Monthly Archives: February 2014

ON LOVE; PART DXLVIII

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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 continued our discussion on the three instructions by the Master regarding things that should be kept secret or close and personal when they are done by a man in the world. There are likely many reasons for keeping these things close as in giving, praying and fasting, a man is performing a spiritual action and in this there IS NO one who can KNOW another’s motivation or his heart except the man himself. And pictures of this should not be on display as there IS NOT another who can tell the sincerity with which these things are performed and it IS likely that the more public a man will make these things, the more he IS looking to be seen in the light of a big giver or as a devoutly religious man. In both of these a man can gain undo influence over others who DO NOT recognize the ‘showmanship’ nor understand these words from the Master that are specifically against such public display. The Master’s words are clear and because of this the True motivations of men should count little in these things:

• Regarding giving we are told that men should NOT announce what it IS that they do which Jesus says as “that they may have glory of men“; we ARE told to “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:2, 3) when we ARE giving and there IS no question here as to His intent. Can we see here how this secrecy creates a more level playing field so that the small giver who does not boast does not feel small in comparison to the big giver? Here we should recall the Master’s words regarding the poor widow which we read as: “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had” (Luke 21:1-4).
• Regarding praying the Master’s instructions are clear as well as He tells us NOT to be hypocrites and that men should not stand and pray aloud “that they may be seen of men“. Instead we are told that “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret”  so that NO one KNOWS that a man IS praying except that man nor what it IS that he may be praying for. Here again perhaps we can see that this public use of prayer creates an image of the man praying that can easily be hypocritical as others DO NOT KNOW what IS in the prayer’s heart, they only KNOW what comes out of His mouth. Many men can appear to be religious by their activity in prayer but, as we should KNOW, appearances can be deceiving. Additionally the Master here seems to give us His own view on the reality of prayer as it is understood by men who ask things for their comfort and use in the world. Jesus tells us that “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” and in this we can see His saying that we need not ask and therefore we need not pray in the fashion of asking for things for the self. To conclude this part the Master tells us “After this manner therefore pray ye”  (Matthew 6:5, 6, 8, 9) as He offers us the Lord’s Prayer as this has come to be called; a prayer of universal application that IS NOT oriented to the self. While there IS much controversy here as to whether Jesus is saying to use His words or that prayers should be “After this manner” or similarly constructed but this IS NOT so in Luke’s version which says more clearly that the Master tells us “When ye pray, say” (Luke 11:2) as He offers us this prayer. It is interesting that most commentary does not discuss these words from Luke but refer back to their comments on Matthew.
• Regarding fasting there is much the same idea presented by the Master as He tells us that we should “be not, as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:16) who make it apparent to ALL that they are fasting. In those days fasting was a seemingly important part of the Jewish tradition and perhaps, like prayer, it was seen as a sign of being religious or closer to God; here we should see the same reasoning for NOT making one’s fasting apparent as we see in the ideas of praying; that a man may appear to be fasting to show himself as a religious man and a man of some importance. Here again we find the instructions that when one is fasting that he do so privately and that he NOT let on to others what he IS doing; again we have a close and personal matter. Further to this the Master gives us the parabolic ideas of the why He nor His disciples fast as He is asked the question and while His answer is rather obscure, His final parabolic thoughts tell us that this IS a Jewish tradition that need not be carried forward should be understood as such. Perhaps we should see here that fasting IS NOT a happy or joyous time and this from the words that He uses in answer to the question of why He and His disciples DO NOT fast: “the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast” (Matthew 9:15). To be sure, Jesus DOES NOT teach fasting to His disciples.

Regardless of the doctrinal interpretations of these ideas, there IS one thing that is abundantly clear but which IS largely ignored and this IS secrecy; keeping one’s giving and praying and fasting close and personal. These ideas are offered in the form of His words, commandments for man’s conduct in the world, and it IS in keeping ALL His words that a man can find his True spiritual reality, discipleship and the Kingdom of God. As we noted in the last post, only one of these activities is commanded in other sayings and that IS the attitude of giving which we should try to see in the Light of forsaking; we ARE told to give to ALL that ask much the same as we ARE told to Love ALL men. And it IS in these ideas of giving and of Loving that the Master paints for us that picture of the Father’s own equanimity toward ALL men and shows us as well this portrait of His perfection as the model for our own.

Our next sayings are a great KEY to our spiritual understanding as to Truly get this message is to find great freedom from the ways of the world; this IS the Master’s own teaching on the reality of focus. We read:

“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” (Matthew 6:19-21).

This IS of course a parabolic saying in which is hidden great treasure and we use this word here in much the same way as the Master intends us to understand it. Too many believe that this saying IS about the wealth and the possession of the world but in the construction of His thoughts it is easy to see the Truth as there ARE NO such things in heaven. We should add to this the gist of His other 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) which IS a part of Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. In both of these sayings we should understand that nature of the heart, that it IS NOT of course the physical organ but IS rather the consciousness of the man in the world; this is a most subtle thing that CAN NOT contain the wealth and possession of the world but only one’s thoughts and feelings about them. Here we should recognize that the personality, the mind and the emotions, function as the expression of one’s consciousness to the world and in this we find the reality of the Master’s message and the Truth of focus.

This idea of treasure should be seen as those things that are of importance to the man in the world; what he attends to and what he IS focused upon. This IS then in our understanding  every thought, attitude, action and thing that a man takes and uses in his way of living in the world. When these ARE of the Earth they are seen as temporal, corrupt and subject to whatsoever one can imagine from the idea of stealing; these same ARE in Luke’s version the evil treasure, the things of the world. It is from this pool of corrupt and evil thoughts, attitudes, actions and things that a man forms his own unique expression of himself to the world. On the other hand, when the focus of the man IS upon the things of God, then his treasure will be as well and this treasure IS NOT corrupt and CAN NOT be polluted nor damaged by any; this IS the “good treasure of his heart” that a man will express to the world. The simple message here IS that whatsoever is of importance to the man, whatsoever is the focus of his life, is where his consciousness will be addressed and it IS according to this conscious direction that a man’s Life will go; this can be according to the ways of the world or according to the ways of God. Here, while there are degrees of focus in both directions, it IS the objective of the aspirant to move that focus and that treasure steadily toward the goal that it IS totally upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, toward the things of God; this IS the result of his striving.

The overall message here is that the man should move ever further away from attending to the things of the world which includes his thoughts, attitudes and actions and this IS confirmed in the rest of this second third of the Sermon which IS chapter six of Matthew’s Gospel. This IS NOT however how these ideas are viewed by much of the doctrinal church which DOES NOT readily see the reality of His words concerning the totality of his focus upon the things of the world.

• John Gill paints this for us in this way: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth; Meaning either treasures that are of an earthly nature and kind, the more valuable and excellent things of the earth, worldly wealth and riches; or the things and places, in which these are laid up, as bags, chests, or coffers, barns and other treasuries, private or public. Christ here dissuades from covetousness, and worldly mindedness; an anxious care and concern, to hoard up plenty of worldly things for themselves, for time to come, making no use of them at present for the good of others: and this he does, from the nature of the things themselves; the places where they are laid up; the difficulty of keeping them; and their liableness to be corrupted or lost. Where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; Garments, formerly, were a considerable part of the treasures of great men, as well as gold and silver….⁸ Rather than understanding this treasure as what is important to the man, Mr. Gill sees covetousness, and worldly mindedness; an anxious care and concern, to hoard up plenty of worldly things for themselves. Here in doctrine IS that tendency to define the Master’s words according to the ways of the world.
• Going on to the other point of treasure in heaven, Mr Gill tells us: But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven; That is, either be concerned for, and seek after heavenly treasure, the riches of glory, the joys and glories of another world, which infinitely excel everything that is valuable on earth; and which can never be corrupted, or taken away: or rather, lay up your earthly treasures in heaven; that is, put them into the hands of God in heaven; and this is done, by liberally communicating to the poor; by which means men “provide themselves bags which wax not old, and a treasure in heaven that faileth not”, ( Luke 12:33 ) . They shall never want any good thing here, and they “lay up in store for themselves, a good foundation against the time to come”, ( 1 Timothy 6:18 1 Timothy 6:19 ) . This is the way to have worldly treasure secured from moth, rust, and thieves; for to lay it up in heaven with God, to give it to him, to his poor, to make use of it for his glory, is to lay it up in a place….⁸ Here Mr. Gill has the right idea at the beginning but he dismisses it in favor of the view of worldly treasures and how that by liberally communicating to the poor one can protect these while on the Earth.
• The Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible sees this differently as we read: Lay not up for ourselves treasures upon earth–hoard not. where moth–a “clothes-moth.” Eastern treasures, consisting partly in costly dresses stored up ( Job 27:16 ), were liable to be consumed by moths ( Job 13:28 , Isaiah 50:9 , 51:8 ). In James 5:2 there is an evident reference to our Lord’s words here. and rust–any “eating into” or “consuming”; here, probably, “wear and tear.” doth corrupt–cause to disappear. By this reference to moth and rust our Lord would teach how perishable are such earthly treasures. and where thieves break through and steal–Treasures these, how precarious!⁸  Here the authors have a good handle on the physical aspects of the “treasure upon earth” but they ignore the idea of the attention paid and the more psychic Earthly treasures that are locked away as thoughts and attitudes. In the next part regarding heaven they take us to Luke’s rendering of this idea from a similar context as we read: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven–The language in Luke ( Luke 12:33 ) is very bold–“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not,” where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal–Treasures these, imperishable and unassailable! (Compare Colossians 3:2 )⁸. They fail to explain these heavenly treasures but they are adroit in showing the relationships of the gospels where we should see in Luke this same ‘worthlessness’ from a spiritual perspective of the “treasure upon earth“.
• Then, while they focus upon the ideas of the word usage, they do see a reality in the idea that these words from the Master ARE largely ignored; we read: For where your treasure is–that which ye value most. there will your heart be also–“Thy treasure–thy heart” is probably the true reading here: “your,” in Luke 12:34 , from which it seems to have come in here. Obvious though this maxim be, by what multitudes who profess to bow to the teaching of Christ is it practically disregarded! “What a man loves,” says LUTHER, quoted by THOLUCK, “that is his God. For he carries it in his heart, he goes about with it night and day, he sleeps and wakes with it; be it what it may–wealth or pelf, pleasure or renown.” But because “laying up” is not in itself sinful, nay, in some cases enjoined ( 2 Corinthians 12:14 ), and honest industry and sagacious enterprise are usually rewarded with prosperity, many flatter themselves that all is right between them and God, while their closest attention, anxiety, zeal, and time are exhausted upon these earthly pursuits. To put this right, our Lord adds what follows, in which there is profound practical wisdom ⁸. We should see here however that in the end the view IS again to the things of the world; at the same time their idea here is along the lines of our own understanding as they say that: many flatter themselves that all is right between them and God, while their closest attention, anxiety, zeal, and time are exhausted upon these earthly pursuits ⁸.

This last commentary supposes the idea of deception, that people attending to the self and the self’s worldly interests flatter themselves that all is right between them and God. In the honest and unclouded reading of these words this IS likely True, that a man who has some inkling of spiritual vision will understand his own self-deceiving attitude in attending to the things of the world but the greater reality IS that most men are caught in this world of illusion and of glamour and Truly believe that this worldly attitude IS correct. Their correction must of course come from within and can be greatly aided by the teaching of Truth over doctrines that only serve to feed the illusion.

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.

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!

• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com