ON LOVE; PART DCCCXCVI
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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)
As we continue in our discussion on strongholds which the Apostle Paul shows us as things that must be pulled down or eliminated in the Life of the True disciple, we should remember how that this idea, as most ALL ideas offered by scripture, IS to be viewed in a spiritual way and not from a carnal perspective. That IS that while there ARE many things that can be seen as strongholds in the Life of most any man, there ARE few that ARE “against the knowledge of God“, there ARE few that rise to this level save for those thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE contrary to His words in substance. In the common understanding of sin, most ALL ARE against commandments of the Lord but this IS NOT the subject here; in the context that we have here from the apostle we should see those things that keep a man’s heart, his conscious thoughts and attitudes, away from the Truth of God which IS the Truth of the Master’s message. In this view we should try to see that while covetousness can perhaps be a stronghold if it is a state of thought and attitude, the greater stronghold IS found in one’s thinking that such IS right and IS in line with the words of the Lord.
And such it the reality in so many of the Master’s precepts, precepts that most men DO NOT see in the way of commandments and that men DO NOT see as that they ARE “against the knowledge of God“. Millions go about their lives without realizing that their thoughts and their attitudes on keeping His words and on Love ARE “against the knowledge of God“; millions go about their lives believing that they “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” which Jesus tells us IS the price to pay to “enter into the kingdom of heaven” whilst they ARE keeping ONLY the precepts of their own particular doctrine. While men can easily see this dynamic at play in the lives of the scribes and the Pharisees who believed that they were acting according to the Will of God but who were merely acting according to their own traditions and doctrines, they DO NOT yet see how that they ARE doing much the same thing. It IS in this light that we see much of doctrine as the strongholds of men and understand that it IS because of these strongholds that they fail to attain the True spiritual weapons that ARE needed to be “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God“; they fail to have the realizations of Truth that are necessary for “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
From our perspective the greatest failure of doctrines IS in the understanding and the teaching of the concept of Love which IS presented to us in the Greek word agape and we should understand here that this IS the great KEY to Truth, the great KEY to salvation and the ultimate reality of keeping His words. So long as men fail to understand both the importance of Love as one’s expression to the world and the very meaning of this expression, they will be trapped, imprisoned by their own doctrinal approach to God which IS become their stronghold. This IS the plight of the Jews in Jesus’ time and this IS the problem of men yet today. In this we should try to see that while doctrines ARE important, that they DO keep many men’s focus somewhat upon God, that they ARE NOT yet the necessary focus upon the things of the Lord….such focus as the Master teaches us in Love and in keeping His words.
In the greater realization of the Presence of God, in the Truth of the grace of God, there IS the free flowing revelation of Love and of Truth and this revelation IS the realization of the Presence of God. It IS in this way that we should view the Master’s words that tell us “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke 8:18); here we should understand the reality that ALL things that come from God, ALL of His grace, ARE spiritual. When we view this hearing as perceiving and believing, we can see more clearly the relevance of the Master’s words in this context of grace as the spiritual realizations of the man in this world. In the Truth of such realization however there IS also the reality of its expression in the Life of the man, and it IS in this expression, this fruit if your will, that brings ever more realization which the Master shows us here as stopped in the Life of the man who DOES NOT express that measure of the Presence of God that he has attained. In this view we should see that whatsoever comes to a man by measure IS ONLY True realization if it becomes his expression to the world of men; this IS an important point that IS hidden in these words but which IS clearly seen in so many other sayings that show us the nature of Love as one’s expression.
While we recently discussed this saying from the Gospel of Luke and others like it in In the Words of Jesus part 1243 in the more straightforward context of measure; that having such revelations and realizations through keeping His words will bring a man a greater measure of His grace, we should today try to see that it IS the expression of this grace which IS the more important part and that there IS real importance in regard to what a man should believe to be True. In the context of the Parable of the Sower and Jesus’ further explanation of this to His disciples we should try to see that there IS the outer and the inner reality of His words and, among the many ideas that are encapsulated in this parable, we should see the overriding importance of the final conclusion which says “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). Here IS the reality of expression, the reality of DOING which IS the Truth of keeping His words and we should understand here that there IS no limitation in such hearing….that one can hear that inner voice of his own Soul.
It IS this idea of expression that IS the yet deeper idea that IS conveyed by both the parable and the saying; this we see as that it IS one’s expression of his revelations through his thoughts, attitudes and actions that Truly results in yet greater revelations and thereby yet greater expression. Here, in the context of our subject, we should try to see and to understand how that this dynamic plays out in Life; how that the expression of the doctrinal precepts IS NOT necessarily the expression of the Truth of Jesus’s words and how that it generally IS a diluted expression when that precept it IS one of Love and of keeping His words. It IS of course in the fullness of DOING that men find the ultimate reward which IS one’s full realization of the kingdom and of the Truth which IS the fullness of one’s realization of the Presence of God. While this IS rather clearly stated in the Master’s words that we have been carrying for many essays, this IS NOT the view of most doctrines which hold to their own beliefs, many of which ARE contrary to His Truth which IS “against the knowledge of God“. Similarly we should see those other words from the Master that we have been using as our continuing look at the words of Jesus according to the Apostle John, these words on the Truth of discipleship which IS another word that IS diluted by doctrine and which has lost its True meaning as the Master paints this for us. It IS in one’s own stronghold of beliefs that a man sees himself as a disciple if he IS NOT in accord with the Master’s words which we repeat again; we read:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, 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. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:31-34).
Here at this intersection of Truths we find discipleship, keeping His words, Truth and deliverance as these are addressed to the man who IS already a believer in the higher sense of this word which IS the reality of keeping His words. Here, as we said in the last post, we should see the reality of measure as men who “believed on him” ARE admonished to continue and here, when we can remove this idea of believing from the doctrinally diluted view, we can see the continuing thought that shows us the True idea: that they ARE following the Master and that the reward of True discipleship will come to them as they continue to follow Him. While there IS much more in this saying, today’s reality IS the reward and the Truth of believing on Him which IS to follow Him and which IS to keep His words. Again, it IS the strongholds of belief of most ALL doctrines that confound these ideas and take away the idea of reward, the idea of the reciprocal action that men enjoy by DOING, as they minimize the True reality of both believing and of His words saying “If ye continue in my word“.
In this regard we should try to understand that there IS a doctrinal reality in this idea of keeping His words, that this idea IS recognized and understood as Jesus instruction. However, this understanding IS seldom seen as the prerequisite for His grace which IS one’s individual realization of the Presence of God in his Life. It IS in the doctrinal view of grace that many have come to believe that there IS NO requirement to DO according to His words and, while this IS contrary to the Master’s words above and to His words from the fourteenth chapter that we repeat again, doctrines hold to their presumptions which they steadfastly back with out of context and misunderstood ideas from the writings of Paul. This IS the doctrinal stronghold and while it may seem arbitrary and harsh to show that doctrines ARE often “against the knowledge of God“, the reality of our idea IS clearly presented in any honest review of the Master’s words. While we find the Truth of the Presence of God in the Master’s words that we repeat again below, doctrines DO NOT see this same reality; we read:
“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:a 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. 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 14:15-24).
While we see here the very Presence of God as the Spirit of Truth, as the Son and as the Father, in the Life of the man who will keep His words, the view of doctrine DOES NOT as they have formed doctrinal distinctions regarding the Trinity and the interrelationship of its Persons. We should understand that these words from the Master DO NOT stand alone but rather follow upon and lead up to ever more parabolic explanations of the very nature of the Presence of God and the relationship of this Presence to the man in this world. It IS in the realization of the Presence of God that one comes to see these Truths and in the fullness of this realization that one can KNOW by True experience the Oneness and the Unity that the Master shows us saying “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you“. And here again we have the idea of reward, the reality of reciprocal action, that IS denied by most doctrines based in their own beliefs regarding faith; it IS this realization of Truth, this realization of His Presence, which brings us to the understanding of this Oneness and Unity and it IS this realization that comes to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“.
This IS again the quid pro quo; this IS again the idea of reward or of wages as the Greek word misthos is alternately rendered. We should NOT see this as a reward bestowed upon a man from an outside source of from a doctrinal sense of God; this idea of reward or wages IS NOT such but it IS rather the natural and ‘automatic’ reciprocal action that comes to a man who keeps His words. It IS in keeping His words that this reward IS ‘unlocked’ if you will; it IS through this that revelation comes and it IS through this that the realization of His Presence and His grace comes to a man. This IS the realization of Truth and it IS such Truth, such “knowledge of God“, that will set one free as one comes to the fullness of DOING ALL of the things that the Master shows us to DO. And the quid pro quo IS NOT ONLY found in these ideas on His Presence that Jesus shares with us above; it IS also found in His words on discipleship where we read the same criteria for the man who Truly seeks God….that he believe on the Master which IS to keep His words and that he “continue in my word” which IS the way for each man to increase the measure of his realization of the Presence of God which IS His grace.
And again this IS NOT the only place where we find such ideas of reciprocal action in the Life of a men who will keep His words as this IS also the criteria that the Master presents so clearly in regard to the Kingdom of God as He tells us that to “enter into the kingdom of heaven” a man must “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. Can we understand the Master’s words here as the reality of Life and of the Kingdom, a reality that is diluted and changed by the doctrines of men which stand as their own strongholds, as their own barrier to the Truth. In the last essay discussed how that the Master shows us how that men will come to believe that they ARE saved, that they have the Presence of God, by way of the actions in this world in prophecy, in healing and in accomplishing many wonderful works, He then shows how that this IS ALL of NO avail and, in the reality of His words saying “I never knew you” which reflect upon the reality that those who DO such things must keep His words, we find the plight of men whose belief IS their stronghold and who ARE NOT “doers of the word” (James 1:22). We read Jesus words again saying:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
It IS this same idea that Jesus presents to us at the end of the Parable of the Talents according to Matthew. In His words that ARE called by some the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, a parable that has taken on eschatological tones in many doctrines, we find the same ideas of DOING as these ARE related to Love; here Love for men in general IS equated to Love for the Lord. In these most misunderstood words where the general idea of Love is displaced by the individual ideas that Jesus mentions, the reward IS shown as His acceptance which we read as “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). In these ideas we should see the deeper reality of DOING as the Master shows us above in the Sermon on the Mount and it IS these sentiments that we should see in Paul’s words as we discussed in the last post where he tells us that without Love there IS nothing.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
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.
Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate.
Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.
Live in joy, without possessions.
Like the shining ones.
The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.
Let go of winning and losing and find joy.
There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Today’s Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada (on JOY)5; a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. These words and ideas ARE much the same as those we discuss in our In the Words of Jesus essays. And what is this freedom but the release of our hearts and minds from loving this life in this world and attaining the Presence of God. This word Joy has many meanings as DOES the idea of Love, but in the context that it IS used here we should see the idea that Joy IS Love, Joy IS health, Joy IS peace and that Joy IS without the burdens placed on a man by the illusion and the glamour of the ways of the world. We should try to see that it IS the antithesis of these ideas in hate, in affliction and in troubles that ARE among the possessions of the carnal man, that ARE among the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45) according to the Master.
And it IS in the second stanza above that we see the basic psychic ideas that can eliminate the harm caused by such “evil treasure” as a man looks past himself and at the welfare of others which IS the greater reality of Love as the Master teaches us. It IS in losing such possessions, losing such carnal thoughts and attitudes, that one can truly find the “joy of freedom“….this IS the Truth of deliverance.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
