ON LOVE; PART DXX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
In the last post we continued with our discussion of the mysteries and the secrets of Life, of the Kingdom and of God and we should note that there ARE many, many mysteries that we have not even the imagination for. As men in the world we KNOW but an infinitesimal part of the Truth of the Universe because we are but an infinitesimal part of it and the greater the focus upon the self in the world the greater this lack of vision. It IS as a man touches the whole in his own communion with God that he can see, faintly as first and then ever clearer as his focus shifts onto the Truth of his own existence within that reality that we call God. Our sense of this communion is found in our own communion with our own Souls; that divine part, that True man, who IS ever one with God and, as such, has access to ALL knowledge that is pertinent to his own existence as a Soul attached to Life in this Earth. Our realization, our vision and clarity, as men in the world comes through our ability to touch our own divinity which is in effect to be expressing divinity this to the world. It IS by expression that the Christ Within becomes the growing and dominant factor in the psyche of the man in form; it IS by expression that the Love and the Power will flow and in this one will find the Truth in the Wisdom from above; the revelation of the mysteries of the Kingdom and of God.
And this IS the reality of focus, this IS the Truth of Repentance and Transformation, this IS the way that the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world are dispelled and this IS the way to Truly understand the Master’s teaching on forsaking. It IS in the continued focus and the continued expression of the Truths revealed that the Kingdom Within grows and that the reality of Life becomes clear; and it IS in this clarity that one realizes, moment by moment and day by day, the relative unimportance of the things of the world and as he gains a Truer realization or the Truths of Life. While it IS clear to ALL that nothing of this world can be taken out of it when we do die as men in form, there is ever the refusal to consider this reality and we should ever be careful here for just as the Kingdom Within can grow so can one’s attachment and attraction to the things of the world; and there IS a point that can be reached where one becomes so engrossed in the minutia of Life in form that he can no longer even sense the True way out. There IS always a way out but our point here is that as the years go on and on, the man in the world ceases to see anything but what has so engrossed his attention, his focus, that this becomes his very nature. We must remember here that we ARE NOT speaking only about things but about the totality of one’s thoughts and attitudes and his attraction and attachment to these which come in the form of the persons and places and activities that take up his time. There IS room for the greater realities in every Life and it IS in this thought that the man can prevent himself from becoming so lost in the vanity, the illusion and the glamour that he CAN NOT find his way out and this mostly because he will cease to look for the Way. And it IS perhaps here that religion plays its most useful role as it reminds ALL that there is something else. And even though they CAN NOT explain, those who participate and those who watch have some small glimpse of that that something that will remain a mystery until such time as a man can Truly sense the presence of his own Soul above the clamoring of Life in the world and heed the continuous call.
The necessary Wisdom comes to ALL from within, or as James frames this from above; it IS in this Wisdom that our Truths exist and it IS in this Wisdom that the mysteries of Life are revealed. But this IS NOT the wisdom of the world of men, it IS NOT what is commonly called wisdom; like the ideas of God and god there is the reality of Wisdom and wisdom and the Apostle Paul makes this clear for us saying: “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20). Here the apostle makes use of the more ancient sayings as there IS little in Jesus’ own words about Wisdom except minor references and His reference to the Wisdom of Solomon. Here, if we should look closely, we can find the reality that in those days the idea of Wisdom, True Wisdom from above, took on the form of Love for the judges and the kings whose judgement was according to the Law of God which IS the Law of Love. The wisdom of the man focused in the world IS a wisdom that is centered in himself, in what is good for him and those close to him while the Wisdom of the man who is focused in God is that Wisdom from above in which there IS NO sense of self and this this an important point to try to understand.
There IS a indelible link between Love and Wisdom as these are both qualities of the Son a we can see in our chart below; these are the potency of the Second Aspect of the Trinity that IS God. We should see then that in the nature of man these same potencies are found in relation to the Soul of man and we should see that it IS the Christ Within that possesses the Truth of Love and Wisdom and that it IS these potencies that flow through to the consciousness of the man in the world when his focus IS upon the things of God. In the Book of Proverbs there is much written about Wisdom and this by the avatar of Wisdom in that day, King Solomon, of whom the Master says: “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold , a greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31). In the history of the Jews in that day we find that Solomon was a troubled king and one that was torn between his relationship with God and his desires and lusts in the world; at the beginning of his story we find this illustrated for us in this sequence as the King speaks to the Lord which we should ever understand IS through his own God Within: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days” (1 Kings 3:7-14).
Reading the rest of the account of the king’s Life we KNOW that he DID NOT walk in the ways of God and DID NOT keep His commandments but he rather succumbed to the power and the riches of his kingship and this despite the enormous wealth of Wisdom that he possessed. There IS of course a great lesson here in the account of the Life of Solomon and it is a lesson that is hidden in the symbology of his Life as we read above as well as in the consequences of his living this dual Life that leaned too much toward his own self in the world. His legacy was the splitting up of the Kingdom into two nations, Israel and Judah, and the eventual captivity of both. Here we should see our own lesson that having Wisdom, having one’s focus upon the things of God and access to the Love and the Power of the Christ Within, is of NO use unless it is continually expressed and used as it IS intended….in service to the Plan. Solomon’s Life can be a great example of the reality of Life in the world, the power of temptation and the reality that the Master’s cautions that we recently discussed which are concerned with more than just outside forces but also the very personality of the man himself. We should understand this reality in His words that “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” (Matthew 24:24); just as the Soul IS the True spiritual master for each of us, so the personality IS the ‘false Christ‘ of greatest effect; it IS the personality that IS deluded by the illusion and the glamour, it IS the personality that uses the thoughts and the ideas of those outside forces and goes astray. In the end it IS the personality that can be seen as that one “which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28)”. However, when the personality IS Transformed in the Light of the Soul it becomes the vehicle for the expression of the Love and the Power to the world of men and it is the process of this Transformation with which we struggle. This IS the same as Solomon’s struggle except perhaps smaller in scale as the king succumbed to the lower forces, to the power of the “works of the flesh“. With Solomon, and perhaps with us as well, ALL is not lost in his demise as we have more than the historical account; we have the Book of Proverbs and other books of Wisdom that are the legacy of his time spent focused upon the Truth of God and among these we find this segment about Wisdom itself which we have posted before in different context as the Quote of the Day:
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee” (Proverbs 2:2-11).
These words on Wisdom should be seen in their spiritual context and not in regard to the wisdom of the world which Paul speaks against above and which the Master speaks on in the Parable of the Unjust Steward. Here in this parable the Master commends the steward for his worldly wisdom, his knowing how to manipulate persons and events to the benefit of the himself in the world. And the Master admits, if we can say it this way, that those whose focus is on the world are wiser in that respect that those who are focus on God as He says: “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:8). We have discussed this parable in previous posts in different contexts; in In the Words of Jesus part 632 we address this as regards those who can manipulate the words of the Master to their own benefit; we discuss it in relation to that choice between God and mammon in part 602 and from the perspective of the story itself, as the man who did not want to be abandoned without a place in part 910. Today we see this in yet another light which IS in regard to the ways of the world and how that these “children of this world” are so much better at the things of the world than are the “children of light” who pay little or no attention to such things. This latter view of this is similar to our understanding from way back in our posts where in part 44 we spoke in much this same way saying these “children of this world” are schooled in the ways of the world, nurtured in them, and the “children of light” have only what comes to them spiritually from within; they have no such guidance. While ALL of these ideas can be seen as somewhat True, it IS today’s vision of this that offers us the best understanding and one that we did not see so clearly in the past; here we learn the reality of forsaking and perhaps it is because this IS our topic that we are seeing this as such.
The “children of light” are bound in this cycle of forsaking the thoughts, attitudes, actions and things of the world; in this they are seeing less and less of what the world IS offering to their senses while the “children of this world” are ever striving after the more and the better and thereby they ARE better at this, they are wiser in the ways of the world. This is of course by degree on both sides but the reality IS that those whose focus IS on the world and the things of the world do excel at their pursuits and the degree of success is largely due to their degree of focus upon them and this IS much the same as the success of the aspirant and the disciple which is dependent upon their degree of focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True. Here we can see that the wisdom of the world will come to the man who IS so focused just as the Wisdom from above comes in our focus on the things of God and flows through our personalities as part of our expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul.
Again we did not get back to our comments on Paul’s words to the Romans that offer us that glimpse of the reality of Life and the end result as well as a hint of the reality of why; we will try to do so in the next post. We should note that these words from Paul are very revealing and have become a part of the fabric of this blog and in this is likely a reason for our delay as day by day we are not yet prepared to complete this work in our words. However, it IS our objective to finish this and to conclude our thoughts on forsaking as the way of the disciple. Here again is difficulty and this whole idea of giving up ALL IS likely the cross that many of us carry and with which we must deal. We close today with these other words on Wisdom from King Solomon’s writings and we should look at these for what they say as well as their relationship to the words of the Apostle John on the Christ in the Prologue to his Gospel; we read:
“I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule , and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways” (Proverbs 8:12-32).
We should remember that like ALL scriptural writings, the personality of the writer shows through in these words; Solomon was so rewarded with Wisdom and substance by the Will of God and while we do not understand this, we should note the king’s downfall and that there IS ever the Truth that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:24).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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 repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
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.
