ON LOVE; PART MXI
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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 our view of Jesus’ words on measure from the Gospel of the Apostle Mark and there ARE a few more ideas that we should attach to His words that we DID NOT address along with our dissection of the True nature of His message. What we DID was to take His words into a spiritual realm with the understanding that the whole idea of hearing IS NOT ONLY a function of the ear but IS a combination of thoughts and ideas that come from a multitude of sources. It IS NOT the sound itself that affects the man, it IS what that sound may mean to him and how he may process what he IS hearing. It IS a man’s interpretation in his consciousness, an interpretation that IS generally a carnal one made by his mind and his emotions and influenced by his own nurturing, culture and experience.
Such interpretations largely depend upon the focus of the man; if his focus IS upon the Truth and the things of God then his interpretation will be in that Light but if his focus IS upon him self and the things of the self then the interpretation will be a carnal one. And there ARE many points in between these two poles that DO effect the way that whatsoever one hears IS processed and these include one’s focus upon his own sense of doctrine which further confuses his interpretation of spiritual ideas which ARE of course our subject. We should see Jesus’ words saying “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24) as that these ARE being themselves heard by the reader and it IS in this perspective that ALL that enters the ear, or the eye, or that which comes from the mind and emotions, should be understood.
We can see His words as that, as words on a page which have little meaning to the carnally focused man, or we can see the ideas behind these words based in our own indoctrination or nurturing and experience. We can also see these words as they ARE reflected into our minds as the realization of Truth as we discern them apart from the words themselves and what we ARE told that they mean. In this we should again see the Apostle John’s words on that unction, that “anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie” (1 John 2:27). This IS that realization that comes in focus upon the things of God, that comes from one’s inner voice of conscience and consciousness where the reality of revelation resides and where hearing IS realization. Rather than referring back to our dissection of the Master’s words, we repeat our points from the last post:
- “Take heed what ye hear” IS to discern and in the long list of meanings given the Greek word blepo in the lexicon 2 we find to see and to discern, to perceive, to discover and to KNOW.
- “with what measure ye mete” IS to measure your own measure as both measure and mete ARE from the same Greek word idea. Metron IS rendered as measure and metreo IS a derivative of that root word which IS rendered as mete. If we can see this idea spiritually, we can see how that in discerning Truth from error, it IS the measure by which one can discern, perhaps the effort put into such discernment, that will result in like measure as….
- “it shall be measured to you“. Can we see the point here? While it seems vague and difficult to discern, the reality IS that these words ARE speaking about the whole phenomenon of discernment and the measure of what one will discern, perceive, discover and KNOW and in these ideas we should try to see that revelation and realization of the Truth that comes from one’s own Soul.
- “unto you that hear shall more be given” IS Jesus’ final words here and in these we should see the explanation of the foregoing; the explanation of what IS heard AND discerned: it IS in one’s realization of the Truth that IS revealed that ever more IS given. This IS the natural way of one’s spiritual growth and the natural way of the growth of the Kingdom Within.
The Apostle Luke gives us Jesus’ words in a different way; he writes that “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 have the dynamic of how one should hear rather than what and in this idea we should again see the difference between Truth and error; we should see here the difference between hearing carnally and hearing spiritually, the difference between hearing revelations of Truth and hearing the machinations of one’s own carnal approach and focus. Here “whosoever hath” IS the man whose focus IS upon the things of God, the man who IS by measure gaining Truth; to this man more Truth ever flows. Conversely “whosoever hath not” IS the man whose focus IS carnal, whose focus IS upon himself and the things of the self and here we should try to see some idea of the effect of doctrines on this largely spiritual idea.
The doctrinally focused man will “seemeth to have” some measure of Truth, especially to himself, and the Master’s words here should be seen as that “that which he seemeth to have” will fail. There IS NO one that will take away “that which he seemeth to have” save the man himself and this whole idea can only make sense when it IS seen as it IS intended….spiritually. In the end the words reported by both apostles ARE largely the same and we should note here that in both gospels these ideas follow upon the Parable of the Sower and Jesus words saying: “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad” (Luke 8:16-17). If we can see the whole intent of Jesus’ words here in the context of the whole conversation, we can likely come to understand that beneath the words IS the element of faith, of KNOWING, and how that these come to a man by measure.
It IS in the fullness these ideas that the Truth IS found; the Master’s complete thought as He finishes the Parable of the Sower tell us that the man that IS the “good ground” IS the man who will “bring forth fruit” and that this fruit, this expression of the man who IS the “good ground“, IS his Light which idea the Master follows with in His next words. In His words regarding the Light, how that it should be expressed, IS the idea behind His parabolic words that show us that this Light should NOT be hidden nor withheld but that it should be expressed according to the measure. If we can see this Light as that KNOWING which IS the essence of pistis and pisteuo, we can then see how that this “fruit of the spirit” works out in the Life of the man in this world. Can we see how that Jesus’ words string together?
And the Master goes on to speak about the mysteries of Life, spiritual mysteries to be sure, as He tells us that naught IS Truly hid to the man who can hear; NOT the man into whose ears such things enter but the man who can discern the words from whatsoever source they may come. Thus we have the idea that a man should take heed of how or of what it IS that he may come to KNOW and in this idea the difference between Truth and error prevails. Here one must see how that it IS ever the things of and for the self in the world that ARE error and it IS the revelations of Truth and of Love according to the ideas found in the Great Commandments that ARE Truth. We read the more complete idea of Jesus words from Mark’s Gospel saying:
“And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath” (Mark 4:20:25).
While Luke and Mark place these ideas together with the parable, Matthew separates these thoughts and places some of them at the beginning of the Sermon on the mount. We should note here that while the context IS different, the idea IS the same; we read: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). These words follow upon the Beatitudes and ARE directed to the man who hears, to the man who lives according to the ways of those blessed as He had just stated.
We should try to understand here the nature of the blessed and the nature of blessing; that this IS the reality of grace as we have previously discussed. It IS the man who KNOWS that IS the “the light of the world” as Jesus tells His disciples and ALL that ARE hearing His words that day. We should try to see here how that it IS the man who can heed them, the man who can discern the embodied Truth away from their own doctrinal leanings, who IS blessed and IS receiving some measure of the grace of God as he hears the revelations released by His words and, in hearing, has that realization that IS the gift and the reward. And this gift, this reward, IS the components of the trifecta; these ARE the Truth and the freedom it brings and these ARE the Presence of God as the source of the realizations of the Truth and of the Kingdom of God. Repeating the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta, we read:
- “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).
The ideas from Jesus’ words regarding the man who IS the “good ground“, which IS the nature of the disciple and by measure the aspirant, serve to point out the measure of fruit that will be the expression of that man: “some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred“. We should try to see how that this expression IS the Light which should NOT be covered nor hid and we should see as well how that it IS this Light, the Light of the Soul which IS the Light of revelation, through which ALL Truth will “be manifested“, that ALL Truth “should come abroad”. It IS in this context that we should understand the ideas on measure, the measure of the aspirant if you will, that we have been discussing. In these ideas we should see then the growth of one’s measure as the growth of the Kingdom Within and understand that the idea that “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) IS NOT stagnant but that it grows measure for measure….that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you“.
If we can understand faith as that KNOWING which IS the grace of God by revelation and realization we can then better understand the whole of the True idea of religion which IS obnubilated by doctrines that DO NOT hear that Truth over the clamor of ideas which men have adopted, ideas which seem to them an allowable substitute for keeping His words. While we DO NOT want to seem overly contrary to the ways of men and their doctrines, we point out again that the Master’s words saying “and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath” IS in regard to those who DO NOT have nor seek the Truth which IS plainly laid out in Jesus’ words and which IS amplified and clarified by His apostles. In the end doctrines will fail as they have always failed and this Jesus clearly points out to the Jews in words that should have reflected themselves in the new religion of the Christian. As we discuss above, Luke makes this idea clearer from the perspective of what a man thinks of himself as he shows us that “whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have“. Here, in this idea of seemeth, we should try to see the whole of the Apostle Paul’s words saying “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 12:3).
We close today with these words from the writer of the Book of Hebrews “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) which will bring us back to the singular idea of faith as this IS used by Paul in his list of the “fruit of the spirit“. We repeat again the apostle’s words:
“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).
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.
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.
We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
