ON LOVE; PART DCCCV
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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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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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 two posts we combined our thoughts on grace with the ideas of the Apostle Paul from those sayings we found as the Verse of the Day on biblegateway.com, sayings that we saw as having the potential to be understood in the way that they were intended when taken away from the doctrinal views of them. In the idea of “baptized into Christ” we should not see the ritual nor should we entertain the controversy over the types and ways of baptism that are in the world today; nor should we entertain the idea of baptism in the Holy Spirit which IS seen by many as the real baptism. We should see the reality of baptism as the immersion of the Life of the man in the world into the ways of the Christ which IS ever to be seen as to keep His words. It IS the man who IS so immersed who has Truly “put on Christ” and it IS in this state that ALL carnal separations of men disappear; it IS in this state of immersion that ALL ARE “one in Christ Jesus” where ALL things ARE resolved in Love. And could we but see past the Jewish and the Christian traditions and doctrines concerning Abraham and the promise, we could find the common ground where Abraham, being a man of God, inherited the promises by his own continuing in the word of God; not the carnal ideas that ARE painted for us by doctrines but the inner ideas of spiritual Life, Life in the Will of God which IS Life in His Kingdom.
Similarly we have to see contrary to doctrines regarding the idea of reconciliation which should show us that it IS the Christ that came among us to show us the way so that in following Him we can be “reconciled to God” which IS to say that we live in His words. It IS by DOING this, keeping His words, that we find His grace and it IS in this that we ARE freed from the trespasses of Life in this world; it IS in keeping His words that we see the greater Truth of Jesus words saying “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). And it IS Paul’s message here to the Corinthians that we should understand for ourselves, that ALL who follow the Lord are “ambassadors for Christ” who ARE admonishing others of vision to be the same; the Young’s Literal Translation paints this in these words: “in behalf of Christ, then, we are ambassadors, as if God were calling through us, we beseech, in behalf of Christ, `Be ye reconciled to God“, which IS a much clearer view of the apostle’s intent. Here, rather that having our focus upon the next verse as doctrines DO, our focus should be on the reality of being “reconciled to God” which IS the reality of living in Love and keeping His words. We should note here how that there ARE many views of the final verse as well and most ALL of them lose sight of the Oneness of the Father and the Son; perhaps the clearest idea that we have seen IS from the Good News Translation where we read “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God“….this Union IS of course our reconciliation. We repeat our verses again as we move on:
- “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29).
- “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).
As we move back into our view of grace as the revelations and the realizations of the Truth of Life and of the Kingdom of God that come into the heart, the consciousness, of the man in the world, we must be reminded that it IS at the intersection of ALL of the Master’s words that we find our own understanding of this grace which IS, in every respect, the Presence of God in the Life of the man in the world. In our individual spiritual reality there IS naught else that this grace can be and any view of this grace as things carnal or for the advancement of the man in the world as a man in the world ARE unfounded and ARE misinterpretations of the Truth propounded by the Master and by His apostle’s writings. The common conception that a man can gain carnal power and wealth by God’s grace IS against the many sayings by the Master and His apostles that show us the stark adversity of the very ideas of carnal and spiritual; such common conception IS based not in the words of the New Testament but in the bringing forward of the traditions and the doctrines of the Jews. It IS against this merging of the new and the old that the Master offers us His parabolic words as He speaks to us about the new wine in old bottles and new patches for old garments and, while this IS NOT seen clearly by most interpreters, this IS His reality which should be enough to detract men’s attention from the presumed carnal rewards offered in the Old Testament. And while doctrines reject the ideas of the law according to their interpretation of Paul’s words on the law, so many continue to hold on to their perception of the rewards which were offered for keeping the law. In the New Dispensation of the Christ there IS little change save in the more direct appeal to men to DO according to His words which includes much of the old law; in this new framing of Truth we see the spiritual reality that was NOT so clearly offered in the old more superstitious and more barbarous times of the Patriarchs and the kings. Today’s message IS ONLY about His Presence and that it IS this Presence that IS the reward for men’s right action in Love and in keeping His words and this IS NO more clearly stated than in this view from the Gospel of John which we again read:
“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. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, 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 14:21-24).
Except in the doctrinal view of the teachings of the New Testament as an addendum to the Old, there IS NO reference to carnal reward in any of the Truths espoused by the Master and His apostles and, as we say above, there ARE many sayings that clearly separate these two opposing views of Life. And we should add here one more idea that IS based in common sense: if carnal reward IS from God, why IS it that so many who have such reward ARE NOT Godly men but carnally focused men in this world? The greater reality of Life IS found in the Jesus’ words above, that it IS His Presence, the Presence of God as the Father and the Son, that IS the reciprocal action of Life for the man who keeps His words. While one may say that these ideas are for the Eleven only, there IS NO validity to this and in this view so many of the Master’s instructions to men who would follow Him can be lost in the machinations of doctrines that seek to remove the necessary sense of personal responsibility…..the KEY to the individual grace that comes as the Presence of God. While we can see the clarity in His words to the Eleven today, there was no such clarity among them in those days as we see in the Apostle Judas’ question above and the similar questions asked earlier in this dialogue by Philip and Thomas. Still many DO NOT see this as we DO, many DO NOT discern the deeper realities which ARE themselves the product of this grace, the product of the measure of His Presence in one’s Life; a measure that tears away at the doctrinal misconception of His Truths. And it IS this same Truth of the reality of keeping His words, of DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21), that IS found in the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish builders which we repeat today from the Gospel of Matthew:
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended , and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
In the Master’s words from the fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel we should try to see the continuity of His thoughts as He shows the Eleven how that this sense of abiding, this sense of His Presence in the Life of a man, must work both ways….that for Him to abide in the man, the man must abide in Him as well. The ideas that Jesus presents here in this first selection from this chapter ARE Truly spiritual, there IS NO carnal interpretation that can give them the necessary Life and force. We read the Master’s words again saying:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:1-12).
We should try to see the picture painted by the Master as He delineates between Himself and the Father; that He Himself as the Christ IS the vine, an expression of the spiritual Will of the Father, the Husbandman. We should try to see as well how that the reality of the Christ Within must follow in this same form, that the Christ Within IS the expression in the world of the Spirit which IS the God Within and that these ALL ARE the same….there IS NO True separation as we KNOW from Jesus’ own words in the previous chapters. It IS for the sake of their understanding and ours that the separations ARE made and we should try to understand these ideas out of this very parabolic language that He offers. As the Christ Within IS part and parcel of the Christ of God we are painted as branches of the vine, as parts of the Christ and while this IS a difficult theme to follow, much understanding can come as we ponder on the painting itself. It IS ever the expression, the fruit of the branch, that IS of importance and it IS in the expression of this fruit that men can produce more fruit, NOT as men however but as one’s expression of the Inner man, the Soul, the Christ Within. It IS this expression that comes to a man in His Presence which IS the reciprocal action of keeping His words and the Master continues in this theme as well as He tells us “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” and, as we see in His words above, this Love IS His Presence.
So many take the carnal approach to the idea that “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” and too many believe that they abide in Christ while His words DO NOT abide in them. In the spiritual reality of man there IS NO thing carnal that would come to mind; there IS ONLY greater and greater realization of Truth and the expression of that Truth in the world of men. We repeat here some of our ideas from a previous post on these sayings from the Lord as we prepare to continue with our exploration of the True intent of His teaching to the Eleven and through them to us:
In the parabolic tones of these words we should see the reality of continuing in His words as this IS, according to the previous words that He offers, the way that He will abide in the Life of a man….that way that a man can have His Presence in his Life. And we see as well from Jesus previous words that this continuing IS the way to True discipleship which He tells us as: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). Can we see the point here? That for a man to ”continue in my word” IS to “hath my commandments, and keepeth them” and that it IS in this that “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“. Can we see that this Presence of the Lord in one’s Life IS the same idea presented in His saying that “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit“; and can we understand that this fruit IS the expression the His words, the expression of His Love, in the world of men?
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.
Repeating a Quote of the Day from the past that has some significance in relation to what we are discussing here, that the Kingdom of God and therefore God is within us ALL and that it IS His Presence which a man realizes by measure as he begins his journey to the Kingdom of God. Here Lord Tennyson poetically tells us just how close God Truly IS and how it is that we touch Him
Speak to Him, thou, for He hears,
and Spirit with Spirit can meet
Closer is He than breathing,
and nearer than hands and feet.
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892)
From the poem The Higher Pantheism which puts forth the authors spiritual belief. Whether we agree with him or not, the quote if spiritually perfect for all of Christianity as well as any other world religion.
The thought behind the idea above IS NOT unlike that which we have been carrying as our Quote of the Day for many essays; It IS in the closeness that Lord Tennyson shows us that we should see the idea that “God dwells in the inner part of every man” which we read in the previous Quote of the Day. For us this saying and the previous one show us the closeness of the spiritual self to the Father and then too the closeness of the spiritual self with the personality of man. Men may like to think of God as something outside and above but the reality, as we have seen in so many of the sayings of the Master, is that God is with us and in us and we need only to let ourselves be drawn and to focus upon Him. And, if we can use these words from the Gospel of Thomas here we can perhaps see much: “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father“
