ON LOVE; PART MCCVIII
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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 some additional thoughts about the words that the Apostle Paul uses to describe and to define just what True agape IS. For much of this the apostle shows us what Love IS NOT or, better, what the man whose expression IS agape, DOES NOT DO. In the first two positive ideas Paul tells us that Love IS aware of the Truth—the Truth of God and the relationship of men to God—and we should understand here that such Truth comes ONLY in one’s revelations and realizations which ARE the product of keeping His words as the Master tells us 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).
We should understand here that such realization of the Truth IS NOT the privilege of the man whose spiritual awareness IS founded ONLY in the doctrines of his particular denomination or sect, it IS found in the reality of keeping His words and then ONLY by the measure by which this ideal IS become his focus. In this we should see that to keep His words IS to Love and such realization of Truth IS the measure of one’s reward if we can use that idea here. Thus, as a man Truly grows in the His words, he grows also in his expression of Love and thereby in his understanding and awareness of the Truth which IS the reality of Paul’s use of the Greek word makrothumia its verb form of makrothumeo.
This word, while seen by most as patience or longsuffering, has the deeper and more literal meaning of: to be long-spirited 9, 9a which IS Strong’s and Thayer’s primary definition. If this idea IS turned away from the self where it IS seen in terms of: to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles; to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others; to be mild and slow in avenging; to be longsuffering, slow to anger, slow to punish, according to the way that this word IS presumed to be used in the New Testament lexicon, we can then see the deeper meanings that ARE intended.
When we can see this word idea as our outward view of our brothers to whom we should express agape, we can then better understand the intent which IS our ability to have some measure of awareness of the Truth of God and man….to see that we ARE just like our brother save for our measure of focus upon that Truth. This idea of makrothumia IS a very important point which IS why we ARE spending much time in every essay discussing this. We should remember that as a defining quality of Love this idea of makrothumia IS also a defining quality of God of whom the Apostle John tells us “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).
This understanding of men as Souls on the very same journey out of the vanity to which they ARE subjected IS the understanding of God and it IS this that must become the understanding and the awareness of everyman if his expression IS Truly Love. This idea IS the most fundamental reality of agape; without this idea of makrothumia we can ONLY feign an expression of Love to ALL in such a way as it IS written, that: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” as we read above in the Great Commandments. Without our measure of understanding and awareness of the Truth, we CAN NOT even understand what this Truly means.
Nor can we understand the meaning and the depth of the Golden Rule which Jesus gives us saying “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“. This expression of agape sees the whole before its parts and sees the intended Unity of ALL men through makrothumia which IS everyman’s innate understanding of the Truth as a Soul in this world. We should understand here that it IS the Soul that KNOWS; it IS the Soul that IS that unction of which the Apostle John tells us “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20).
While doctrines believe that such KNOWING comes upon a man rather magically when he IS ‘saved‘, the reality IS that as a spiritual being, created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), who IS also Spirit as Jesus tells us saying “God is a Spirit” (John 4:34), it IS the Soul that ever KNOWS. It IS this KNOWING, this idea that “ye shall know the truth“, that the Master tells us will come to the man who will keep His words which He frames for us as “If ye continue in my word“. Here we should see the idea of continuing in terms of abiding as meno IS most often rendered. It IS in the revelations and the realizations of this Truth that one can come to KNOW the innate understanding of the Soul….the spiritual man in this world.
It IS the vanity, the illusion and the glamour of Life in form, that obnubilates the Truth and hides men’s understanding of the nature of God and His relationship to ALL men universally and, through this, one’s understanding of his own relationship with his brother and his neighbor. It IS unfortunate that so much of the world’s doctrines limit the scope of these words of Truth as they fail to see the reality that these both ARE everyman. One’s brother IS NOT the fellow Christian nor the fellow Jew and neither IS one’s neighbor as the Master so aptly shows us in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
These ideas ARE the point of makrothumia which ARE hidden away in the renderings of patience and longsuffering and here, in the idea of to be long-spirited, perhaps we can see the idea that this innate spiritual understanding reaches down into the minds of men enabling them to see and express the reality of the Great Commandment and the Golden Rule. If we can understand this as both the cause and the effect of agape, we can likely see how that these two conjoined ideas must work out in the lives of men; without that sense of understanding, of seeing others as we see ourselves, True agape will NOT be expressed.
There can be NO True expression of agape without understanding the reality of the brother and the neighbor over the doctrinal arguments that have ever sought to pigeonhole these ideas and allow them to feed the divisions and the separations which they ARE intended to overcome. From the earliest biblical days the doctrinal ideas of division and separation ARE announced and while these ideas began in a barbarous and superstitious environment which condoned such division and separation, this was NOT the True Will of the Godhead which has been perceived to be the instigator of such ideas.
The Old Testament narrative in the time of Moses IS fraught with the words of the Lord given through the man Moses, through his perception of the Truth in the trying times before him. And here we should try to see that while the direction given by the Lord was Love and Right Human Relations, these took a rather immediate secondary role in Moses vision of securing a Jewish nation and protecting it from ALL that he perceived as harmful. Moses wielded the True Power of the Godhead and used such to fix the place of the Jews and to give them the structure of their religion.
But this structure and this religion failed to DO as Moses had intended and after him the responsibility fell to the prophets who, through the judges and the kings, tried to correct the course of both. It IS the society itself that fails over time; through the times of the judges, the first kings and then the split of the kingdom, the higher values of the law were ignored by most as the constant war between God and His people played out in the Earth. The downward spiral continues as the words of the prophets ARE ignored and the arrogance of the Jews takes its toll; in the midst of the bible stories of conquest and success the Jews are overcome and taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.
We should try to see that the ideas of brother and neighbor ARE mostly absent through these times from Moses to and through the captivity of the Jews. And upon the return of the Jews to their land, more than 400 years before the Advent of the Christ, the laws of Moses ARE restored and here we should try to see that the “weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23) ARE NOT the focus but rather the ceremonial and the carnal ideas ONLY; this we can see in the words of Jesus against the Pharisees doctrinal approach to Truth.
The point here IS that the Truth of the law, the “weightier matters of the law” if you will, was never the focus of men before Christ and while these ARE the central part of the message of the Christ, the fledgling Christian religion begins equally ignorant of them as they append their newfound beliefs to the ways of the Jews before them. In this we should try to see that the brother and the neighbor ARE never the central teaching of Christianity, nor of Judaism, and that such “weightier matters of the law” ARE subservient to the doctrines of men to this day.
It IS ONLY in the changing of the times that the Truth can emerge above the nurturing and the indoctrination of men which ARE both contrary to that Truth and we should try to see that the ideas of such brotherhood and mercy ARE gaining a foothold in the vernacular of our modern cultures. But change IS ever a struggle and it IS one that IS most easily seen in today’s world news where the progressive Power of Love IS argued against by those whose motivations remain selfish and contrary to the apostle’s defining ideas of Love, his Truth of agape, which we repeat again saying:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not agape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not agape, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
“Agape suffereth long, and is kind; agape envieth not; agape 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. Agape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
In the conjoined ideas of agape and makrothumia we should be able to see that in the absence of the Truth of the brother and the neighbor which make ALL humanity as One there can be NO True expression of Love. And, when we join the conjoined ideas of makrothumia and agape with the next word form Paul, chresteuomai we should be able to see the deeper points that ARE ALL together stated by the apostle: that agape IS that understanding and that KNOWING of some measure of the Truth that shows us the reality of the brother and the neighbor and that chresteuomai IS the expression of this in one’s Life.
Here then IS the struggle: the progressive Force of Love which IS the impetus toward the realization of the Master’s words to the Pharisees 2000 years ago saying “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anisea and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23), and the forces against which Paul speaks as he tells us what IS NOT an expression of agape.
On the side of Love, of agape, IS the changing times which seek to integrate ALL men and ALL separative attitudes and beliefs into a common view of the need for harmony and for unity. On the other side IS the ages old force of the self which finds its correspondence in religion, in politics, in culture and which feeds off of the carnal differences of humanity; this IS the side of resistance to most any progressive move toward “judgment, mercy, and faith” and this IS the side that loudly proclaims that their view IS in accord with the True religious teachings.
What ARE “judgment, mercy, and faith“, what ARE these “weightier matters of the law“? Based upon the fullness of the Master’s teaching we KNOW that these ARE NOT separtive nor divisive but rather inclusive. Judgement IS the view of a man regarding ALL that IS NOT himself and in this we should remember Jesus’ words that tell us to “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Mercy IS the expression of Love to ALL and here we should understand that one’s supposed expression of agape IS NOT Truly agape if it IS NOT according to the Great Commandment and the Golden Rule which ARE both inclusive of ALL men.
Both of these words ARE sorely misunderstood even by our bible dictionaries; krisis, which IS rendered as judgement, IS seen in terms of: accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment 9a according to Strong’s rather than as a man’s most basic attitudes toward the not-self, towards ALL that IS NOT oneself. This Greek word IS rendered as justice by other translators, likely in accord with the Strong’s definitions, and as righteousness by the Bible in Basic English, an idea that IS much closer to the Master’s point. Eleos, which IS rendered as mercy, IS another example of misplaced meaning. While we have discussed mercy several times over the course of our essays, we will here again as this IS a most important point as it too describes the nature of God and therefore of agape.
Strong’s defines eleos as: mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them 9a and we should understand here that this definition IS valid ONLY from a Truly spiritual perspective and NOT according to the general understanding. For the man whose focus IS on God, mercy IS the expression of Love to ALL….ALL who ARE yet bound by the vanity, by the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) which IS the Life of most everyman in this world. In this view this IS chresteuomai along with its root word chrestos; this IS kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them.
This however reflects upon the idea that ALL who ARE yet in that vanity ARE the miserable and the afflicted and NOT the idea that some of these very same miserable and afflicted have ‘mercy‘ on others even less fortunate from a carnal perspective. This former idea IS the sense of eleos that IS an aspect of agape and while the mercy shown by one man toward another may be virtuous, it IS NOT the intended idea in Jesus’ words above. When viewed together with agape, and the expression thereof, chresteuomai, such mercy must be in makrothumia, which IS the universal expression of Love to ALL….ALL of one’s brothers and ALL of one’s neighbors which today total more that 7.5 billion, and ALL with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9).
If we can even remotely understand the simplicity of these ideas we can then understand why the Master adds into His equation the idea of faith. In using the idea of pistis Jesus shows us that we must KNOW these things and that the Pharisees should have KNOWN these things as these ARE the essence of the law that Moses presented, an essence that IS yet ignored and supplanted by the doctrines of men. And again we must say that while these words on “ judgment, mercy, and faith” ARE directed at the Pharisees and their ilk, the message should be understood to apply to ALL who practice such hypocrisy, ALL who ARE yet “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).
And there IS a keen relationship between these words of woe to the scribes and the Pharisees and the Master’s earlier words invoking the words of the Prophet Hosea, some 750 years earlier. The prophet, speaking as the Lord, says to the Jews that “I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6) and it IS this thought that Jesus reminds the Pharisees of as He tells them “go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).
In these words IS a lesson that most ALL Christians have NOT understood from the beginning: that it IS in the expression of agape that the reality of mercy lies and that this IS to be shown to ALL sinners under the Truth that “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). The Apostle Matthew sees the importance of this idea as he repeats the Master’s words again in another context saying to the Pharisees “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” Matthew 12:7).
In this idea of guiltless, which IS also rendered as blameless, we should try to see everyman who IS “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20). This IS everyman in this world regardless of race, religion, national origin, culture or any other division of humanity, and this IS the essence of makrothumia which sees and KNOWS these things. It IS in men’s lack of makrothumia and chresteuomai, which IS a lack of an expression of Love, that men in and out of the church think themselves superior over their brothers, brag and boast about their perceived superiority both inwardly and outwardly, and in DOING so act unbecoming of one whose focus IS Truly on the Lord.
For the man that IS NOT in the church this can be expected but the man in the church should KNOW these things if his doctrine IS True. In these ideas we have Paul’s message on Love that tells us “agape envieth not; agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” which ARE the ideas that we have been discussing. The church DOES see itself superior, boasts that it IS the ONLY way and believes that they themselves have ‘salvation‘; it IS the church that selfishly speaks against others, other religions as well as other denominational approaches within its religion, and it IS the church that IS moved by passion to speak against selected human failures.
This IS NOT to be construed as ALL parts of the church for indeed there ARE those who DO have a glimpse of the Truth. This IS however the way of the more outspoken parts of the church which becomes the message of the whole in the ears of the masses. They speak against abortion by NOT against executions nor against the killing of innocents as collateral damage, nor against unnecessary and seemingly perpetual wars; nor DO many speak against the killing of innocents at the hands of the police. They speak against homosexuality as a great evil while virtually accepting adultery and casual sex as more minor offenses when both ARE equally the reality of fornication as a carnal sin.
And they speak against such things as transgenderism without Truly understanding the causes and the motivations nor teaching that there ARE physical, emotional and mental causes afflicting these fellow humans, these brothers and neighbors. As we discuss these ideas we should be able to come to see that there may be more Love expressed in the secular world than there IS in the church that claims the Name of the Christ whose singular message IS that we Love. Few teach His Truths that ARE become our trifecta which we repeat here again; Jesus tells us:
- “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).
We close today with the words of Reverend Doctor William Barber which we have previously posted. This an excerpt from his address to the Democratic National Convention in 2016 which shows us the hypocrisy of a religion that IS NOT founded in that Love, that agape, that has ever been its central point and the source of True salvation. He says: ‘that is why I’m so concerned, about those that say so much—about what God says so little, while saying so little—about what God says so much. And so in my heart, I’m troubled. And I’m worried about the way faith is cynically used by some to serve hate, fear, racism and greed‘.
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.
We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556. These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will lead us to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.
Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
….incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee (Proverbs 2:2-11).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
