ON LOVE; PART DCXL
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “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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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is 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.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12)
In the last essay we discussed the ideas behind the apostle’s words on swearing oaths and their relationship to his preceding words on patience; James’ words are similar to and of the same intent as the Master’s words on the same subject, If we can look at James’ words as we generally look at ALL of the words of Jesus’ apostles, as that they clarify and amplify the Master’s message, we can learn much. Saying this we should reflect upon the Master words on Love, on Love thy neighbor specifically, and note how that James takes Jesus’ words and amplifies them by his calling this the “royal law” and then clarifies them by tying them to the Master’s more subtle treatment of the idea behind having NO “respect to persons“. In the combination of these we have a clearer and a stronger understanding of the Truth of “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39, James 2:8).
If we can look at the both the Master’s and the apostle’s words on swearing oaths in this same way we should be able to see a similar result, a clearer and a stronger idea of the intent of this admonishment to NOT do these things. The Master offers us this as one of several like ideas that compare the common understanding of the doctrinal Jews in that day to His own expanded view which for us IS incorporated in the original commandments but unseen by the religious view. He tells us about the reality that in lusting after a woman there IS the essence of adultery and that in anger, and what anger brings to a man’s psyche, there IS the spiritual equivalent to killing. Similarly He notes that the common understanding of oaths, while it seems to have been right to swear them unto the Lord, are in His reality NOT to be used at ALL. Here, if we look at the original laws we do not see any commandment to DO oaths; we only find that when one IS made, that it must be fulfilled or the penalties be paid. We DO NOT have the time nor the desire to investigate these ideas of oaths in the Old Testament in greater detail and will let our statement here stand and use the Master’s words as our confirmation that this was the way of the Jews, that they understood that ALL oaths, if made, be made to the Lord; we read Jesus words again:
“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:33-37).
The reality here IS clear…that a man should not swear any oaths and not that he should NOT DO so ONLY as these are shown in the examples above. This however IS NOT how this IS seen today and likely NOT as it was seen in those days; here perhaps we can see the need for James’ clarification. By example we read this from John Gill: But I say unto you, swear not at all; Which must not be understood in the strictest sense, as though it was not lawful to take an oath upon any occasion, in an affair of moment, in a solemn serious manner, and in the name of God; which may be safely done: but of rash swearing, about trivial matters, and by the creatures; as appears by what follows….8. What follows IS the Master’s examples and we should note here that there IS NO standard set for Mr. Gills allowance, that those in in a solemn serious manner, and in the name of God…may be safely done, in the words of the Master nor of His apostles; his ideas ARE but doctrine and tradition. We should clearly see the reality of the Master’s words saying “But I say unto you, Swear not at all” in the broadest sense and NOT see the examples ONLY as His intent. The words of James’ Epistle are similar as he says: “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:7-12).
It should be clear from the nature of the apostle’s words that the intent of his writing IS the same as was the Master’s and while we get NO additional information from the words themselves, we can get some idea of James’ intent from the context in which he uses these words. This IS then similar to what we find regarding the “royal law“, that James adds context to the Master’s words; here, as we have been discussing, the apostle DOES also add context; we can see greater clarity when we look at these against the previous ideas regarding patience and we can see the amplification clearly when we can understand his opening words saying “But above all things” which raises the importance of these and the Master’s words for ALL who can see this intent. Looking at this again in context we see:
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold , the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:7-12).
These words on patience, on the patient work of the aspirant and the disciple, are then followed by more that come to the reality of our affliction. For us this affliction IS duality but the common understanding IS not so. We see the apostles words of caution and of peril in the world as citing the effects of the affliction and we see his words of hope and encouragement as our cure; this IS NOT lost in this idea of patience but it IS enhanced. This IS enhanced by the ideas and the examples presented above, by the admonishment that swearing oaths should NOT be undertaken for a cure and this IS then followed by some ideas for the True remedy; NOT to replace our working in patience, but to help show us the very nature that this patience can take to itself. James next words are:
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:13-15).
And so James says that we should stand in patience, which we must see as working in patience and we should understand that the nature of this work IS striving. We should see his words on swearing oaths as they these tell us that doing such IS NOT our remedy for those things that may afflict us in the duality of Life in this world, This swearing IS NOT our remedy for the temptations that come upon us….it IS our working patience that will get us through. It IS by our steadfast attention and focus that we can overcome the temptations and ALL else that may seem to come upon us; and in this we should see that this IS NOT an easy thing to understand nor to DO; while it IS the remedy, it IS also illusive. We KNOW that in our commitment to strive toward the Kingdom and to keep His words that this work of patience IS already the foundation and here in these words from James we find but a reminder and added encouragement and hope. We DO NOT however gain the wherewithal to accomplish this or any of the other things that the apostle speaks of; here again we are reminded of the overall difficulty that IS encountered as we try to “Enter ye in at the strait gate” (Matthew 7:13).
This however IS NOT intended to be easy; the Kingdom and discipleship are Life achievements and goals and they require two things that the apostle tells us among many. First he says: “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). Secondly he tells us of the nature of our Life in this world and how 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). There IS much more but from our perspective most ALL that he tells us can be seen in the right discernment of these two ideas and to this we can add the idea of our patience, our longsuffering, as we work out these ideas in Life. In James next words we should see some additional help, a way perhaps to work out this patience and we should note before we begin that most ALL of this is misunderstood in the literal ideas presented to cover spiritual endeavor.
There are many words that are misunderstood and in this list we should see this idea of pray. James tells us “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray” and the Master tells us a bit about prayer as well. The common idea of prayer as a petition to the Lord for whatsoever one may want IS not supported in scripture; it IS in fact spoken against. In the Master’s words speaking of prayer from the Sermon on the Mount we read: “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 6:7-8). In this we should see the reality that it IS praying for things that one may want that IS the reality of these “vain repetitions” and in our study of the Sermon, we did see that this phrase IS better understood as babbling but we have no True definition of what the Master intends this to mean. However, by its connection to the ideas that precede this in the Master’s words where he speaks about the motivation of the scribes and the Pharisees, we should be able to see the reality of the meaning of this word that IS rendered here as heathen and which IS also misunderstood. Can we see this idea of heathen simply being a man who IS NOT following the Truth of God but who believes that he IS? The reality here for us IS simply that one should not pray for the things of the world, for things that are for personal gain and we should see this in relation to James words on asking where we read: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).
Here then we should be able to see what prayer IS NOT and the ONLY inkling that we Truly have regarding what prayer Truly IS in in the Master’s words as He gives us the Lord’s Prayer, as we call this today. In this we ask for nothing for ourselves from the things of the world; we ask ONLY for those ideas and ideals that bring the Truth closer to expression in our own lives and in the lives of others. Can we try to see here how that prayer can be simply one’s attentive focus on God and the things of God and that this IS tied to the reality of discipleship. This should be clear to us in the Master’s words regarding faith and the mustard tree; we read: “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:21-22). The reality here IS that prayer IS communion with God by the man who KNOWS the Truth of faith; that this IS KNOWING without doubt that IS the expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul in world. It IS this man who “shall receive….whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer“. What of the man who has NOT yet achieved this state? Can we see that while he may not receive whatsoever he may ask, that he may receive the spiritual help found in this communion?
And so then James’ words which are spoken to the aspirant and the disciple, the man who strives, can be his instruction to pray, to seek this communion with the Lord and the Lord Within through his act of prayer which can be seen in our view here as that this IS his attentive focus upon the things of God. Can we see the idea here of the Repentant man who senses a part of his focus slipping back into worldly ways, that while he IS encouraged by the words of the apostle to DO what IS good and right, to “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:10) and to “keep himself unspotted from the world“, that he CAN NOT find the wherewithal to do so. While he can see the Truth of the apostle’s words on patience, on the work of patience as the way to endure, he still CAN NOT control certain carnal temptations. It IS to this man that the apostle says to pray. In this we should see that his affliction IS his inability to cope with the temptations that are presenting themselves and here there may be naught that can be considered to be bad; only that whatsoever this temptation IS will bring his focus back into the world.
And so we are told to pray yet we DO NOT have a solid idea of what this may mean; in our idea of communion, we may ONLY be able to see the same level of encouragement and hope as we see in the working of patience, or of humbling oneself. We are here reminded again of the Apostle Paul’s prayer which we close with today as in this we should see the reality of prayer:
“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).
This IS the spiritual reality of prayer.
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.
This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse those forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.
Mantram of Unification
The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.
Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.
Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.
The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
