ON LOVE; PART CMLXI

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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).

We ended the last essay with the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians, words that reflect the importance of Love, of agape, as the expression of the man in this world. This idea of Love IS imprisoned by men’s common understanding of it as the mental and emotional attractions and attachments to others and even to things and in this IS much of the human problem. These ideas, while a part of the great illusion and the glamour of Life, ARE the carnal and physical attributes of a deeply spiritual enterprise that IS reflected for us in the Apostle James’ words regarding “respect to persons” as he makes this idea a defining quality of agape, of Love. If we should study this idea we will see that the words of Paul to the Corinthians, aside from showing the importance, set for us this same defining quality. 

As Paul tells us that: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7), we should be able to see the fullness of James’ idea of “respect to persons” as such respect IS ALL of these ideas that Paul presents. And there IS a dual meaning here in this idea of respect; while one should NOT respect or Love any one person above another because of some carnal attributes, one should also see ALL men in the same way. And, if we can understand how that ALL men ARE part and parcel of the One God, then we can understand how that both parts of the Great Commandments show us the same essential Truth.

That men CAN NOT see this IS again a product of that vanity to which Paul tells us that we ARE ALL subjected and in this regard we should try to understand that this IS NOT wrong nor IS it error, it IS but the ways of men in this world….ways from which they must escape. That they will escape IS the idea that we find in Paul’s saying that shows us the bondage and the freedom but we should understand here that there IS a cost for this freedom which the Master shows us in our trifecta. Paul tells us “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).

It IS in the defining ideas for the Greek word mataiotes as well as our reconstruction of these sayings, which have been arranged and rendered to conform to the doctrinal assumptions of men, that the fullness of the Truth comes out. When we can see vanity as Vincent explains mataiotes for us saying that: the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends ⁴, we can then see how that this IS the basis for the illusion and the glamour of which we speak. It IS in the doctrinal effort to show the ‘fall of man’ as the sin of Adam, that the reality of the apostle’s words IS lost. If we can see Paul’s words as we have reconstructed them saying that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” and understand that the creature IS the creation (that it IS for our purposes the man in this world as opposed to his spiritual nature which IS both bound and will be freed or delivered) we can begin to understand a greater part of the One Truth. Paul shows us this reality and he includes himself, as an apostle of the Lord, among those who wait for this freedom from bondage, a freedom which comes in keeping His words as we can see in the first part of our trifecta of spiritual reality which we read 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).

Jesus shows us this freedom as the product of keeping His words and we should remember here that both the words “make you free” as this IS rendered above, and the word delivered as this IS rendered in Romans, ARE from the same Greek word, eleutheroo. We should remember as well that our reconstruction IS NOT done to conform to our own doctrinal ideas but it IS rather the product of the reality of the idea that God DOES NOT hope as we commonly understand this idea and that the lexicon’s own definition of the Greek word elpis IS expectation ². Further, Vincent shows us that the apostles words “in hope, Because“, according to the King James text, should be together in the next verse; he says: The best texts transfer these words from the preceding verse, and construe with was made subject, rendering ὅτι that instead of because. “The creation was subjected in the hope that,” etc. ⁴ .

This IS the reality of Life in this world, a Life subjected to that vanity, that illusion and glamour, from which men must escape. Here, if we can use the Apostle Peter’s words on this freedom saying that “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4), we can make the connections on both sides of this equation. First that to “be partakers of the divine nature” IS the same as being “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“and the same as the Master’s own words saying “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. Second we should see that this vanity, this illusion and glamour, IS “the corruption that is in the world through lust” and this IS “the bondage of corruption“….and that this IS the Life of the man in this world who DOES NOT “continue in my word” as Jesus presents this to us.

While this may seem to be far from our current subject and far from our thoughts on Love, the reality IS that it IS the Truth of Love that IS hidden in the vanity, that IS lost in the illusions of men who see the carnal physical Life as their reality. It IS this same vanity, this same illusion, that causes men to see themselves and those of their likeness differently than they see others and it IS here that the reality of Love IS lost. To have NO “respect to persons” IS a difficult task as IS its counterpart that tells us that we should see ALL men as we see ourselves…..as children of the One God. And this idea IS the reality of the second part of the Great Commandments and this IS the reality of the Golden Rule. This IS the reality of Paul’s ideas that reflect upon Jesus words regarding the completeness of Love, of agape, saying of the man who can so Love “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

The point here IS of course that it IS in Love that one escapes, that one IS freed and delivered from the vanity and that this IS the very Way of God which Paul tells us, echoing the Master’s words above, in saying that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). Paul offers us this idea of God in several contexts and it IS only in the doctrinal view by which Christians paint themselves as better and as ‘saved’ that the Truth of these ideas IS missed as men ever see the other man as the sinner. And Peter shows us this idea as well as he tells us that it IS God “who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work” (1 Peter 1:17). Here the idea IS a man’s works and when we can see the ideas of right and wrong as spiritual and carnal and understand sin as “the works of the flesh” we can understand that one’s works, one’s deeds as this IS alternately rendered, ARE either for the self in this world or they ARE for God. This IS the ONLY determining factor and one’s sex, race, nationality, color or religion DO NOT enter into the equation at ALL. Contrary to this IS the division created in the factions of men, factions that create the hatreds and the variance and the emulations, factions that create the wrath that men express one to another as we read again in our subject sayings from Paul:

“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).

This idea of factions, which IS the better rendering of eritheia than strife and which IS used in other translations and in Vincent’s commentary, can be seen as the root cause of the divisions that afflict men and it IS this that renders moot the Truth of NO “respect to persons“. And it IS factions that result in the hatreds, the variance which IS that sense of disagreement, and the emulations or that spirit of self-devotion ⁴ that Vincent tells us IS the intent of this Greek word zelos which we further explore in In the Words of Jesus part 1310. In these divisions of men and the glamour that they incur as each division sees itself above others. we can easily see the failure of Love, the failure of having NO “respect to persons” an of NOT respecting or Loving one above another. And in this IS the failure of the Golden Rule which IS seen by too many as a reciprocal action rather than the positive activity of GoodWill that Emmet Fox so clearly portrays for us saying: I PRACTICE, the Golden Rule of Jesus instead of merely admiring it. He said, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The important point about the Golden Rule is that I am to practice it whether the other fellow does so or not. **

We should easily see how that ALL of these ideas ARE tied together under the single banner of Love, of agape, as the guiding principal for the man who Truly seeks God. We should understand as well how that it IS the change of one’s focus away from the ways of the self in the world, ways in which faction and division ARE inherent, that allows this sense of Love to grow in one’s consciousness, in one’s heart. It IS as a man strives toward the things of God that the reality of his own relationship to others and to God becomes more clearly seen and understood. ALL of this is found in the deeper ideas that lie behind the Greek words that Paul uses in our selection above where we should try to see the segments that show those things that ARE contrary to one’s relationship to God through infidelity and reliance upon the carnal powers; those things that ARE contrary to one’s relationship to others through faction and division, and those things that ARE contrary to one’s own progress as men succumb to the ways of the world and take joy in it.

That there ARE deeper Truths that ARE intended by Paul’s use of the ideas contained in the Greek words can be seen in the exemplary Life of the Apostle Peter….a Life that IS shown to us in great detail. As we follow Peter’s Path we see a man who IS NOT subject to the base carnal instinct but who IS, at the same time, NOT in the fullness of keeping the Master’s words in his thoughts, his attitudes and his actions; that IS that he IS NOT in the fullness of the Great Commandments which hold the KEY to the One Truth. Peter IS NOT an adulterer or a fornicator as these are commonly understood but he IS lacking in his fidelity toward the Godhead as he allows his carnal thoughts, attitudes and actions to overwhelm the prompting of his own Soul; it IS these things that Jesus rebukes the apostle for.

And the Master understands this human failing as we can see in His words to Peter saying “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32). If we can understand the reality of Satan as the adversary to the Light of the Soul, the adversary that IS the illusion and the glamour, and that he IS NOT a personality but IS rather the carnally focused personality of everyman, then we can better understand the apostle’s journey and our own journey as well. And we can also then understand the deeper Truths to be found in Paul’s admonition to the man who Truly seeks God saying:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3).

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

 

• ² from New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁴  Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ** From The Fifteen Points by Emmet Fox; © 1932 HarperCollins Publishers Inc