ON LOVE; PART DXLIII
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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 essay we discussed the spiritual realities found in the Master’s use of the Greek word teleios which IS rendered as perfect. From our perspective this IS a very important word which is played down by many doctrinal approaches to God and Christ and likely in the fear that this IS an exceedingly hard quality for a man to attain. When we look at this idea in regard to the Truth of the Kingdom of God however we should be able to see the overall reality of Jesus words as He tells us that the Way to the Kingdom IS in keeping His words which He relates to us as: “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). There IS a straightforward logic here that says that the Way to the Kingdom IS in keeping His words but this IS missed by the many who favor the faith and grace approach to God for its ease of commitment. We read from the Master’s words that we should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) and in the combination of these sayings we should be able to glean the fact that this perfection IS the “will of my Father which is in heaven“; most any other view is shortsighted and wrong. There IS a price, a cost to discipleship and to the Kingdom and this IS clearly illustrated in His words. Perhaps it IS the meaning that men put upon these words, discipleship and the Kingdom of God, that has led to this idea that there is little that a man must do to attain them and this despite the Master’s warning of the difficulty as He tells us:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
And we should not find it odd that this saying follows upon the Master’s enunciation of the Golden Rule as this Truly IS a KEY to that strait gate. Here then IS the reality of perfection, that this is the state of the man who IS keeping His words which idea IS inseparable from the “will of my Father which is in heaven” and which sets a man at that place that the Master instructs him to be and which IS the reality of the fullness of the expression of the Christ Within through the his form in this world. We read this as: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40). In this we should be able to see that there ARE degrees of discipleship and that these degrees lead to that sense of perfection, and that it IS toward this that we strive. We should understand that even His apostles were the same, a work in process, and we see this most clearly in the Life of the apostle Peter which is carefully painted for us in the gospels and the Book of Acts. We should see this also in the Master’s own ‘prayer’ for their realization of this Great Truth; Jesus says: “the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:22-23).
There IS a reality to this word which should set for us a vision of divinity, a vision of our own completeness, and an understanding that ALL is worth the price that we presume that we must pay but which IS diminished in our vision as we journey along the Path to that strait gate which opens into the Kingdom of God. While we will discuss the strait gate when we come to it in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we should say here that the entire idea of this gate IS NOT one of a doorway of any kind as our journey IS one of consciousness. we should try to see here that the reality of this gate is a more or less continuous experience and that in this metaphor we should try to see that as we journey we ARE constantly entering in; we enter at our Repentance, and we enter at every major decision during that trying time of Transformation, that time of the duality the aspirant and, likely to some degree of the disciple as well, must endure. The way back into the world of the self and the attractions and attachment to it IS ever there and this IS likely True until that final point of perfection were a man Life is in total accordance with the “will of my Father which is in heaven“. This IS our goal and this IS our destiny and while we may not achieve the totality of this in this Lifetime, we can come ever closer to this by ever striving to keep His words. And we can get a glimpse of the way forward in that affirmation that we have been seeing daily for many days now:
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.
Here, in the last verse, we see this reality of the Will of God and the acknowledgement of the aspirant and the disciple that it IS to His Plan, His Will, that each man gives his own and his ALL. And, as disciples and aspirants, we DO KNOW in our heart of hearts what it IS that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light in our own lives and in this affirmation IS our willingness and our desire to work on this as we tread the Way of Love.
We return now to the Sermon on the Mount which we have never really left as most of the sayings from the Master that we have been discussing come from that Sermon and the version of it presented by the Apostle Luke. We enter now the second third of His words according to Matthew and here we should remember that these separations of chapters and verses are the work of men and that this IS really one constant thought and set of instructions for the man who would find his spiritual reality. The next verses that we will discuss are:
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:1-4).
Whether it be for the tax deduction or just to be known as a giver, this idea is not rightly understood by many today. And we should note here that anonymity is rather difficult these days as even the one receiving ofttimes makes what is given and by whom known. This however should not detract from the intent of the Master’s words and here, if one IS giving for the tax deduction or some other personal reason other than the virtue of giving, then the idea that the Master portrays can apply to them…that “They have their reward“. This can be seen as the self-satisfaction of giving, any notoriety that one may achieve and any financial benefit that one may get from the transaction. This IS NOT however how this IS intended to be in the Master’s words and we should get the message of the closeness of and the personal nature of His vision clearly in His words that one should “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth“.
Again, these ideas ARE ignored and this even by the organized church that tallies one’s giving and reports on it with some supplying donation envelopes through which such tracking can be accomplished more readily and which ofttimes even include a printed suggested amount. This IS not the way of secrecy and in this the giver’s only option for anonymity is to give in cash. And the whole notion of tithing here has become a misplaced function of religion and one that IS NOT spoken of by the Master. Perhaps it IS right to give tithes which is said to mean a tenth but there IS NO commandment to do so; and, there are some that make it so that one’s ‘holiness’ if you will can be measured in such giving. Many of today’s churches can be seen as business ventures and there are many a rich pastor who has been ‘fortunate’ to have a large or wealthy flock of perhaps even both but this IS NOT how things were intended to be. It it likely that if ALL churchgoers gave that tenth that there would be many pastors and church leaders who would be millionaires. We should see that there IS more to these words from the Master that the simple idea that the boastful giver can have the glory of men; the greater Truth is in the idea of secrecy, that boasting or not, whatsoever one gives in any way is a private matter. Perhaps this is because it IS the nature of the man who, even in the most subtle of ways, wants to be seen as the giver.
And what would be the reward? Many believe and even teach that it IS in giving that one receives and there are several of the Master’s sayings that are twisted to this end. Perhaps the most used is the Master’s words saying: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). This saying is much used by the doctrinal church to show the result of giving but this should never be the reason to give…that one will get back; and there are other sayings that are similarly used and misused such as “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:23), which IS thought to be in reference to the things of the world. Under these misunderstood references to receiving many believe that the the Lord will reward men with things of the Earth, perhaps as He did for Solomon, but this IS NOT the reality of the Master’s words here nor anywhere in the gospels. As disciples and aspirants we ARE instructed to forsake and NOT to desire anything of the world and the many who believe the opposite are but deluded by these same desires to have.
In our view these words from Luke’s Gospel are either parabolic or they are mistranslated as for the Master to offer Earthly rewards in this instance IS against the whole tenor of His message throughout the gospels. The Truth of the words from Mark are the easier to see in the proper Light as the context in which these are offered IS in regard to that one’s believing without a doubt and moving the mountain, the Power of the Soul expressed through Life in form; again, the man who IS Truly seeking the Kingdom IS NOT desiring the things of the Earth. There are several ways to look at these ideas from Luke’s Gospel and we have discussed some of these in previous posts; here perhaps the easiest way to look at this IS through the lens of that previously discussed saying: “Give to every man that asketh of thee” (Luke 6:30) or, as we read in Matthew: “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:42). In these we get the message of giving to ALL and lending to ALL, which in the end ARE the same, and, combining this with His other words that tell us that we should not do things for the benefit of receiving again, we can see the falsity of these ideas of material reward. There IS no straightforward clarity that tells us that the doctrinal understanding of these ideas is wrong; there IS ONLY the tenor of His teachings through which we should see the spiritual nature of ALL that He says and the parabolic value of His words that forces each man to rightly discern His meaning.
ALL who give do not receive as this is noted in Luke’s Gospel and if the words of the Master are True then ALL would receive. Perhaps this can be tied to the believing or the faith of the giver but then who IS there that can measure this except one’s own self. From a worldly reward perspective these things ARE at best haphazard and haphazard IS NOT the Way of God. We will see this idea of giving and receiving again in the next part of the Sermon on the Mount where we deal with judgement. Here the greater point IS that in giving, one should be close and keep it personal not even letting “thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” and the intent in this IS to keep that spiritual notion of giving on a spiritual level where it Truly belongs. Our next sayings are similar to these:
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8).
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.
Staying on the theme of Love we repeat again the sayings of the Apostle Paul that puts this Love into perspective.
But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-3,13 (New King James Version)Regardless of our daily theme, the underlying theme of our posts and of this entire blog is Love. In these words from Paul we should be able to see the overriding importance of Love in the Life of each of us. This is a common theme throughout the gospels and the other writings of the apostles and a theme that is not nearly understood. As in the ideas above from Sermon on the Mount and our comments on the affirmation that had been our Quote of the Day, these words from Paul impart a better understanding of the reality of Life, the Life of the True man as the Christ Within, the Soul, through a True understanding of the power and the purpose of Love and we should note here as well that this expression of Love IS the Will of God and this we should see clearly in the Truth that “God IS love” (1 John 4:8).
We repeat here what we said about these verses in a prior post: Today’s Quote of the Day from the Apostle Paul is his testimony to the power of Love. After speaking at length about the gifts of the Spirit that one should desire in order to be of service to the Lord, he says plainly that Love is a more excellent way. Love in the context of these verses is not the sentimental or affectionate kind that we ordinarily think of but rather 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
