ON LOVE; PART DCLXX
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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 continued our discussion on grace as we see this; as the wherewithal to express the Love and the Power of the Soul through one’s Life in form. We looked again at the words that the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy where we see the apostle’s exhortation to his own disciple to stand strong in the ways of the Lord, to stand in the grace of God that he has in his Life through his focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, and to NOT allow the ways of the world, the temptations nor the fears, to move him from his True goal which IS his own role as a True disciple to the Lord. We moved from this personal discussion between Paul and Timothy to our own thoughts on the relationship between grace and the reality of Repentance, that decision to change the focus of one’s own Life from the ways of the world to the ways of God. It IS in Repentance that a man enters onto the Path and begins his long journey of Transformation and it IS in Repentance that the Truth of grace can be seen in the Life of the man in the world…..as his ability to express, by degree, the Love an the Power of the Soul, the Christ Within.
There were three points on grace that we had left to be discussed from a few posts back. One, the ideas found in Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy, show us how that the apostle IS instructing Timothy on the reality that this grace is manifest, that this grace IS realized by the man in the world, by the very nature of the Life of Christ Jesus in the world of men. It IS in the ‘good news‘ of the Kingdom of God and of a man’s Way to the Kingdom through Repentance, that should awaken a man which IS the reality of the Life that IS this ‘good news‘, that IS this gospel. In the view that the opposite of this Life IS death, not the death of the body but the death of the man in the world in sin, in his focus upon the lower forces of the self, we should see the greater Truth of Repentance as it IS in this decision to change that focus that one finds the Truth of Life. In this Repentance IS the Truth of the Master’s words saying: “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23-24). Here in the idea of the man who “will save his life” IS the man who chooses the ways of the world while the man who “will lose his life for my sake” IS the man who chooses Repentance and then strives to keep His words. This IS the Life that we should see in Paul’s words to Timothy which we repeat again:
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9-10).
When we can take these ideas out of the context of doctrine and put them into the context of the whole of the Master’s teachings, much can be revealed and the single thread of Love that weaves ALL His words together can be more clearly seen. When we can understand the deeper idea of manifest as the realization that can come to a man who sees the Truth of the Life and the example of the Master; how that He had abolished death in the reality of His resurrection which shows us the continuation of the True Life of the Soul; and how that by keeping His words the sense of death in sin, death in the ways of the world, can be abolished as well…we can see the greater Truth of Paul’s message here to Timothy. And, when we can see the idea that IS rendered here as immortality as the better rendering of incorruption 4 as Vincent tells us and as the lexicon shows in the usage of this Greek word, we can better understand the reality of the apostle’s point….that this incorruption IS the spiritual Way of the man being realized through his Life in form. In its more appropriate understanding as the realization of the Life of the True man, the Soul, by the man in the world, immortality can work in this sense as well but this IS lost in the common understanding of this word. And this IS the grace that we should understand in these words and ideas; that grace IS the realization and the revelation that comes to a man from the Soul, the Christ and God Within, and it IS these that allow a man to express the Love and the Power of the Soul in the world of men. It IS this grace that begins flowing through a man’s Repentance and his continued focus upon the things of God as he Transforms himself into the True disciple in the world of men.
Another of the points that we left for futher discussion was the use of the Greek word charis in The Parable of the Master and the Servant which we noted immediately follows the Master words on faith, on the fullness of faith that can move the mountain. We should note that both of these ideas follow upon the Master’s teaching on forgiveness which IS an aspect of Love, a part of the expression of Love in the world as mercy. The combined ideas from Jesus ARE:
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:3-10).
While the idea here IS the same as what we read in Matthew where the Master IS answering the Apostle Peter’s question on forgiveness and extending the seven times to “Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) times, the context of the dialogue IS different. Both ARE however in relation to the interpersonal relationships of men and the offenses that one can do to another; and we should see the idea of trespass and sin, both rendered from the same Greek word hamartano, as more than just some physical harm but that there can an emotional or a mental offense as well. This forgiveness IS for us an effective means of showing mercy and, as we have seen in past essays, this is related as well to the idea of understanding. This idea of mercy DOES NOT come from carnal sources; if it IS Truly forgiveness based in the understanding of the Truth that we ARE ALL brothers and that we ALL suffer from the same carnal afflictions, then this IS the result of that degree of grace that can reveal these things to us. Here the Master tells us that as men who strive toward the Kingdom, as aspirants and as disciples, we have the grace to continually forgive and in this forgiveness we should have the firm idea that the offence IS forgotten in the understanding of Life in this world. We should also try to see that while the word repent used here IS the same word that is used in the Repentance that the Master teaches us, this idea of repent IS DOES NOT directly concern one’s relationship with God but rather one’s relationship with others. It IS in this dual use of this Greek word metanoeo that there is much confusion regarding the Truth of the Master’s words saying “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17); both require change but this latter IS a Life change of focus while the other IS a change of behavior or attitude toward the one offended.
Both ARE however acts of Love, expressed as mercy and both facilitate this Love by the degree of grace that flows forth into one’s Life in the world. In the next verse IS the request by the apostles to “Increase our faith” and in this we should try to see the greater reality of KNOWING rather than the more nebulous doctrinal idea of believing. This request can be interpreted as ‘increase our ability to KNOW these things‘ or, in the tone of our current discussion, ‘increase our degree of grace’ which is our realization of these Truths. In the way that ALL of these ideas intersect and work together we should be able to better understand the Truth of the next verses on the moving of the “sycamine tree” to be “planted in the sea” and the similar ideas in the other gospels regarding the moving of the mountain. In the way that ALL of these idea intersect and work together we should be able to see the idea of faith in its Truer sense of KNOWING, and of KNOWING as the reality of that revelation and realization that comes to us in the form of grace. We have ofttimes spoken about the mustard seed as Jesus’ example; how that that the mustard seed IS the example of KNOWING as it has NO choice but to become a mustard tree; this IS the mustard seed’s built in realization. While we KNOW that the mustard seed has NO ability to think or feel in the sense that we understand these things and as IS necessary in believing and in faith, we can extend this idea of KNOWING as that sense of certainty that the Master intends us to see. And we can find this same sense in the Apostle Mark’s approach to the Master’s teaching as he tells us that if a man DOES “not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass” (Mark 11:23); here this believing without doubt IS the same as the “faith as a grain of mustard seed” and both ARE that same sense of KNOWING, that certainty that the idea of being without doubt provides. These ideas ARE ALL the same and although doctrine DOES NOT include this idea of KNOWING, it can be clearly seen by any who look at the various presentations of the Master’s teaching which include also Matthew’s saying that “If ye have faith, and doubt not” (Matthew 21:21) that one can DO ALL things.
This KNOWING then IS a result of the grace that comes in the focus of a man upon the things of God. This KNOWING IS the result of the realizations and the revelations that ARE a part of this grace of God that flows into the consciousness of the man in the world from his own Soul, his own Christ and God Within. And this IS the source of that mercy, that expression of Love in which one will forgive and understand ALL men. The Master DOES NOT answer the request to “Increase our faith” from the apostles but tells them of the power of this KNOWING that IS found in what IS called grace as He prepares to tell them the Parable of the Master and the Servant which will further explain His point. Here we must remember that this IS a parable and that there need not be any relationship between the story and the intent of the Master’s teaching; we should try to see Jesus’ intent hidden in the words of the story. Here we can try to see that the apostles ARE the servants to the Master and that they DO as IS commanded them and behind this idea IS the reality of grace or, in the answer to the apostle’s original question, more grace. This Greek word charis IS rendered here as thank and this is a wholly inadequate idea which DOES NOT allow for the continuation of the stream of thought from the apostles’ request through to the ending idea of how that they can get more faith, more KNOWING.
Can we understand this idea that we are presenting here as that the answer to their request to “Increase our faith” IS found in the Truth that in DOING ONLY what was commanded, what was their duty, that there IS no additional faith or KNOWING that will come by this charis which we should see as grace. Their degree of grace IS already achieved and the greater grace comes in DOING yet more, striving further and closer to the fullness of disciple; and this reality IS offered in His words saying “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do“. The whole of what we see as the Truth of this parable IS lost in the doctrinal understanding of grace and the rendering of that here as thanks.
In these ideas IS the greater reality of grace. This IS the greater reality that this KNOWING, this believing or faith without doubt, comes to us in the realizations and revelations that are imparted to the consciousness of the man in the world by his own Soul as the tools of grace…the abilities given by grace. And these same realizations and revelations ARE those things that we read in Paul’s list of what IS the “whole armour of God“; this grace IS “the breastplate of righteousness; the firm foundation 4 of “the gospel of peace“;”the shield of faith“, “the helmet of salvation“, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God“. This IS KNOWING and this IS the grace of God.
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!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
