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
Looking at Life as we depict it above in relation to this affirmation we can see the idea presented that we are a part of God and that this is true on multiple levels, the levels that we call the Trinity. Relating these first three lines to the chart above can offer some clarity as to the nature of God and of man. For more on the ideas in this Affirmation of the Disciple please refer to the Quote of the Day from In the Words of Jesus parts 179-181.
