ON LOVE; PART MLXVI
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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 started the last essay with some thoughts about the continuum of Life and it IS when we can realize that we ARE part and parcel of the One God, that the Apostle Paul’s words saying that “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28) work on EVERY level of existence, that we can begin to glimpse the reality of the whole Truth of Life. As part and parcel we have ALL of the potencies of the Godhead and it IS to realize this and express this that IS the reality of Jesus’ own 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). We must remember here that this believing IS NOT that simple assent of men in this world but IS the greater reality of KNOWING which comes to the disciple of the Lord according to His words 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“.
It IS this KNOWING that the Master teaches us in His words about moving the mountain and planting the syamine tree in the sea; it IS this KNOWING that IS the reality of faith and of believing; it IS this KNOWING that ONLY comes in one’s True focus upon the Lord. It IS this KNOWING that IS the reality of the disciple and this can most clearly be seen in the lives of the Apostles Peter and Paul as well as in the short story that we have on Saint Stephen with which we ended our last essay. ALL of these KNOW the reality of Life and understand the mysteries that ARE covered and protected by their words and in the words of the Master and we should remember and understand here Paul’s words that tell us that this mystery IS “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26).
That so many believe that they have the key to His mysteries IS but a part of the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world to which ALL, as Souls, ARE subjected; it IS this illusion and its accompanying glamour that ARE the deception of which the Apostle James speaks saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). It IS those who ARE “doers of the word” that ARE counted among “his saints” and it IS these who have access to the mysteries through the reality that they DO “know the truth“. And this IS the message of the Master’s words that close the Sermon on the Mount. In His parabolic words IS the mortal Truth of men and in them we should see the corresponding idea to James’ words above. It IS the “foolish man” that IS among those who James says ARE “deceiving your own selves” and the cause of both these ideas IS the failure that Jesus shows us befalls the man who DOES NOT “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them“. Repeating Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders we read from Matthew and then Luke:
“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).
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46-49).
While the clarity here should be deafening, the reality IS yet that men believe the deception as they wander through the illusion and the glamour, the vanity that Paul shows us saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20). This sense of vanity IS a part of the Life of mankind from the beginning and the whole of humanity IS on this very same journey: to overcome the illusion and the glamour by coming to “know the truth“….the Truth which comes in the revelations and realizations of the Presence of God in one’s Life according to our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
It IS with the message of striving and of measure that we must look at the reality of keeping His words and understand that while this IS the eventual accomplishment of Peter and Paul, whose lives ARE shown us in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, they DID per force grow into this Truth. And while it IS easier to believe that the Master bestowed special powers and appointments to these apostles, the greater Truth IS that they came among men in that day prepared and predestined to follow the Lord….prepared and predestined by way of their prior spiritual collateral. Any other explanation casts doubt upon the Truth that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) as we discussed in the last essay.
We should try to see here how that this same reality covers the lives of everyman; each and every man in this Earth carries with him whatsoever spiritual collateral he has achieved and it IS the journey of everyman to overcome the illusion and the glamour, plus the nurturing and the indoctrination, through which he suffers in this, “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21). Both apostles ARE awakened by the Lord and while Peter had the Presence of the Master in the flesh, it IS still through the prompting of his own Soul, his own Christ Within, that he KNOWS to leave ALL and follow Him. Paul’s was a purely spiritual encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus and in his awakening the near fullness of His Presence was felt and acknowledged by the apostle who overcame the height of his own illusion and glamour as well as his very religious nurturing and the indoctrination.
These apostles ARE our guides to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21), a liberty that IS founded in the freedom that comes to the man who will strive to keep His words. And so it was with Saint Stephen; here IS an apostle of the Lord who the Apostle Luke shows us IS “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost“. Luke goes on to tell us that “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:5, 8) and here we should see several things. First that this idea of “great wonders and miracles” ARE those “greater works” that the Master speaks of. Second, we should try to see how that his being “full of faith and power” IS the reality of his ability to “know the truth” and it IS in this Light that we should see Jesus’ words saying “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Matthew 21:21) at work in Stephan’s Life.
Third, we should try to see how that these things ARE the reality of the Presence of God in the apostle’s Life; it IS in accord with Jesus’ words of the trifecta that Stephan IS “full of faith and of the Holy Ghost“. And it IS in this fullness that those who were “disputing with Stephen…..were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake“. Here we should see the reality of the glamour that afflicts most ALL men; here those “disputing with Stephen“, regardless of “the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake“, conspired and lied and “stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes” (Acts 6:9, 10, 12) against him. It IS their glamour which IS fed by their illusion, which IS that sense of vanity, that prevents them from seeing the Truth.
It IS this same illusion and glamour that prevented the scribes and the Pharisees from seeing the Truth that the Master brought among them and it IS those who could see past their own nurturing and indoctrination that were able to accept Him and His words. And this same IS yet True today; it IS men’s illusion and glamour that keep them tied to their several doctrinal presentations and blind to the Truth of His words. Here we should try to see how that the expectations of the Jews furthered their denial of the Christ as He DID NOT come among them as they had expected that He should. He DID NOT defeat the Romans; He DID NOT reestablish David’s throne; and, most importantly, He DID NOT support in any way their interpretations of the Truth of the Word of God. And, while the erroneous way of the Jews IS a spoken against by Jesus throughout the gospels, men over the centuries and yet today have failed to see how that they themselves ARE prone to the same ways.
Many Christians have specific expectations regarding the Second Coming of the Christ and we should again see the glamour in the way that these expectations vary among denominations, with each attesting to the accuracy of their own interpretation of noninterpretable ideas, visions and dreams. In some parts of the church far too much time and effort ARE expended on fanciful interpretations of His coming and their associated ideas of eschatology. It IS NOT hard to see how that the Master’s arrival would fit into today’s world in much the same way that His advent was accepted 2000 years ago. Men will NOT see the Jesus that they expect and it IS more than likely that He would be rejected today as He was by the Jews when He last came among us.
Perhaps it IS with this in mind that Jesus teaches us that we should be ready and while so many DO believe that they ARE, this too IS part of the deception that comes into men’s lives. To be ready IS to be in accord with His words; to be ready IS to be the “wise man, which built his house upon a rock“….to be ready IS to have some measure of the Truth and to express some measure of His Presence. Jesus admonishes us to “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:40) and in this we should see the reality of keeping His words. It IS in this readiness that men “are Christ’s“; it IS toward this readiness that men should strive as they DO the work of their own ‘salvation’….striving to “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” as the apostle tells us in his words to the Galatians which we repeat again:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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).
Jesus Parable of the Faithful Servant IS intended to show us the reality of being ready and through the Greek word gregoreuo which IS rendered as watching, the parabolic idea IS the same….”Be ye therefore ready“. It IS the faithful servant who IS ready for the Master’s return, NOT simply by watching but by DOING as the Lord had instructed. Luke gives us Jesus’ words as: “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants” (Luke 12:37-38).
This idea of gregoreuo IS defined by the lexicon as: to watch; metaph. give strict attention to, be cautious, active; to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one 2. In the combination of these ideas we should get the idea of focus upon the things of the Lord, be them the things of the lord of the house or the things of Lord who IS God. Vincent shows us that gregoreuo IS a combination of wakefulness and alertness 4 and in these ideas we should see this same dynamic of focus. It IS unfortunate that like so many of the clear sayings of the Master, these ideas ARE NOT seen; men would rather predict the time of His coming than heed His words saying “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13).
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
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
