ON LOVE; PART MCCXII
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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).
In the last essay we discussed some of the Master’s words that show us the deeper Truths that ARE revealed in our sayings from the Apostle Paul in our selection on Love from his First Epistle to the Corinthians. We should try to understand that it IS the Master’s words that ARE the apostles’ source for most ALL that they write and that unlike the wranglings of the doctrines of men which follow, the apostles’ writings ARE True to the original Divine Thoughts which ARE essentially His words. We should understand as well that while these ideas ARE expressed in different ways, some according to the particular view of the writer, they DO mean essentially the same thing. There IS little difference between the idea that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) and the way that the Apostle Matthew frames Jesus words saying “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 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 5:44-45).
We cited several similar ideas in the last essay; we looked at Jesus’ teaching on emulation against the way that Paul tells us that “agape envieth not” and we saw how that Paul’s words saying that “agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up” is a reflection of the Master’s teachings on being humble and the spiritual fate of those who would exalt themselves as so many in the church DO yet today. While these ideas ARE but human failings, they ARE at the same time those things which inhibit one’s True expression of agape and this IS the essential message that we should take from both the Master’s words which ARE largely centered in the expression of Love and the confirming words of His apostles. Repeating Paul’s words that we have been studying we read:
“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 last post we added to our view the idea that this list from Paul IS our way of self analysis; it IS our way of KNOWING that we ARE expressing some True measure of agape and of creating for ourselves an interactive report card if you will. To use this tool however we must be able to see the deeper Truths that ARE hidden in the apostle’s choice of words rather than the general understanding of men’s more carnal interpretations of those words. Throughout our blog posts we have been critical of the common understandings adopted for many Greek words that ARE used by the Master and His apostles to describe spiritual things and we should say here that while we ARE NOT Greek scholars, we ARE at the same time able to show the word ideas in a spiritual light according to our own measure of revelation and realization; our view IS NOT the final word but merely one intended to take away from the doctrinal precepts and allow for a fresh look at the underlying Truths.
It IS ever up to the reader to see the logic in our presentation and there ARE few in the doctrinal church that will agree with our perspective; this IS largely because their several versions of the Truth ARE ALL that they have KNOWN, they ARE what has been taught to them by those that they see in authority. In the end there IS but one authority and that IS the Truth; in the end it IS up to every individual to see himself in the words of the Master and His apostles and to gauge for himself his own measure of being “doers of the word, and not hearers only“. There IS an essential reality in this idea from the Apostle James and it should, but generally DOES NOT, show everyman his own level of deception which we see in the full saying that admonishes ALL to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
The idea of agape IS the most important spiritual concept found in the New Testament and perhaps the most difficult to understand and to accomplish; its importance IS clearly seen in the way that the Master presents it to us and His apostles, especially Paul and John, reflect this importance in their writings. Our selection from Paul begins with a clear picture of the importance of Love as a spiritual concept; the apostle IS measuring this against what men may believe to be spiritually important as he tells us that such things ARE of NO spiritual value except when a man’s expression IS Love. The focus of most however IS NOT on the Truth of agape. In those parts of the church that hold the “spiritual gifts” as important, such gifts ARE given a special place while the expression of Love that makes them real IS relatively ignored or, at best, IS seen in a purely carnal way.
Again, the primary reason for this doctrinal failure in teaching the Truth of Love IS a lack of understanding just what agape IS as a spiritual force and how that Love, and Love alone, can lead one to True salvation. Doctrinal ideas of salvation ARE most always centered around the idea of heaven as one’s destination after the death of one’s body and it IS this ‘promise’ that keeps many in the church….NO one wants to go to that doctrinal alternative, hell. We have often said that this doctrinal idea IS NOT based in any specific scriptural Truth but IS patched together through a variety of out of context sayings from the bible and from men’s interpretations of the writings of the prophets and the Book of Revelation, both of which also feed the eschatological frenzy that has taken hold of many parts of the church.
Over the last 2000 years the doctrinal ideas of salvation have become deep seated convictions which ARE near impossible to dissuade as the proof of ALL IS tied to the nebulous ideas of faith and believing that have been preached over the centuries and especially since the Reformation where many of today’s ideas originate. While some denominations, sects and individuals DO teach that one must still keep Jesus’ words and commandments, much of this to obtain Earthly rewards based in the idea of the promises of the Old Testament. Few however seem to tie this idea of keeping His words to the expression of Love, of agape, as we can so clearly read in the words of the Master and His apostles. Words such as Paul’s saying that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14) and our selection from Romans saying:
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” (Romans 13:8-11).
These ideas ARE NOT heeded by the doctrinal church which interprets them according to the ideas of men which say that it IS impossible to keep His words and this excerpt from John Gill’s commentary should allow us to see the doctrinal position of many; Mr. Gill says at the end of his commentary on verse 8: he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law…. hence this passage yields nothing in favour of the doctrine of justification by works; since the best works are imperfect, even those that spring from love, for love itself is imperfect; and are not done as they are, in a man’s own strength, and without the Spirit and grace of God. Christ only has fulfilled the law perfectly, both as to parts and degrees; and to him only should we look for a justifying righteousness 8.
Such ideas ARE for us the bane of doctrine; it IS these that keep the church in the past and it IS these that dissuade men from seeing the greater Truth. Men’s endeavor to grow spiritually IS intimately tied to keeping His words as the Master tells us in our trifecta and in so many other ways throughout the gospels. The whole of the difficulty, the doctrinal idea of impossibility if you will, IS found in men’s inability to look past the illusion and the glamour and into “into the perfect law of liberty” and this because of their established reliance upon the doctrinal ideas of atonement. This “perfect law of liberty” IS the reality of His words and this idea of liberty IS from the Greek word eleutheria which IS from the same root word as the Master’s use of eleutheroo which IS rendered as “make you free” in the first part of 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).
James’ full saying here shows us the same thing as the Master does….that ALL, His Kingdom, His Truth and His Presence, require that a man keep His words. James tells us “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:22-25). We could say that the problem lies in the way that men DO NOT “looketh into the perfect law of liberty” but they rather look in to their own sense of doctrine which IS been substituted.
It IS through the years of nurturing and indoctrination, plus the strong inclination to DO as other men DO, which build the walls that keep out the Truth, walls that ARE enforced and reinforced by the continued doctrinal teachings and this regardless of how bizarre and illogical some may be. And such doctrinal teachings need NOT be of a religious nature; religion IS but one part of the nurturing and indoctrination that everyman endures but make NO mistake here….religion IS a most definite part of one’s learning experience which keeps a man from looking “into the perfect law of liberty“. And, as we have said before in our essays, it IS the religious indoctrination that IS the most difficult to break and this regardless its nature; from the agnostic to the devout of any religion to the atheist, ALL ARE bound by some measure of religious illusion and glamour which compounds the more secular ideas of Life.
We should add here that while men DO learn to adapt to the constant changes in their secular Life they ARE far less likely to adapt in a religious sense as there IS NO corresponding sense of change. Religions ARE stagnant, they ARE immovable; and while the world adapts and changes according to the mental stimuli that IS flowing ever faster into men’s lives, few have extended this into the spiritual realms. To the contrary, most ALL religious and doctrinally oriented men work against the forces of change and especially against those new ideas that can potentially change their sense of Truth and their myopic view of Life. Such IS the religious view of the New Age; while there ARE some outliers that may embrace the influx of new ideas that ARE affiliated with the incoming era of Brotherhood and Love, most ALL work against it and point out ONLY the most negative carnal effects of this Great Cosmic happening.
Most DO NOT see that these changes that we see today ARE but the culmination of what started 2000 years ago when the Master firmly implanted the idea of Love as a spiritual concept into the lives of men in this world. This Love, this agape, was and still IS an alien idea that has been molded by men so as to be seen and understood in a carnal fashion rather than as the spiritual force that it IS; and this despite many words of the Master and His apostles. But it IS Love, it IS agape, that has moved humanity out of the barbarous and superstitious ways of the past and into an era where logic and Truth should reign; and it IS Love, it IS agape, that continues to move the hearts of men into an ever greater understanding of each other and the underlying Unity of ALL.
In this it IS unfortunate that it IS the less religious, it IS the agnostic and even the atheist, who IS more prone to see the Light and understands the underlying Truth of Love, of agape, without any religious reference while the religious continue to delude themselves according to James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“. It IS the religious against whom the Master says “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). It IS the doctrinal Jew that could NOT understand the mysteries of the parables of the Master; it IS the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, the priest, and those who accepted their doctrine, who DO NOT understand the Truth while the few who ARE able to look past such things, such illusion and glamour, can see and can understand some measure of the Truth.
Today, as in Jesus’ time, it IS “the publicans and the harlots” who will “go into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 21:31) before those who profess that they KNOW the Way. We should understand here that “the publicans and the harlots” ARE NOT religious nor perhaps even inclined toward religion; they ARE but people in this world following in the ways of the world. While these terms are made to mean ONLY one thing in the New Testament, the idea behind them IS that they ARE NOT religious according to the Jewish Way and while some may have been extortioners and whores, there IS NO evidence that these ARE ALL ‘evil’ persons. The Apostle Matthew IS a prime example of a man living as men in this world, seeking for himself whatsoever he could gain; Matthew, as a man, had some measure of vision which allows him to leave off ALL that he may have accumulated in this world to follow Jesus.
Another example IS Zacchaeus who Luke calls for us “the chief among the publicans“. Luke also shows us that “he was rich” and that Jesus seeks him out and tells him “to day I must abide at thy house“. Can we see here a man who IS living large according to the ways of the world, a man who likely always saw the error of his ways but also saw that the religious way of the Jews was NO better and perhaps, in his eyes, even worse? Luke tells us that Zacchaeus “sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way” (Luke 19:2, 5, 3-4). Here we should understand from the whole of the story that Zacchaeus was NOT just a curious man but rather a man seeking a greater Truth than he had KNOWN….and a greater Truth than he could find in the religions of his day.
The lesson of these encounters with the Master IS missed in the common understanding of such ideas as publicans and harlots. When we can see that these ARE persons whose focus IS upon their lives in this world and that their change of focus IS their salvation, we can then better understand the examples posed and see the reality of Jesus’ words saying “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). In this and in the preceding parable we should be able to see that the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, the priest, and those who accepted their doctrine, DO NOT see themselves as being lost….to the contrary they see themselves as being the ONLY ones with the Light even relegating Jesus and His followers to the very same stature as the publicans and harlots.
2000 years ago the Jews saw themselves as DOING the works of the Lord and it IS Jesus who shows them the fallacy of their belief. Yet today many DO NOT see the deeper Truth: that they had refused to accept any Truth that was greater than their doctrines which had been festering since the days of Moses. Jesus brought them the Truth but they DID NOT, and perhaps could NOT, see it except for the few publicans and harlots and those few of the religious who had the wherewithal to seek greater Truth than those doctrines had espoused. In this we should try to see the greater Truth of Jesus’ saying that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14) as he relates this idea to His Parable of the Wedding Feast where those that ARE called, invited if you will, choose for themselves NOT to attend.
This saying IS better understood as it appears in its other use in Matthew’s Gospel where the Greek words ARE the same but it IS rendered as “many be called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Here the idea of ARE is missing and we should note that this word IS NOT in either Greek text. In relation to the wedding feast we can see the more simple idea: that sans the idea of ARE chosen we can understand that many ARE invited but few choose to attend. This IS the crux of the Master’s saying here: many have heard His sayings and many saw His miracles but few there ARE that choose to follow His Way. And the same IS True yet today; many millions hear his voice through the writings that ARE left for us but few choose look past the doctrinal interpretations and commentaries of other men; few choose to seek the Truth.
It IS today’s version of the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, the priest that teach men their doctrinal view of the Truth of God, a view that DOES NOT see the reality of keeping His words, a view that IS founded in the illusion and the glamour which James shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“. So men ARE left in this deception as they continue to believe that they ARE DOING the works of the Lord and this despite the way that Jesus shows us the fallacy of believing that one himself IS among the chosen when he has yet to choose the Truth of Love….the deepest realities of agape. We close today repeating Paul’s words that we have above, Paul’s words that show us how to keep His words through Love; in this we substitute agape for the rendered word as we have done in the apostle’s words to the Corinthians; we read:
Owe no man any thing, but agapao one another: for he that agapao 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 agape thy neighbour as thyself. Agape worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore agape 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” (Romans 13:8-11).
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
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
