ON LOVE; PART DCLXXIV
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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 several essays we continued our discussion on the idea of grace and how that the common understanding of grace IS NO understanding at ALL but rather a nebulous view of grace as the favor of God and the free ‘gift’ given to believers. We have noted how that in the Truth of the spiritual ideas presented by the Master and His apostles, the idea of favor or as a ‘gift’ offered for the doctrinal believer DOES NOT work out in our view of the intent of their words that tell us that grace IS the reward, if we can use that word, of the free flowing revelation and realizations of the Truth, the Love and the Power for the man who keeps His words and the man who strives to DO so. Much like the suppositions of doctrines that tell men that they ARE saved and are destined for the Kingdom at death based upon one’s belief and faith in Christ Jesus, the doctrinal suppositions regarding grace carry this same effect: that for the believer there IS this sense of grace over them. Much of this sense IS seen in regard to Life in this world, that a man can prosper in some way based upon this grace, but this IS at best a haphazard circumstance and operates in much the same way that we view the doctrinal ideas of healing and of prayer. Yes some who believe may prosper and see this as the grace of God but what of the many who have the same or even greater degree of believing and grace who DO NOT prosper….DO others regard their faith as less? And, can we see this attitude of looking at the prosperity of some who claim this as grace and judging their spiritual accomplishment based upon carnal events? And vice versa, can we see the attitude of others in regard to the rather devout man who wants this or that but DOES NOT achieve, and the questions about his spiritual heart, that perhaps he DOES NOT have sufficient faith to claim what he wants and hence less grace?
Similarly we must look at the doctrinal ideas that place grace into the doctrinal concept of predestination in ALL of its forms; here the idea of some who will have favor and others who will NOT based upon some formula of choosing by God defeats the very notion of equanimity that should be clearly seen in the Truth of the Master’s words and the amplifying and clarifying words of the apostles who tell us that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). Both of these ideas, respect of persons and predestination, CAN NOT coexist in the same reality of God. It IS only when we can see grace as the gift of God that flows from one’s own Soul, one’s own Christ and God Within, based upon the focus of the man upon the things of God, that we Truly see this clearly. It IS only when we can understand that the growth of the focus of the man upon these things of God, upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, results in evermore grace in the Life of the man and that it IS this grace that enables a man to express the Love of God to the world of men, that we can see the Truth of the Life and the Way of the disciple. This IS NO longer then a nebulous thing, an unexplained part of spiritual living that IS neither predictable nor within one’s True grasp; this IS now an explainable feature of the spiritual Life of the man in the world and the Truth of the endless stream of revelation and realization that floods the consciousness of the man who IS focused upon the things of God. And it IS this focus which IS the teaching of the Master….how that we must choose the treasure of the heart, that it will be of the “treasures in heaven” or that it will be of the “treasures upon earth“. And we find this choice presented in many ways but none so specific as those in the Sermon on the Mount where the Master amplifies His own theme as He teaches us on these ideas of treasure and then on God and mammon and then on the reality of “take no thought“; 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. 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! 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. 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. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6: 19-34).
The reality of this ALL us summed up in those words that we discussed in the last essay; that we should “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness“. This IS the way to the Kingdom and to discipleship and this is the way to the fullness of grace in which the purpose it IS to allow for the man to express the Love of God through his form in this world. And this IS the reality of focus, the reality of seeing the things of God over the things of the world and the reality of that choice which a man must make. This begins in Repentance and continues throughout the Transformation and IS ONLY complete in the final understanding by the aspirant and the disciple of the depth and the reality of the Master’s words saying that: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). This is perhaps the ultimate point of discipleship, that point where the Apostle Peter finally finds himself; a point where there IS naught in one’s mind but the work of the Lord and the expression of the fullness of Love to the world. This forsaking IS of ALL things and this IS of course accomplished by degree and we can try to see here how that the degree IS proportionate to one’s focus and grace. Beginning with those things that are easier to give up for the Kingdom of God, this sense of forsaking will eventually consume ALL that IS of the world….every thought, attitude, action and thing. Can we see in this the need for grace, for the revelations and the realizations of Love and Truth that help us to continue and to endure.
There IS a reality to grace that IS missed by most men in the world throughout history and this reality IS its effect; the spread of Love and its expression as mercy. This reality IS missed by men in and out of the church and at virtually every level of hierarchy within the church; it IS missed whenever and wherever men choose the ways of the world over the ways of God. And it matters not what IS the worldly motivation; whether it be spreading one’s own sense of doctrine, religious, political or otherwise, or standing for any of the those things of the world that are considered as God and country, these ARE, ALL of them, things of the world. In things of the world the focus IS ever upon the self and this IS NOT only the individual but also his sense of group and to whatsoever he may pledge his allegiance. It IS this sense of self and of allegiance that causes wars and conflicts which ARE, among the most egregious acts against the word of God as this word IS presented by the Master. Jesus DOES NOT teach us about the history of the Jews and their wars nor about the part that Jehovah is presumed to have played in this history of a barbaric and superstitious people. The Master teaches us ONLY of Love and in His reality of Love there IS no room for war nor for aggression….especially for wars and conflicts that claim some idea of religion or the Power of God on one’s side. Wars ARE of the world and this regardless of the doctrinal interpretations of some who read worldly ideas into the divinity of the Master and of God. James shows us this in this saying which we can use to promote Truth on every level and the contrary nature of the things of God against the things of the world; we read:
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust , and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, 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 4:1-4),
But this IS the way of man and the way of the world of men where the futility of war IS NOT yet seen. It IS ONLY when we cease to glorify wars, make idols of the leaders of war and heroes of the participants, that we will be able to break this chain that so binds us to this world. And it IS ONLY when we can stop teaching our children of this glory and of these idols and heroes, when we can stop counting history by the wars of the period, and when we can stop promoting the idea of war in books and films and games, that we can hope to change the mindset of our youth for the future.
From a Christian perspective we should be able to see the futility of war and how that it IS contrary to ALL that the Master teaches us. And we should try to understand the True mean of the idea of the Master as the “Prince of Peace“. We read this from the Prophet Isaiah:
“For unto us a child is born , unto us a son is given : and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor , The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
We should not get too tied up here with the rendering of government as some DO; first this IS NOT as we would commonly think as the Kingdom of the Master IS NOT of this world. We read this in the Master’s words to Pilate near the end: “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:36-37). Perhaps the reality of the idea of the word rendered as government is best understood in this translation from Young’s Literal Translation which we offer as we close for today:
“For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. To the increase of the princely power, And of peace, there is no end, On the throne of David, and on his kingdom, To establish it, and to support it, In judgment and in righteousness, Henceforth, even unto the age, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
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.
