ON LOVE; PART DL
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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 moved from the Master’s words on treasure which offer is an understanding of focus as one can attend to the treasures of the world or to the treasures in heaven. We must understand that these ARE NOT the same thing, that the ideas of the Master do not include ideas wealth and possession as those treasures in heaven regardless of what we may do with what we have here in the Earth. The reality IS that these heavenly treasures are the immediate Peace and Love and the presence of God in one’s Life here and now; they are the freedom from the ways and the temptations of the world and from the sometimes overwhelming dissatisfaction and disillusionment with one’s temporal success and existence in the world. Yes the man whose focus is on the things of God IS still in the world but he IS NO longer of the world. It IS here that a man realizes those words of the Master in His prayer to the Father saying: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:16). It IS here in His words on treasure that a man should come to realize that it IS what is in one’s heart, what governs one’s consciousness, that IS his expression to the world and this He tells us in the simplicity of “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“. We must ever understand the parabolic value to His words; here in the words treasure and heart and also in the ideas Truly projected in His saying that:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45).
This IS the way the Luke offers us the Master’s words which he includes as a part of his version of the Sermon on the Mount. When these words are said by Jesus does not matter as we seek here to take our conclusion that the Master’s use of this idea of speaking IS NOT limited to one’s speech but to the totality of a man’s expression to the world. Here we can relate the good treasure to those “treasures in heaven” and the evil treasures as those “treasures upon earth“; one of these IS a man’s expression to the world and while the shift to “treasures in heaven” does come by degree, it IS at the end point that a man IS complete.
From this we moved to the Master’s words on the Light and His parabolic use of the idea of the eye, that it IS the eye that perceives the world and it IS the eye that also deflects this perception in favor of the promptings of the Soul. This IS NOT how we framed this in the last essay where we saw the eye as the perception but the reality here is the same. In this however we can perhaps see another way of understanding the use of the eye in this saying which we repeat here in combination with the previous so that we can get a better glimpse of how these work together:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:19-23).
In the words about the Light and the eye we should see that single eye as the man’s focus upon the “treasures in heaven“; that the things that ARE important and that are the focus of the man’s Life are the things of God and this IS or IS becoming His expression to the world as this becomes the “abundance of the heart“. It IS this “good treasure of his heart” that brings forth the Light of the Soul as one’s expression. Conversely when a man’s focus IS on the “treasures upon earth“, when his thoughts, attitudes and actions are concerned with the self and the self in the world, this then IS his expression and from a spiritual perspective this IS darkness. It is important here to rightly understand the idea of evil as one’s focus upon the things of the world and this reality IS painted clearly for us by the apostles who tell us:
- “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
- “And 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 12:2).
- “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
Can we see the point here? Doctrine generally does not as we can see in this commentary from John Gill on the quote from James: know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? that an immoderate love for the good things of the world, and a prevailing desire after the evil things of it, and a delight in the company and conversation of the men of the world, and a conformity to, and compliance with, the sinful manners and customs of the world 8. This of course IS NOT what the apostle says, this is the dilution of doctrine that seeks to protect the ways of the man in the world. While it may not be the intent of doctrine to dilute these words, this IS the message that comes across to the man in the world…that to live in the world one can and should partake of what some call blessings, worldly goods and favors. Most ALL men are instructed in both the religious and the secular worlds to strive for the more and the better in the world and to even pray for such things as one would want of the world. This however IS not the idea presented by the Master nor by the apostles and here we should see that this idea of evil, of focus upon the things of the world, IS NOT in and of itself a bad thing; from the perspective of the man in the world this IS just the way of Life. The idea of evil IS bad when is affects one’s brother, when it does harm to another; other than this evil IS merely misplaced focus from a spiritual perspective and this evil IS what prevents a man from being accounted worthy of the Kingdom. And this IS the point here in ALL these sayings; if a man is seeking the Kingdom and discipleship, then he MUST change his focus to the things of God, the “treasures in heaven“, and his eye, what he looks at and for in Life, must become singularly focused on the Good, the Beautiful and the True.
These ARE difficult things to do as in these instructions IS the basis of forsaking and it IS this thought that the Master carries through in His next sayings. As we proceed we should keep in mind the Truths that are in the words of the apostles above regarding the world, how it and the things of Life in the world are to be eschewed by the man who is seeking the Kingdom; there IS NO halfway to accomplish this; there IS ONLY True Repentance which IS that decision to change the focus of ones Life from the evil to the good, from the things of the world to the things of God. The Master’s next words are:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).
For us these few words speak volumes but in this parabolic idea of serving the doctrinal world seems to be confounded; most do not understand the simplicity of the Master’s idea of the treasures of one’s heart nor the reality of His words that “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness“. And many DO NOT understand the Truth of sin and of evil as this is portrayed in the New Testament nor the true nature of treasure and here of mammon, that these ARE NOT wealth and possessions only. There is no criteria attached to any of these ideas by the Master that would allow for an interpretation that includes or excludes certain things that are objectionable to man, there IS only the reality of the words; An example can be seen in this idea of mammon; this word is generally understood as physical treasure and riches and, regarding this word as riches, the lexicon offers that mammon IS: riches (where it is personified and opposed to God)2. There IS no such criteria offered by the Master in this simple choice which can be seen as His presentation of the final idea as regards the preceding sayings on treasure and the single eye. Here IS the idea of God or mammon which are representative of the “treasures in heaven” versus the “treasures upon earth” and the choice between the single eye seeing the things of God against the evil eye seeing the things of the world.
In the reality that these words, mammon and treasure, DO NOT mean only the physical ideas of treasure, riches and possessions is a great key to our understanding of the Master’s parabolic message. However, if these were to do only with the physical treasure, men have still found clever ways of divining the idea that one can have these and still attain the Kingdom; and this in the face of so many of the words of the Master and His apostles against being rich. But this IS NOT the extent of His meaning; the reality IS that these ideas are parabolically written and ALL have reference to ALL that a man will focus upon, the things of the world or the things of God; a man’s treasure can be from either side as can those things that he looks towards and here we see that in both of these ideas of focus there IS that element of serving. In this idea of serving God we should remember the Master’s words saying: “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26); this IS the reality of serving God and, if one IS Truly following the Master, what is there of mammon that would attract him?
Again we should say here that these ideas ARE for the man who would be accounted worthy of the Kingdom; it IS this man that will strive to keep His words and it IS in striving that a man will come to understand the True meaning of these ideas of treasure and mammon and the way that one looks at Life; seeking the Light or content in the darkness. This whole endeavor is a difficult one from the perspective of the man in the world but His words ARE His words and any clever ways that a man can invent that allow him to seek out and ‘enjoy’ the pleasures of the world will prove in the end to be futile efforts as the Way to the Kingdom IS in the Truth of His words. And it IS this self delusion of men that the Master addresses with His words on the difficultly of attaining the Kingdom and on the spiritual futility of NOT keeping His words. On the former idea of the difficulty we read:
- “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).
- “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24).
These words from Matthew’s Gospel are from this Sermon on the Mount which we will discuss in greater detail when we come to them; here today however we include these as our note of understanding that the Master realizes that this journey IS NOT for ALL men, that it IS difficult to find one’s way. However, at the same time the version offered by Luke gives us a special word that we have used much and which we hold as one of the Truly important parts of His teaching: that the man who desires the Kingdom should strive; this idea IS implied in Matthew’s Gospel by way of seeking the strait gate. This is the Way of the aspirant. The Master also tells us about the futile efforts of those who color and change His words to suit the ways of men; Jesus says:
- “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
- “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Both of these are from the Sermon in the respective gospels. In the Master’s words from Matthew we have a story offered in straightforward words that tells us that the Way to the Kingdom IS in DOING the Will of God which we understand as keeping His words. Here the Master ticks off a list of things that men would do, religious things to be sure, in place of actually doing the Will of God. From Luke we have the rhetorical question that the Master asks and in which we see the same ideas as we see from Matthew, that if a man DOES NOT keep His words…..;here we can fill in the ending for ourselves. Now these are real ideas from the Master, the difficulty and the self delusion, but even these words ARE subject to the ways of men who dilute their meaning to serve the convenience of the man in the world.
In today’s words we have been more harsh in our criticisms and more stern in our understanding of what the Master IS Truly saying regarding the choice between the things of God and the things of the world and we should understand here that these ARE His words which, while parabolic, can be easily discerned by the man whose focus IS True. Our understanding of this IS important as the Master builds up His instructions toward our understanding of His next words:
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: ) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:25-32).
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 |
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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
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
