ON LOVE; PART DCCIX
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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 post we continued with our discussion on the concept of grace and the relationship of grace the with operation of the Holy Spirit in the world of men. It was our concluding remark that the Truth of grace, as the revelations and the realizations of divinity, the ability of the man in form to DO spiritual acts, and the DOING of such acts ARE inseparable realities in the world. The important part to try to see here IS found in the way that the divine man, the Soul, comes to be the waking consciousness of the man in form by measure and that it IS the Soul that becomes the actor in the world through the facility of the personality. This flow of divine Light IS grace and it IS this grace that brings the revelation and the realization of divinity to the consciousness….it IS grace that IS this revelation and realization; from the perspective of the man in the world this grace IS ALL that can come into one’s Life from above. It IS with this view that we said that grace can be seen as the input, the inflow of divine Power into the heart of the man in the world, into his consciousness as revelation and realization; this grace IS the ability to DO.
In this world of men where the physical laws rule there IS little of spiritual impact that can be seen, while the aspirant and the disciple have some degree of grace and while the complete and perfect disciple has the fullness of the grace of God, these ARE but his realizations of his divine Power and the measure of True faith in his Life, faith which we see as the reality of KNOWING. This IS the state of the man who IS focused upon the things of God; the man who has some measure of grace that IS proportional to his focus and to his ability to keep His words; and it IS in this light that we should try to understand the Master’s words regarding having and receiving yet more. Jesus tells us that “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath” (Matthew 13:12). This IS of course from a spiritual perspective and should be seen in terms of grace, that as one receives a measure, his ability to keep His words is increased; this then leads to yet more grace. On the other hand, when one IS not focused upon the things of God with whatsoever measure of grace that he may have, even that measure can be forfeit. This can be seen more clearly when we view the use of this grace in the operation of the Holy Spirit.
We closed the last essay saying that Grace IS the input and the Holy Spirit IS the output of that same divine Power; grace IS the ability to DO divine things and the Holy Spirit IS the DOING of divine things in this world. It IS in this light we must look at the reality of the activity of a man in the world; he may have some measure of grace but this grace must then be expressed as the fruit of one’s Life in the world and it IS this expression that IS the operation of the Holy Spirit. It IS the Holy Spirit which provides the Power to act in the world of form, it IS the measure of divine energy under the command of the man, whose focus IS on the things of God, in the world of men. By example we should try to see the ideas of grace and the Holy Spirit as an homogenized flow into and out of the man in the world; he receives that he KNOWS that he can heal or that he can disappear or even that he can walk on water…this KNOWING part IS grace. It IS by this same Power of KNOWING that the physical environment is changed; bodily changes are made in healing, the body is rendered invisible to others by the changing of their very nature or the man can become so ‘light’ that he can glide across the water without falling into it. ALL of these things Jesus did and some of these the apostles did and ALL are covered under Jesus idea of “greater works” in our saying from the Gospel of John which we repeat again:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:12-20).
Of primary importance in regard to our current essay IS of course His words that “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” and while we may NOT KNOW the reality of how these things are accomplished, how that the divine KNOWING of the disciple can overcome the physical laws of the Earth, we DO KNOW that this IS our Power. We KNOW that we can DO ALL things and we DO express some of that Power in Love for our fellow man. It IS unlikely however that the disciple would make a show of this divine nature and ability; it IS unlikely that the use of this Power as the operation of the Holy Spirit in the world, would be in regard to such things that merely make one visible as a disciple. It IS ever more likely that the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Life of a disciple will be discreet, even muted, and will be confined to those things that the disciple can DO to effect the degree of Love expressed in the world. This however may NOT always be the case; perhaps the time IS coming for some display of divine Power in the world again; perhaps in preparation for the reappearance of the Christ or perhaps by the reappearance of the Christ Himself. We DO NOT KNOW these things but in the reality of divine thought we will KNOW our own roles as aspirants and disciples who can discern some of what IS coming as that Wisdom from above, coming as that grace into our lives. There IS a reality in the Life of the aspirant and the disciple that IS most clearly seen in this affirmation that we repeat from earlier posts:
My soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
We should try to see the role here of service, of service to the race of man which IS found in the ability to DO and the DOING. In the reality of my Soul must foster we should be able to understand that it IS through the revelations and realizations of grace that we come to the see the need to foster Love; and it IS in the operation of the Holy Spirit, His Holy Will with which we become one, that we DO foster this Love; this IS the reality of our service. How this IS accomplished is a most personal thing for every man; it IS the point of what must be done that IS of importance and which must be kept in sight and this IS the realty of the words above; that I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love.
This IS our reality as aspirants and disciples who see the homogeneity of Life in the world, men who see NO separation based in any form of human thought or endeavor. Our focus IS the things of God and on Love as the Way par excellence to aid the Christ in DOING what He had come among us to DO….to see humanity embark upon a new dispensation of Love. While we DO understand that this requires some form of Soul contact by many men, we must also see that NOT ALL such contact IS in the realm of these ideas that we discuss on our blog, there ARE many who share in the a measure of the grace of God who yet remain in the doctrinal church and in the doctrinal mindset. We are reminded of this in watching a presentation on healing by a prominent Christian pastor and some the testimonies that he uses to support his program and his point of view. We are reminded that this grace, this Power of Love from the Soul, DOES come to men who can so believe and in this idea we ARE NOT using the common understanding of belief but our own view of believing as KNOWING. In this we should try to see the idea of degree as we have been presenting it and try to see that this sense of degree can work out in certain aspects of the Life of a man who lets such KNOWING come into his consciousness. In this we should see that the flow of Light must NOT be hindered by the preconceptions of doctrine and in our example here the belief in healing IS NOT hindered but IS allowed to flow through.
This IS a rather complex subject to broach but the reality IS that the consciousness will follow the path of least resistance so to speak and it IS the stronger of the impulses that IS taken and entertained by the consciousness of the man in the world….for most of us the stronger IS yet the personality. In our example here we should try to see that the spiritual ideas of healing are allowed to flourish in the consciousness, albeit along doctrinal lines, and these spiritual ideas are as much grace as we would experience as disciples. These spiritual ideas ARE the revelations and the realization that ARE received into the consciousness of the man and which ARE his ability to DO. In the same way as we speak above, it IS then the outflow of the KNOWING, this ability to heal, that IS the operation of the Holy Spirit and it IS this which heals. This IS the Power that can change the physical environment, the Power that can change the very nature of the body of a man. We should understand here that it IS ONLY to the disciple who keeps His words that the reality of this ALL can become predictable and, as in the case of the Apostle Peter, even become automatic in a sense. For the rest, for the man whose sense of faith, whose sense of KNOWING as we see this, IS NOT so clear that he can move the mountain, the results of healing or of whatsoever spiritual Power one may possess in the world, ARE at best haphazard…some will be healed and some will NOT.
It IS the failures in this area of healing that should be seen with some degree of concern; how that the one who IS NOT healed can be made to feel unloved or that there may be something in his Life that IS preventing healing and we should see that this last idea is actually taught by some denominations and sects. Healing IS a complicated issue to be sure and one where the reality of consistency can only happen in the measure of grace that comes to the man who Truly KNOWS and who IS among the True followers of the Master, those that keep His words without reservation and without interpretations that dilute His intent. In ALL of this we should try to understand that it IS the Power of God as it flows from the Soul of a man, the Christ and the God Within, that IS grace and it IS this same Power that can flow out of the man in the same measure as the operation of the Holy Spirit. We should understand as well that this Power of Love that DOES flow into the consciousness of a man IS that part of the revelation and realization that the personality DOES NOT hinder based in doctrinal ideas and preconceptions; it IS ONLY when the free flow of one’s measure of grace is received unimpeded that a man can Truly have such grace and can express it to the world of men.
In the view if His words above that show the disciple to ask, His words that say “whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do“, we must try to see the hidden reality of the Comforter as this IS the topic on which the Master is teaching them and us through them. In the very the idea of His Name we should see the Christ and NOT merely His expression in the world as Jesus; in the reality of the anointing which He IS as the “Christ of God” an idea that IS rendered by one translation (Weymouth) as “God’s Anointed One“. We should try to see past the doctrinal assertion of asking in Jesus Name and understand this Greek phrase to be that we should ask in the reality of what His Name represents. We should try to see as well that it IS NOT unintentional that the Apostle John includes the Master’s words saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments” here in this place; that the idea of Love and of keeping His words ARE a part of receiving “whatsoever ye shall ask“. While this may NOT be the context that IS easily seen here, it IS the reality of the apostle’s presentation of Jesus words; this IS the reality of his words which can be seen in the next phrase that the Master offers them. We should remember here that we begin this chapter with Jesus telling the Eleven about the relationship between Himself and the Father and that “the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10); we should remember as well that they DO NOT ALL understand Jesus meaning. Can we see then how that Jesus saying that “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter” IS building upon this same sense of relationship as well as upon the idea that although He IS leaving them, that they can still have His Presence, as we discussed earlier in the ideas of abode and being with Him.
We should remember here as well that the Master, being the Christ, IS NOT teaching about the Christ Within as DOES the Apostle Paul later on; the Master speaks here about the God Within and His operation as the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We should remember as well that much of these words from this fourteenth chapter are parabolic, that they have the Truth buried beneath the outward appearance of the words and phrases, and that this for the very reason of the Truth coming only to the man who IS ready for it in his own measure of grace. We should remember as well that He DOES teach His disciples, and even the Eleven, in this same parabolic manner which we read further on in His words: “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father” (John 16:25). We should also see there that in chapter fourteen the time had NOT yet come.
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.
We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.
Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.—Bhagavad-Gita
It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book “The Great Initiates” by Édouard Schuré which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.
