IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1178

ON LOVE; PART DCCLXVII

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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 began again to look at the defining quality of the Love that the Master teaches us in regard to the second part of the Great Commandments that we have again at the top of our essay. We cited the words of Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount and made special reference to the Golden Rule as these are reported to us in both the Gospels of Matthew and of Luke. Jesus words on Love here in these ideas are rather clear but they ARE lost in the fundamental lack of vision that the illusions and the glamour of Life in this world bring into the carnal minds and emotions of men in this world. While we then went back to our previous discussion on the relationship between grace and the way of the man who Truly seeks God in this world, we come back now to the crux and the reality of ALL things spiritual; that ALL IS tied to this concept of Love that the Master teaches us and that His apostles clarify and amplify. In the reality of the Master’s words and in the Truth of the words of the Apostle John that we repeat again below, we should be able to discern the value of Love as the instrument of keeping His words and understand that in the True sense of this Love there IS naught that a man can DO against the commandments of the Lord. And we ARE NOT left wanting for an understanding of just what this Love means, we ARE given the clues to enable us to discern the reality and the defining quality of this Love just as we ARE given the Truth of our Love for God and God’s Love for us. We ARE given the Truth but it IS a Truth that IS NOT seen through the carnal vision of men nor in the teachings of the doctrines of the church that bears the Master’s Name. The words of Truth ARE in the words of the Master and these ARE His commandments to us ALL and if it IS the Truth of His words that would be taught openly in the world of men, there would be a different understanding of the reality of Love. This however IS NOT so, there IS NO True teaching of this Love and Jesus words on Love are diluted and changed to suit the minds of men and this IS NO more apparent than in the doctrinal application of John’s words so as to apply ONLY to fellow Christians, an application that also fails in the world of men. We read the apostle’s words again:

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect , that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we now that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 4:7-5:5).

As we have often said, it IS John’s style of writing that may confuse men as regards his intent or, rather, it IS in his style that they find their doctrinal slant. John’s words ARE however quite clear as he combines this sense of Love with the totality of keeping His words, words which include the ideas presented in the Sermon on the Mount with the Golden Rule and the Great Commandments above. John DOES NOT ever use the idea of neighbor but chooses to refer to other as others, as those who ARE NOT the self and it IS this that should be seen at the heart of his admonishment that we “love one another“. Much of doctrine however sees this idea of  “love one another” only through the prism of the apostle’s writing and many see this idea of “one another” as applying only to the apostles themselves and then stretch this into religion in a way that reflects the idea of Love to fellow Christians. While the view that the Master IS speaking to His apostles here IS an apparent Truth, the ways that this IS distorted into doctrines that see ONLY the commandment cited here in Jesus words ARE NOT His intent. As we read “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34), we should NOT see this as that this excludes His other words above or His words from the Sermon but rather that He IS making a special point to His own True followers. Vincent points out for us that there IS NO consistency to the way that this idea of new IS expressed in the Greek word kainos; he tells that while the Greek words rendered as new seem specific, that: the distinction cannot be pressed in all cases ⁴. Here, while this idea of new may be the linchpin upon which such doctrines on Love are formed, the basic sense of the entirety of the Master’s message should dissuade such presumption. As we KNOW, it DOES NOT, and many millions yet today believe that this sense of Love IS both new and that it applies only in this most restrictive way. To this we should add another observation of human behavior which IS to say that if this idea of Love as doctrines see it were True, what has become of this sense in the world of men; a world that has suffered through the Reformation wars and where yet today we still have rampant animosity between the multiplicity of denominations and sects who, while ALL Christian, see each other as less.

This however IS NOT our point here; our point IS the misapplication of this sense of Love overall and the misunderstanding of this as it relates to the emotional and mental attachment and attraction to others and to things in this world. We should try to see here yet another point: in the reality of Love as we see this in the first of the Great Commandments, here, even in the interpretation of Love as such attraction and attachment fades into the idea of “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“. In this idea we should see that there IS a hard and fast reality of just what one’s treasure should be and the even greater reality that there IS naught in this world that IS of any importance to the Soul than his own relationship to the Truth of God and his expression of that Truth in this world. Can we see this dynamic at play in the lives of the apostles both before and after the death and resurrection of the Master? Can we see that nowhere in the gospels nor in the epistles is there any place where the disciples of the Christ are looking after themselves and how, in the instances where they may have wandered to some degree of selfish or self centered thought, that they were brought back by the words of the Master.

It IS in the right understanding of the concept of agape, the concept of Love, that ALL things are resolved and, as the Apostle Paul shows us, this right understanding of Love, when expressed by the man in the world, IS equivalent to keeping ALL of His words. It IS in this that we find the Presence of God in our lives; a presence that IS promised by the Master in those words that we must repeat yet again saying:

• “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him“ (John 14:21). 
• “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“ (John 14:23-24).

This IS our Truth and our reality and in these idea we have the very definition of Love for God and the Love of God. Our Love for God IS keeping His words and in saying this we must see that our Love for God IS found in our Love for others; this IS the True depth of the apostles words saying:

• “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery , Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal , Thou shalt not bear false witness , Thou shalt not covet ; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).
• “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5;14).
• “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill . Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:8-11).

In these first two ideas from Paul, we see the equivalency of keeping His words with the reality of Love as the Master teaches us while in the words from the Apostle James we see the greater reality that this Love IS equally for ALL men…this IS a Love offered without preference, without any “respect to persons“. In the combination of these ideas IS the reality of this Love and its relationship to the idea of keeping His words and it IS here that we see how that we attain His Presence in our lives; it IS in our expression of this Love to ALL men equally that God, the Father and the Son, will “make our abode with him“. And this IS the definition of the Love of God, it IS His Presence in the Life of the man who keeps His words. It IS in this ALL that we find the definition of Love for ALL men as well, that this IS keeping His words in one sense but yet more; this Love IS to treat every man according to the Golden Rule and to treat every man as we would treat ourselves. This can ONLY be seen clearly when we can look away from the carnal implications of Love and see this as it IS Truly intended…..as GoodWill, as according to every man what we would accord ourselves, and in this IS the deeper idea of understanding and KNOWING that we ARE ALL the same, Souls on that grand journey through Life in this world.

GoodWill as a word IS itself little understood as this is applied to the Love that we should have for ALL men and the Truth of this concept IS obnubilated by the illusion and the glamour that afflict the minds and emotions of men in this world. The reality however IS simple when one can view this is a more spiritual way where we can realize that one CAN NOT Love ALL men in any other way; that the common understanding of Love DOES NOT work in a spiritual sense but rather according to the precepts of the Golden Rule as it should be understood. And we should understand here that the ideas of the Golden Rule, while far reaching and broad, DO appeal to the selfish sense of men in the world as we should apply to others what we would have applied to ourselves. It IS however the deeper ideas and the spiritual sense of this that should work our in our minds and in the world and this according to the words of Paul that we have been repeating. Here, while we ARE applying them to the Truth of spiritual discernment, this IS NOT our larger reason for repeating these sayings yet again and we will try to get to this reason in the next essay.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

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.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888