ON LOVE; PART CMXVII
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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).
What had started as an essay about grace some time back has evolved into a series of essays on just what grace IS and what it means in the Life of the man in this world who Truly seeks God. While the doctrinal view of grace should be similar to ours, it has devolved into the carnal ideas which men perceive as ‘things’ that ARE for them from God, His favor if you will. The Truth IS found in the reality of the separation of things spiritual and the things of this world, a Truth that IS shown us by the Master and by His apostles and one that IS NOT accepted by the doctrinal views nor by the psyche of men. This refusal to see the greater spiritual Truth of this separation IS founded in the illusion and the glamour of Life in form and the nurturing that each Soul must endure as he takes his place among men. It IS only when men can realize that ALL things that come from God ARE spiritual that they can understand the True significance of the grace of God as that powerful force of revelation and the realization of Truth. This realization IS for us the ONLY True goal of Life in this world as ALL else IS temporal and IS of this world which the Master and His apostles call corruption through a variety of Greek ideas.
This IS the greater reality of the Apostle Paul’s words that we review so often. The apostle shows us how that the man IS plunged into the ways of the world and how that he will escape from this in the end and, when we can see past the doctrinal assertions that his words pertain to the idea of the ‘fall of man’ according to the common interpretations of Genesis, we can better understand our plight. The apostle tells us:
“the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope expectation Because that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:20-23).
Here, in our own rendering of Paul’s words which reflect the reality of the idea behind the Greek word elpis and hoti, we have the reality of that vanity, that illusion and glamour, to which men ARE subjected to and we have as well the apostles realization of the effect of this vanity, that it IS this illusion and this glamour that ARE “the bondage of corruption“. This IS the ways of the world of men to which the True man IS subjected; this IS the plight of every Soul that IS born into this world save for the Master who came among us free from this; free from the difficulties imposed by His own nurturing in the ways of the world. For Jesus, the nurturing given Him by His parents and those with whom He interacted through His young Life DID NOT have the same effect that this has upon everyman. Although His early Life was spent in the company of parents who were ‘chosen’ by God to give birth to the Christ Child and raise Him, they were of this world and while we DO NOT KNOW the degree of their realization of the Truth regarding their Son, we can assume that much of what they imparted to Him was of a worldly nature.
Paul tells us that the Master IS born into His role upon the Earth and IS free from the difficulties imposed by His nurturing because “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus was born in the fullness of the grace of God, having ALL revelation and ALL realization of the Presence of God in His Life, and while He may NOT realize this as a child and adolescent, He DOES come to KNOW His reality. Very little IS KNOWN of the Life of Jesus as a child and perhaps this IS intentionally so; there ARE but few words that show us His Life and, in the view of those who knew Him as Jesus, the son of the carpenter Joseph, we should see that He remains largely uneducated according to the ways of men. We read that: “the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters,a having never learned?” (John 715) and in this we should be able to see our point which IS also shown to us in by the Apostle John who tells us of the Jews: “And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? (John 6:42).
While Jesus IS born with “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily“, and while we DO NOT KNOW what happened in His Life as a child, as an adolescent and as a young adult, we DO KNOW the result and we DO KNOW that the nurturing that He received DID NOT have that same effect upon Him as it most certainly DOES upon everyman. And we should understand that the promise for us IS in His words, the promise of the grace of God as the same realizations of Truth that the Master has. We should understand that this IS part of those “greater works” that Jesus speaks of saying “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” (John 14:12). These words DO NOT stand alone and in the reality of believing on Him we should see the reality of keeping His words and that it IS ONLY in this reality that this grace will come. In this we should see the most simple logic: if we believe He IS the Son of God, if we believe that He IS God as He shows us in the previous verses, then we should DO as He says….He IS the Lord.
While many may confuse His sayings with their own abilities to DO such things as prophecy and healing, we should understand that IT IS only in the fullness of keeping His words that the Truth of such “greater works” can be realized by a man, and even the ability to DO “the works that I do” IS completely tied to this same reality of keeping His words. We read this Truth in the Master’s words that we have been working with over the last several essays, words which show us the Way to the Kingdom and which also show us how that the little abilities of men ARE but the working of iniquity if one IS NOT in accord with His Truth and His words. The grace that allows for a man to DO “the works that I do” and to DO those “greater works” IS only found in keeping His words; this IS the KEY to ALL spiritual reality. And this IS what should be seen in His words that show us the Way and which discount the little abilities of men, abilities that ARE haphazard at best and which ARE generally more concerned with carnal things than spiritual; we read:
“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).
As we relate the idea of grace to those ideas that we have been speaking about, we should try to see how that grace, as the realization of Truth, IS the Way to dispel glamour and to allow men to see through the illusions of Life in this world. It IS in this realization that men can see the deeper ideas that the Master shows us in His sayings regarding the separation between the things of the world and the spiritual things that ARE His grace and, while it may be a bit confusing to see grace as the realization and as the spiritual things, the reality IS found in the spiritual Truth that ALL things from God to the man in this world ARE realizations of Truth. It is in the reality of His words on the focus of the Life of the man in the world that we find our Path to glory, our Path to the Kingdom of God which IS ONLY revealed to the man who will “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. In these words we can glimpse the idea that it IS by the measure of of one’s focus, one’s seeking and acquiring, that things come to a man…..either the things of God or the things of mammon which ARE the things of the world; 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“(Matthew 6:19-21).
In these words we should see the idea of the necessary division between the things of God and the things of the world and it IS in one’s realization of this that a man can come to understand that the ways of most ALL men ARE carnal, and this regardless of their own views and beliefs. And this IS the Master’s point above as He tells us of those things of iniquity, those things that ARE NOT founded in keeping His words. In this view we should be able to see how that this iniquity IS the reality of sin, that sin and evil ARE NOT as they seem to be, that they ARE NOT as men have measured them in their in their illusion and in their glamour regarding their own doctrines. Vincent shows us that this idea of iniquity, as Matthew uses it, should be seen through the apostle’s eyes as: Sin appeals to him primarily as the violation of law; and therefore his word for iniquity is ἀνουμία 4. And we should see this conjunction with the definitions from the lexicon saying 1. the condition of without law a. because ignorant of it b. because of violating it 2. contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness 2.
When we can see the idea of iniquity as sin as see sin as the condition of without law, then we can see deeper into the ideas that should be taken from Jesus words which show us that the iniquity of NOT keeping His words IS sin and that it matters NOT what a man may DO that he may believe to be Godly….that it IS ONLY in keeping His words that he will find the Path to the Kingdom of God. It IS keeping His words that results in grace as the reciprocal action in the Life of the man in this world and this grace IS the trifecta that we have been writing on; this revelation of Truth, this grace, IS being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God, this IS being His “disciples indeed” (John 8:31) and this IS, most importantly, the realization of the Presence of God in one’s Life as we read again Jesus’ words 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. 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).
So then while it may appear that we have been writing on other topics, the reality IS that we have been continually writing on grace and defining ever more clearly the deeper aspects of grace which ARE NOT seen by most who believe that His grace can come in carnal things. It IS in the great circular reference that IS Life in form in this world that we must try to see the Truth of keeping His words and of striving to DO so. It IS only in so DOING that we can achieve the grace that allows for yet more grace, the revelations that allow for yet more revelations, and come to understand, as men in this world, the step by step Way that we take upon the Path to the fullness of realization which IS the fullness of the Kingdom of God and the fullness of the Presence of God in one’s Life.
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
- 2 from New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
