Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCXXXVII
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:18-23).
We completed our look at the words above in the last post. We should try to see in this selection the results in human terms and from a spiritual perspective of those words that the Apostle Paul gives us in a later chapter where he tells us about the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, to which we are as a race subjected by this Awesome Plan of God. It is likely that but few of the men who believe themselves spiritual will agree with our conclusions and for us we see this as greater evidence of the role of this illusion and this glamour in the world yet today. The apostle gives us these words in Chapter Eight, words that we have used continually since our revelation of their meaning and their Truth as it has effected the slow spiritual progress of humanity and continues as the major factor in the attitude of man yet today. The apostle tells us:
“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 firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:20-23).
We should see as well that there are remedies offered by the apostle who gives us the cause and the effect of the vanity, the glamour and the illusion that obnubilate man’s vision of the realities of Life as they are hidden in the mists and the clouds of our emotional and mental view of the world and of the self. This view is the view of the personality that has hijacked the consciousness which IS of the Soul and has kept its attention on the things of the world leaving him with only the promptings of the Soul as his tool for recovery, promptings that are for the many ignored, or shelved in favor of the pleasures and the comforts of Life in form. And to compound this is doctrines which serve to delude a man into believing that he need not attend to the full force of the words of the Master and His apostles but only to the diluted and self serving interpretations offered which ARE a seemingly hidden part of that same illusion and glamour. And this is the most difficult to overcome for as a man comes to believe that he is ‘saved’, he has no longer the need to seek, and as he comes to believe that he is righteous, he has no longer a need for the ongoing promptings of the Soul to the reality of the Good, the Beautiful and the True. In our understanding the Soul does not give in nor give up but continues his prompting, continues to try to gain the attention, the focus, of the consciousness that is following in the selfish and carnal ways of the personality in the world. It IS the personality that must be changed in its perspective, away from the only way that it KNOWS and into the better way of a spiritually focused Life. And it IS when the man in form as the conscious personality realizes that this IS happening, that the Soul IS relentlessly trying to gain the focus of the man in form, that True progress can be made as it IS here that that necessary sense of duality begins and it is this sense of duality that leads a man seek and then to strive toward the strait gate.
And the New Testament IS filled with the words of the Master and His apostles that can help to bring a man out of the darkness and into the Light and this IS that same darkness that we have been reading about in Paul’s words above as he tells us of the plight of ALL men saying that they: “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” and the apostle’s reference here IS to those who “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God“. We have been trying to present this in our reality that these men are among those who choose the easy and the convenient dilutions and changes to His words over the reality of True spiritual progression which IS to “deny himself, and take up his cross daily” (Luke 9:23) as the Master tells us on discipleship or, according to the apostle, will “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). While many believe that the personality IS the True man, we see the personality as that carnal aspect of Life in the world that MUST be changed; it is here in the personality that we must apply Paul’s words that tell us “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 132:2). We should understand here that by the time we are old enough in any particular incarnation to have any understanding of our place, that we are already conformed and that as the days progress without change, without True Repentance, we become more cemented in our conformance to the ways of the world. In this is the same message that the Master gives us in telling us of the difficulty of achieving, of finding the strait gate. But we are not left to flounder aimlessly as we have the Master, His teachings and the teachings of His apostles to aid us in finding the Truth and the Path; it is however up to the individual to seek and to strive based upon the promptings of his own Soul as presented by conscience to those who will listen to this still small voice of reason and of Truth.
So much of our problem as a race is that we continually interpret the scriptures of the world into human terms and this from the perspective of what IS convenient and easy and which does not detract from the perceived pleasures and comforts of Life in form and here is a clue to that reality that we see daily, that when Life in the world becomes for any reason unbearable, one will look to God and to spiritual understanding but seldom do we look to the reality over the comfortable and the easy. One famous writer of the Seventeenth Century, John Milton, who is likely best known for his work ‘Paradise Lost’ has this saying that is among his most famous quotes: ‘Long is the way And hard, that out of Hell leads up to light‘. From the spiritual perspective that one would get in reading this work cited here, we should see here that Milton’s idea of hell is Life in this Earth, in this illusion and glamour, and in his insight Milton captures the essence of the Master’s thoughts on our difficulty in finding the Way. It is difficult to say the least and it is ever so easy to get more lost by believing that the diluted and the easy are available ways to His Presence. And this IS our point here, that throughout the writings of the apostles, whether their own or their reporting of the words of the Master, we can find Truth and much of it in plain everyday language for which there is really no good reason not to rightly understand save the influence of the self that IS enmeshed in the illusion and the glamour, the vanity, of Life in form.
These ideas that we have here are not for everyone and this we have ofttimes said. We have also said that there is a place in the world for these doctrines that have the comfort and the pleasures and the ease of living in the world at their heart for there are many millions of people to whom these things are important and for whom there would be nothing to believe in without them. This being said however should highlight some reason for whosoever is reading these words, the reason that they are seeking and striving for, and for these our words are intended only to awaken to the realities and the possibilities of the Truth of man’s divine nature and his objective of bringing this into the world as his expression to the world of men. Our objective is that he join the growing ranks of men and women of GoodWill who can live in the Love and the Power of the Soul as taught by the Truth of the Master’s words and clarified and amplified by the rightly understood words of the apostles. The Master tells us this same thing, albeit in a different context, but one that we can shift to most any spiritual pursuit. Speaking of the effect of marriage after the Master teaches them on marriage, divorce and adultery, the disciples ask: “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry” to which Jesus answers them saying: “All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” Matthew 19:10-12). Two things here; first we should not misunderstand the use of the word rendered as eunuch but should try to see the Master’s words as they are rendered here in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) which translates this as: “For there are different reasons why men do not marry — some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so“. Strong’s tells us of this Greek word eunouchizo that is means: to emasculate, make (oneself) a eunuch; to be celibate, renounce marriage 3 and we can see in the CJB rendering most all of these ideas.
The point here as regards our pronouncement that what we are saying is not for everyone is encapsulated in these words by the Master where He is saying to the disciples that not ALL men are ready to do this thing of not marrying and which we should see as a reality that extends far beyond marriage and into the area of nearly every spiritual pursuit. Not ALL are ready and we can put our pursuit of Truth away from doctrine in this same Light and use the Master’s words “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it“. So then our understanding here should be that for us, for those who are “able to receive it“, let us do so and in saying this we are saying as well that should we realize this readiness and fail to heed the call of the Soul, we will waste what opportunity we may have and will do so not KNOWING when such opportunity will present itself again. We should remember here that even for those who are not ready for these type of teachings that are away from the established doctrines there is the same prompting by the Soul, the Christ Within, to awaken the consciousness in form to the reality of his presence and to cause the man in form to more stridently seek the Truth of the Master’s words and perhaps set him upon a path that will lead him to our Path or, in a less personal way, a Path of Truth and Love where the expression of the man in the world becomes the expression of the Soul. We should also be aware that the words of the Master and His apostles in regard even to those who are not ready need also be considered and there is much in their words that has a purpose of caution that should be heeded by all and probably nothing more forceful than the Masters and His apostles words that we here list:
- “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:46).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
In the first of the points above from the Master we have only His question which can be seen in terms of caution and of instruction; of caution because He IS specific to the idea of holding to Him, as millions do today, while at the same time not heeding His words, not doing those things He Says and in this question is the hidden instruction of the futility of such action. The second point is much more revealing and along the same lines as the first except that in place of the question is His statement of the futility of holding to Him as doing such DOES NOT make one accounted worthy of the Kingdom; the Master continues with the reality of how to attain the Kingdom which is clearly to do the Will of the Father for which there can be no misunderstanding; His Will is the commandments of the Old Testament and not the Ten Commandments only but ALL as they would apply to Life of man through the centuries. By this we should see that commandments such as “Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD“ (Leviticus 19:30) and this one that precedes it saying: “Thou shalt not avenge , nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18) CAN NOT be seen in the same light. Neither can “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) be seen to hold the same weight as the citations of the law as regards sacrifice and offerings or as regards what foods one may eat. Some of these that pertain to the interaction of men with each other and their God are to be continued and the two that we chosen here are those same two that the master elevated to be above the Ten Commandments; to be the Great Commandments. In this our point is that laws can and do become obsolete as the cultures themselves change but the laws regarding our interaction do not although they can be enhanced by our growing understanding, And to His Will through His Commandments we must add the words of the Master as we KNOW that what we hear as instruction from Jesus is in His own words from the Father as He tells us saying: “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24).
In the last point above from the Apostle James we have one of the greater teachings of the apostles. Here James anticipates what will happen much as the Lord reacts to those who hold to Him in His day while He anticipates the future in His words. James however is more blunt and tells us clearly of the self deception that IS in hearing, and listening and holding to the words of the Master yet not doing as He says. In our ideas here we can see that not all teaching is for ALL as there are some who ARE NOT ready; but we must add here that if one believes that he is ready for the Truth, that he must do more than merely hold to the ideas of God and the Lord….he must keep His words which is the way par excellence to advance to the reality of the Love and the Power of the Soul in one’s Earthly Life.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
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 are again at a time of year that includes the three Spiritual Festivals which are yet largely unrecognized by the Christian churches except for the one that recently past called Easter. We know about these festivals through the teaching and the efforts of the Master’s of the Wisdom who we should see as advanced disciples of the Christ, a group which may yet include those Souls that appeared with the Master as His Apostles, disciples and others who aided and assisted in His Great Mission such as the Baptist and His natural mother Mary. Each of these festivals is celebrated at a Full Moon and the cycle begins with Easter which is celebrated on the Sunday following the first Full Moon of Spring. At the Full Moon of May, which occurs on the 5th day of the month, is the Wesak Festival which is the Festival of the Buddha and at the Full Moon of June, which will occur on the 4th of June, is the Christ Festival also known today as World Invocation Day. As we progress toward the Wesak Festival we will post Quote’s of the Day that are, in our view, conducive to the view of the Buddha and the Christ as regards the spreading of Love and GoodWill throughout the world; we begin with the Affirmation of the Disciple.
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.
We repeat again what we had previously said of this Mantram:
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).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 3 Strongest Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
