ON LOVE; PART CMLVI

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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 essay we discussed the words that ARE rendered as envying and murders in the King James Bible. We noted that Vincent tells us that the word rendered as murders should be omitted and that there IS NO Greek word to be rendered as such in our interlinear version. We noted as well that this word IS NOT a part of the Apostle Paul’s list according to most translations. We speculated that the King James translators inserted this because this combination of words IS a part of a similar list in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans but for our purposes here in Galatians we should leave this out and concentrate on the apostle’s intent in using phthonos. For us this DOES NOT refer to the common understanding of envy which, while this IS contrary to the Truth that we seek, IS NOT among those ideas that we see in this second segment, ideas that ARE against the interests of our fellowman and contrary to that Love that we must express. 

Vincent helped us to see a deeper Truth by his commentary on the use of this word in Romans saying that: Murder is conceived as a thought which has filled the man ⁴ and if we can see this as a defining quality of phthonos, that this IS the conceived thought to harm another, then we can better understand the apostle’s use of this idea. Webster’s 1913 dictionary also helps us here as they report the first definition of envy as: Malice; ill will; spite and, later in their entry, they list: Emulation; rivalry ¹ calling ALL of these ideas obsolete uses of this word. We should try to see here how that the King James translators of the 15th century likely had the obsolete ideas in mind when the rendered  phthonos as envy and this then DOES capture the same ideas that Vincent gives to us. This idea of the conceived thought to harm another IS lost is the common understanding of this word and, if the common understanding were to be the apostle’s intent then most everyman should see the he himself “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” according to Paul’s words. Much the same can be said regarding many of the words in this list which ARE the normal ways of the man whose focus IS yet in this world and the apostle offers NO safe harbor such as the idea of being ‘born again’ in his words which we read here again:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:17-24).

While there IS such safe harbor in the doctrines of men, this IS but a part of the illusion and the glamour against which Paul IS speaking as most ALL of these ideas can be found in that vanity about which the apostle tells us that ALL men ARE subjected saying that ALL ARE “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20). Here again we go to Vincent who develops the idea of vanity for us saying that in this saying of the Greek word mataiotes: Here, therefore, the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends ⁴. We should be able to clearly see the illusion in this idea of pursuing false ends and see that this IS, from a spiritual perspective, a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God. It IS against this trap that Paul IS cautioning us as he tells us of those things that ARE worked in that vanity, that ARE in this illusory view of Life where men believe that this little life in this world IS what IS important rather than the ideas that the Master presents to us in our trifecta of spiritual reality. We read Jesus’ words again 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).
• “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).

It IS in men’s believing that the illusion IS the Truth, that the things that they see in this sense of vanity ARE what IS the Truth of Life, and it IS in this we find the idea of glamour which IS wielded both individually and in those groups that ARE the factions, the sects and the divisions of men according to their own sense of illusion. And this IS NOT just a Christian plight; this vanity afflicts ALL men that ARE born into this world. Here we are reminded again of the Buddha’s words that show us this same Truth in poetic form; we read:

“Do not live in the world, in distraction and false dreams. Outside the dharma. Arise and watch. Follow the way joyfully through this world and beyond. Follow the way of virtue. Follow the way joyfully through this world and on beyond! For consider the world -a bubble, a mirage. See the world as it is, and death shall overlook you. Come, consider the world, a painted chariot for kings, a trap for fools. But he who sees goes free. As the moon slips from behind a cloud And shines, so the master comes out from behind his ignorance And shines. The world is in darkness. How few have eyes to see! How few the birds who escape the net and fly to heaven! Swans rise and fly toward the sun. What magic! So do the pure conquer the armies of illusion and rise and fly” (Dhammapada; on The World)⁵.

We should try to see the common link between these ideas from the Buddha and those from the Master and His apostles. The message IS ever the same….that we keep His words for the Christian and that men achieve the result of His words regardless of what religion they may espouse. It IS in the Master’s words that men can see the reality of being pure which IS to follow the way of virtue as we read in the Buddha’s words above. In this we should see NO difference from Jesus’ admonition that we should “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) where His righteousness IS both purity and virtue or that we should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) where this perfection brings men the same things. It IS when men can understand the depth of the ideas presented by Jesus and His apostles: that these spoken Truths ARE contrary to ALL thoughts of and for the benefit of the self in this world and that it IS the spiritual man who must be expressed through the carnal body of flesh, that True progress can be made upon the Path of salvation which IS so much more that the doctrinal view of ‘being saved’.

In ALL of these words that the apostle shows us and that we see as those thoughts and attitudes that a man may hold against another, ideas that are found in and fostered by the divisions perpetuated by men in their factions and their sects, we have the rather normal human experience that IS based in the illusions of Life that afflict ALL men. And whether we see this affliction as the vanity that men ARE “made subject to” by being men born into this world or we see this in the archaic ideas of the fall of man DOES NOT matter as from both views this IS the corruption from which we must be freed or, as we should understand this, from which we must escape. We should remember here how that Paul tells us that men “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) but we should understand that this takes a man’s active participation, that there IS NO magical presentation of this freedom as we find in the doctrines of men.

This idea of deliverance IS rendered from the same Greek word that Jesus uses as He tells us that “the truth shall make you free” and here we must try to understand how that this IS tied to keeping His words and continuing in them. This IS the same idea that we should take from Paul’s words on this freedom, a freedom from “the bondage of corruption” which IS men’s focus upon themselves and their little lives in this world. While this IS NOT an easy message for men to grasp and understand, we should try to see that this failure IS a part of the illusion and the glamour, a part of the vanity, in which men Live as they DO NOT see nor understand the Truth of the message of the Gospels and the clarifying and amplifying words of the apostles. While we DO NOT want to get into a discussion here of the True Life of the Soul, the True man in this world, and the rejected ideas of reincarnation or rebirth, we should note that the doctrinal rejection of this idea IS also tied to the same illusion that tells men that this IS their Life and their only Life although there IS really naught in the Master’s words that DO say this IS so. To the contrary, there ARE several ideas in His words that could lead a man to see the hidden possibilities that ARE a part of the great mysteries of Life.

This idea of mysteries IS also tied to that same sense of illusion and of glamour as men have come to believe that their doctrines have solved the mysteries; they fail to see how that the solution to the mysteries of Life IS ONLY found in the Truth….and that the Truth ONLY comes to the man of whom the Master tells us will “continue in my word“. It IS in the reality of these mysteries that one can come to see the Truth of Life and the continuity of existence and come to Truly comprehend the deeper realities of Life which the apostle shows us saying “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written , Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:51-56).

Doctrines may teach that they understand the apostle’s words but the  Truths that ARE behind these words ARE reserved for the disciple, for the man who DOES keep His words and, by measure, to the man who Truly strives. These words from the apostle as well as much of his teachings ARE NOT unlike the parables of Jesus as He teaches a man “according to his several ability” (Matthew 25:15) which IS heightened by discipleship and by a man’s striving toward that perfection which IS the fullness of the Presence of God in one’s Life. It IS in this way that we should understand His words to His disciples saying “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see , and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10).

And so we should see the gist of Paul’s words; that for the man whose Life IS focused upon himself and the ways of the self in this world, the man whose Life IS wrapped up in the reality behind the apostle’s words that show his infidelity toward God and the reliance upon the lower psychic powers that ARE idolatry and sorcery, the revelation of the mysteries will NOT come. Similarly, for the man who DOES NOT express that Love, that agape, to ALL men as Jesus teaches us; this man’s Life IS also wrapped up in the ideas that Paul shows us….ideas that will keep him from “the Kingdom of God“. Again we should see here that the first segment of the apostle’s words depict the way that men look to the world rather that to God while the second segment shows us those carnal thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE the Life of the man who DOES NOT express the fullness of Love but rather expresses the ideas that he finds in his sense of division and in his own faction or sect.

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