ON LOVE; PART MXCVI
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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 have been speaking about reincarnation over the last several posts and a KEY component to this discussion IS the Truth that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). In view of this Truth, there IS NO way to explain the differences among men save for the idea that the True man IS the Soul and that as a Soul ALL ARE equal in the eyes of God. If we can see this then we should be able to glimpse the related idea that the working out of the Life of everyman IS somewhat under the control of the Soul and that every Soul IS “made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20) which IS Life in this world. If we can see that it IS the spiritual collateral garnered in previous excursions through a Life in this world that IS the primary cause for the difference in men along spiritual lines, we can better understand our journey and, if we can see that as the Soul each must again overcome that vanity or some measure of it, we can see a small part of the instant purpose of birth.
There IS much more to this saga of Life that we CAN NOT yet contemplate but it IS in the reality of overcoming, in the reality of freeing ourselves from “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21), that men struggle. It IS in escaping “the corruption that is in the world through lust” which IS men’s Life of desire for the pleasures and plenty of Earthly Life that we find our purpose here. And it IS when we can touch the “exceeding great and precious promises“, the promises of the trifecta, that we “might be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) which IS the reality of “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23).
This IS our goal: “the adoption” and to “be partakers of the divine nature” and these ideas ARE synonymous. And perhaps we can see that the purpose in this goal IS what Paul shows us IS equivalent to “the adoption” which IS “the redemption of our body“. As it IS commonly understood, Redemption IS what we receive from Christ and it IS in our Redeemed state that we find our place with the Lord. Paul tells us that we ARE “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” and he says this being among those “which have the firstfruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23). We should see two things here; first from Peter who tells us that we must escape and second from Paul who tells us we must be waiting. These ARE NOT at odds and we can see this rather clearly through the Apostle James’ teaching on the husbandman who “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth“; his waiting IS NOT idle time but a time of work and care.
If we can see that the Redemption which we wait for IS what we also work for, we can then see more clearly the work of the Soul who has been “made subject to vanity“; how that he must escape which IS to overcome the carnal ways of men. And if we can see how that “the redemption of our body” IS True when the adoption IS True, when there IS a Union between the Christ Within and His expression in this world, perhaps we can see then the effect of this Union on the physical and psychical bodies of men….that both come under the complete control of the indwelling Soul. And, if we can see these things, perhaps we can understand the effect that this Soul, expressing fully through form, can have upon ALL things according to 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 the Presence of God that frees men from the vanity; 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). And when we can understand that the Greek word eleutheroo which IS rendered here as delivered means “to make free” and that it the same word used in our trifecta as the effect of the Truth, we can better understand how we DO escape our bondage. Jesus tells us that it IS the Presence of God that comes to the man who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them” and he tells us that this IS the cause for the Truth in one’s Life as well….the Truth that “shall make you free“.
It IS when we link ALL these Truths together that we can see that it IS when we can escape “the bondage of corruption” which Peter shows us as to “the corruption that is in the world through lust” that we can find the Truth and understand that this escape IS accomplished in keeping His words. And this escape IS the activity of “waiting for the adoption“, waiting as the husbandman who continually works the ground as he brings forth the “precious fruit of the earth“. There IS a reality in this activity of waiting that shows us the difficulty of wiping clean our own carnal slate and rewriting our hearts with those spiritual thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE the reality of keeping His words. This IS however the goal toward which the Master tells us to strive; we read our trifecta 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).
Now doctrines DO NOT see this as we DO but we have the words of Jesus as our guide while they have their doctrines which ARE based in the misunderstood and misapplied words of the Apostle Paul. They have built a fortress for themselves and their doctrines which denies ALL except what they themselves have deemed as Truth and in this they DO NOT even agree across denominations and sects with each other. This fortress IS based in illusion and this illusion IS fortified by their own glamour, and in both of these we have the reality of that vanity which Paul tells us IS “the vanity of their mind“. Their fortress IS strong and in it most ALL believe that they ARE freed from the ways of “other Gentiles” which we should read as other men. But their belief IS folly as they continue to walk as “other Gentiles” albeit perhaps from a less carnal perspective.
They miss the Truth of Jesus’ words and the tone of Paul’s words. They DO NOT see that Paul’s idea IS to break down these fortresses that exist as a barrier to the One Truth. There IS a reality to the way that doctrines work against the Truth of Jesus’ words with some even going so far as to exalt Paul’s words above the Master’s….some by inserting the idea that Jesus’ words were for before His resurrection and that the grace that Paul teaches IS the New Dispensation. For us however any and ALL who diminish the Truth of Jesus’ words according to doctrines ARE among those “other Gentiles” about whom Paul tells us: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18).
While this IS a harsh indictment it IS nonetheless a valid point as men of doctrine see their doctrines in place of the Truth of Jesus’ word and the right interpretations of the words of His apostles. It IS this tendency of men that had been spoken about by the prophets and repeated by the Master against the Jews in His day; and one must wonder why that since then the early Christian church doctrinal authorities and most ALL who have succeeded them have refused to see themselves in His words saying: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).
And it IS this same refusal to see past their own doctrinal assertions that have doomed so many of the Truly Christian thoughts down the centuries and which have led to and allowed so many of the calamities that have befallen the world of men. In the middle of this doctrinal refusal to see anything that IS NOT in their own interpretation of scripture IS the possibility that the millions who DO believe in reincarnation may be right; they DO NOT see that their own view IS in error. It IS this view that prevents their proper understanding of the Truths of Jesus message regarding the relationship between John the Baptist and the Prophet Elijah as well as His words on the “man which was blind from his birth” (John 9:1). It IS this refusal that blocks the True understanding of the Apostle Paul’s words that we have been studying as well which we repeat again:
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him” (2 Corinthians 5:1-9).
While there IS NO idea of reincarnation here in these words there IS the reality of the nature of the body and the reality that to NOT be focused upon that body with its personality and to be focused upon the things of God IS “to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord“. These ARE NOT words regarding the death of the body but rather the Life of the Soul in this world and here we should relate this idea to the third part of our trifecta where that “to be present with the Lord” IS framed as “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“. Can we see this as the Master’s teaching and then the amplifying words of the apostle?
Our point here IS that there IS NOT any rebuttal of the idea of rebirth by the Master in either of the opportunities that He has in our examples above and while there IS the open possibility that both of these refer to reincarnation, the doctrinal Christian however still refuses to see it and some teach strongly against it. We should see that their refusal IS based ONLY in their doctrine, in the misunderstanding of the very nature of the Soul and his use of a temporal vehicle which Paul shows us the “earthly house of this tabernacle” and, in regard to the Soul the apostle also tells us that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Again, these ARE difficult ideas to see if one DOES NOT first see the duality of Life that IS painted for us by Jesus and His apostles.
The duality IS the point of Paul’s words above which speak of a very separate “earthly house of this tabernacle” which IS clothing the heart, the consciousness of a man and “our house which is from heaven” which IS the Soul and which must become the clothing of the heart. With the “earthly house of this tabernacle” we have the carnal thoughts and attitudes of men while with “our house which is from heaven” we have the things of God. In these ideas we have our own view of focus and if we can see this as Paul’s meaning in his words saying that he and the like minded to whom he IS writing ARE “willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord“, we can then better understand the greater Truth of his words….that they ARE NOT about dying and going to heaven.
That neither Jesus nor His apostles speak negatively about reincarnation should show us that the whole idea should remain at least a possibility and those who say that those words from the Book of Hebrews IS their proof that there IS NO reincarnation miss the very point of what it IS that they ARE refusing to accept. As we have discussed, those words that tell us that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) ARE True when considering reincarnation. The body and the personality ARE NOT the man and it IS these that die….and only once save for what happened to Lazarus and the several others like Him.
As a general rule the physical form of a man will die ONLY once and perhaps it IS because of the common understanding of the personality that so much confusion abounds. Men link their personality with the idea of the True self without realizing that this IS but a part of the form Life, without realizing that in the combination of the genetic matter of a mother and a father a personality IS also born and, since it IS born, it will die. The Soul IS beyond the personality and should be seen as the consciousness and the awareness of self without a name and a heredity and we should be able to see this from Jesus own words about his own heredity and family. When told that “thy mother and thy brethren stand without” His reply was “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:48-50).
Can we see the point here of Jesus’ words? Can we see how that as a man in this world one’s view must become purely spiritual? And can we see why Jesus includes family and heredity among those carnal things that must be forsaken by the True disciple of the Lord? There IS a steady thread of spiritual thinking and DOING that runs through the Master’s words and the words of His disciples AND NONE contradict Jesus words saying: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). The measure of this idea of hate IS given to us in the first of the Great Commandments where one must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“; it IS in this sense that we must Love family and heredity less and it IS in this sense that Jesus answers the question regarding His ‘natural’ family above.
We have often discussed the way that the Apostle Matthew’s version of Jesus words on discipleship vary from the Apostle Luke’s and we should see here the parallels and NOT the difference in tone and verbiage. Matthew says that “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” and the message here IS the same. We should see that to be “worthy of me” and to “be my disciple” as largely the same thing and understand that to hold family and heritage above God IS contrary to the Great commandment; and we should here understand one more thing directly from Jesus’ words: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). These words and the words of our trifecta above ARE the reality of Love for God and the Truth of discipleship and in these ALL of the other words of scripture should become clear. We close today with our selection from Romans, a selection that shows us the working out of Love in the world of men; we read:
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:10-14).
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.
