ON LOVE; PART CMXXXI

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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 post we continued with our ideas on Love as the Way par excellence to realize the Truth of our own spiritual reality. We discussed again how that the whole idea of Love IS misconstrued and misapplied as men see only the carnal implications that come into their lives in the form of emotional and mental attractions and attachments to ALL manner of worldly ideas; be they persons, things or thoughts. We showed how that these ideas of Love as the Master shows us through the Greek word agape IS so much more than these carnal implications and, as both Jesus and His apostles tell us, the reality of agape encompasses ALL of the law. This IS the reality of the Apostle Paul’s words on the law and how that it IS through men’s expression of Love that the whole of the law IS accomplished; it is in this expression of Love as the Master teaches us that makes the structure and the words of the law moot, that IS that they serve NO purpose in the Life of the man whose expression this IS.

While the apostle frames his ideas in terms of faith and grace, it should be understood that these things ARE the privilege of the man whose expression IS agape and that these spiritual ideas ARE NOT simply given to or taken by a man in this world, regardless of his doctrinal beliefs. When we can see faith as that sense of KNOWING the Truth that comes to the man who keeps His words as we read in Jesus words below in our trifecta, we can then come to see the depth of this idea. It IS the man who keeps His words that “shall know the truth” and there IS NO clearer way to keep His words than in our expression of agape. Jesus paints the reality of faith in His many sayings but none depict this reality for us better than His words on having “faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20). This faith IS that KNOWING, that certainty, that will move the mountain or to enable one to “say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6).

It IS NOT by accident that the Master uses this idea of the mustard seed to show the depth of faith that one can possess and perhaps we can see deeper into His intent as we relate this idea of KNOWING to His words that tell us how that we should KNOW the Truth. This idea of faith however IS NOT understood beyond the common understanding of the translated Greek word pistis; this word, like agape and many others, IS misunderstood and misapplied and has taken on a rather nebulous meaning based in the doctrines that teach this as the way to God. The greater reality of faith from pistis, and the kindred word believing from pistueo, as these ideas ARE used by the Master and His apostles IS found in the reality of keeping His words of which agape IS the True Way.

While Vincent shows us the deeper meaning of the New Testament ideas of believing in and believing on the Master as these are used by Jesus and His apostles, the better understanding is found when we apply his idea of: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴ to ALL forms and uses of these words. It IS when we can see this faith and believing as that KNOWING that we can come to understand how that this IS the privilege of the man who keeps His words and glimpse the reality of His teaching: that it IS this KNOWING that enables one to move the mountain and it IS in this KNOWING that we find the True meaning of His words saying: “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). It IS in this sense of KNOWING that we find the reality of His words from our trifecta; KNOWING the Truth, KNOWING His Presence and KNOWING the reality of the Kingdom of God within. We read again:

• “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).
• “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” (Matthew 7:21).
• “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).

Here we should try to see how that this KNOWING IS our realization of the Truth; that this KNOWING IS His Presence and this KNOWING IS our True sense of the Kingdom of God here and now. And we should try to see and to understand the clarity of His words; that ALL of these things come to the man who will keep His words and, despite the interpretations of doctrines, there IS naught that the apostles write that will diminish this Truth.

There IS a common idea presented to us by Jesus: in the words above on KNOWING the Truth and in His words that tell us of those “greater works” that the man in this world can DO we have the same essential Truth, a Truth that IS tied to one’s ability to keep His words. And while doctrines may NOT see the deeper idea of believing on and believing in as Vincent DOES, the Truth remains in the reality that NONE can DO these “greater works” save they that the DO keep His words. In the relative simplicity of the idea that He IS God comes the essential message that we should DO as He says, a message that IS rather ignored by the organized churches. This IS the deeper reality of His rhetorical question which asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say ?” (Luke 6:46).

In the reality of His words we find these “greater works” and while there may be some modicum of ‘miracles’ that can be done by those who ARE NOT in the fullness of His words, these ARE most likely of a psychic nature which IS controlled and fed by the emotions and the thoughts of the man and NOT by the fullness of the Spirit within. The Master addresses this very idea in the companion words to His rhetorical question as IS presented by the Apostle Matthew; there we read that there ARE those who can DO such things as healing and an prophecy but that these DO NOT put one into the fullness of His words which IS the product of Truly believing on Jesus. We read from Matthew’s gospel:

 “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).

That men DO NOT see themselves in these words from the Master IS of NO moment as there IS a Truth here that IS repeated throughout His words and, as we have discussed before, there IS the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder which follows these words from Jesus in both Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel. While Matthew’s words ARE pointed and straightforward, the very same ideas can be gleaned from Luke’s presentation of the Master’s simple question and while it IS NOT necessary for the parable to further explain Jesus intent, both offer it as our guide to His Truth. The parable most clearly sets out the need to keep His words and while this idea IS clearly presented for ALL to see, the reality IS lost in most ALL presentations of doctrine.

In the True way of Jesus’ parables, this Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder IS NOT a parable at ALL as the essence of His words is clear….naught IS hidden. We should understand that it IS through the minds of men that any particular one of Jesus’ sayings ARE defined as parable or not and this determination of what IS and what IS NOT varies according to the many doctrines. Much of what IS seen as parabolic IS actually a clear presentation of His Truth that goes unseen by the many as they ponder on His words to find their meaning and this Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder IS an example of this; we read from Matthew’s Gospel:

“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).

It IS the Wise builder that keeps His words which IS the Great KEY to ALL spiritual reality; we read this here in Jesus summation of who can enter into the Kingdom of God and we see this as well in the rest of our trifecta of spiritual Truth. And what IS the greater reality of keeping His words but the Truth of Love that the Master so eloquently and clearly offers us in His Sermon on the Mount. This IS our Truth. It IS by our expression of Love that we ARE accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God and it IS our expression of Love that enables us to have the Presence of God in our lives and when we can see that this Presence IS our ever growing expression of Love, we can then understand the deeper aspects of discipleship and how that this expression IS in turn that reality in which we “shall know the truth“.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	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.

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

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