ON LOVE; PART MCDXLIX
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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).
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We ended the last essay with our trifecta which, if understood and followed as the Master presents His points, IS the epitome of our journey as men in this world who seek the spiritual over their carnal and mundane lives; men who seek the rewards which ARE the promises of having the Truth, the Kingdom and His Presence. To be sure the carnal and the mundane lives of men in this world IS founded in vanity as most ALL live according to the ways of the world, as one “conformed to this world” if you will. This IS the way of most everyman both in and out of the churches and the religions that men have established for their own psychic comfort. Our point IS ever that this continued conformance IS NOT the Way to Truth, to the Kingdom or to having realization of the Presence of the Lord; such rewards ARE ONLY achieved as Jesus tells us: by keeping His words. The Apostle Peter speaks of a stumbling block, a “stone of stumbling” as the idea IS rendered, and we should try to see that this stone IS the reality of keeping His words. While most ALL of the Christian community believes that they ARE ‘saved‘ by their doctrinal allegiances, they have discounted the Master’s words and fall keenly into what Peter describes saying: “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed” (1 Peter 2:6-8). Too many rely upon the ideas of the Lord’s preciousness and their belief in Him as their savior while they ignore Jesus’ own words saying “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” as they carry on in their carnal and mundane existences. Such IS the delusion of the church at large as we discussed in the last post; such IS the delusion shown us by James who so clearly says “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The Apostle John shows us the relationship between keeping His words and our expression of agape as the Way to avoid such stumbling. John tells us “a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:8-11). In this we should be able to see the same ideas of deception and delusion. It IS through the words of the Master and His apostles that we can see the Truth but we must seek that Truth to realize it and this IS an extremely difficult enterprise for most ALL that have been indoctrinated into whatsoever religion, sect, or denomination they have affiliated themselves with. When one believes that he has the Truth, he DOES stop looking for that Truth and this despite the Master’s admonition that we should “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).
This IS so because of that same sense of vanity into which ALL ARE born and from which they must escape and while most ALL DO NOT realize Vincent’s defining ideas of being separate from God, and pursuing false ends, they will also deny that they ARE in that perishable and decaying condition that IS their vanity4. We should try to understand here that in the church this failure to see IS the result of men’s delusion and this delusion IS a combination of both the effect of vanity and the preference of men to suffer under those that they see authoritatively. While this dynamic IS at play in both the religious and the secular worlds, it IS much harder to break free from when ideas of religion ARE involved. Fortunately today many millions of men have declined to follow religious authority and many of those that DO follow their religious leaders DO NOT follow their precepts but rather follow in the way of their secular and carnal culture. While it IS the Master’s words that have become their “stone of stumbling“, this IS further complicated by their own sense of religion as most fail to see their own delusion which, if seen and understood, IS NOT delusion at ALL. In the current failure of many millions to fully follow their religion we should try to see a hope, and here we can stay with the rendered word hope in Paul’s saying that they “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20, 21) simply because it IS easier for these to glimpse the Truth without their being enthralled by their religiously deluded state of thought. Returning to our main topic of the Master’s Sermon on the Mount, we will finish our discussion of the Lord’s Prayer which we repeat here for clarity; the Master tells us:
- According to Matthew, our source for discussion: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as* we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13).
- According to Luke: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:2-4).
We left off discussing the idea that we ask the Lord to “lead us not into temptation” as we settled upon a version of Emmet Fox’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer: that we should regard this as ‘a reference to us becoming too big in our spiritual selves being tempted by such to think too much of our selves and our self-righteousness and our supposed place‘. While this may NOT be the full intent of the Master’s words, it IS closer to the real than the common ideas regarding temptations from the Lord. We say this through James’ words saying “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13) and the Apostle Paul’s words saying “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). The end point here IS that any and ALL temptations are from the carnal self, the carnal mind and emotions, and that one may ‘believe’ that such ARE coming from the Lord as ‘instructions’ or as whatever else DOES NOT change the reality that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man“. Again this idea encompasses both the religious and secular temptations but it IS the religious that Paul IS addressing above in the same tone as the Master writes on almsgiving and prayer that we must resist any urge to stand out among men. The reality of our temptation IS offered clearly by James who also tells us:
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning“
James 1:12-17).
This brings us to the next part of the Lord’s Prayer as we ask the Lord to “deliver us from evil” and here we should understand that this IS a part of the previous statement and IS connected by the word but. To best understand the idea here we must try to see sin as ALL things carnal, ALL that is for the self alone, as the antithesis of ALL things good as defined by James above saying “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning“. The point here IS that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” so that the understanding should be that every thing that comes from the world IS NOT good. Of course we should understand this spiritually; there IS much good in the world but its nature IS carnal as well as its use. This IS a difficult concept to understand for those yet trapped in their vanity through which they see this Life here in this world as the True Life of a man and perhaps the ONLY way to understand this IS to escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4) or be striving to DO so. We should remember here that the Lord’s Prayer IS a supplication to God and while this IS accomplished through our own Souls, the reality IS the same. If we ARE asking that the Lord “lead us not into temptation” or better stated, ‘let us not be led into temptation‘, we ARE at the same time asking that we follow Paul’s admonition that a man IS “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly“. Here in the idea of soberly we should NOT see ideas of intoxication as with drink and drugs but rather that we identify the source of our thoughts while being be of sound mind9a as Strong’s defines sophroneo. Here we should relate this idea to Paul’s previous sentence where he tells us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:3, 2). Thayer’s offers us the idea that sophroneo IS to exercise self-control9 which IS a hallmark of a renewed mind. Can we see the point here? Then, as we ARE NOT led into temptation we ARE asking in the same way that we be delivered “from evil” which we interpret in the same fashion; that whensoever a tempting thought should come to mind that elevates us above others, we seek the additional help from the Lord to deflect it. Perhaps the best way to understand this IS through the Master’s lesson to James and John as they seek a higher office than their fellow apostles; we read:
“James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever* will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all“.
(Mark 10:35-44)
That Matthew’s version of this lesson says that the request comes from the mother of James and John DOES NOT alter the idea at ALL nor DOES it matter whose idea this was; the lesson IS the same. According to Matthew Jesus says “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever* will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-27). In the end we should try to see the Lord’s Prayer as a tool to remind us of the inflowing Truth and Love emanating from our own Christ Within and into our renewed mind and while for most ALL this IS NOT a completed process of renewal, much as we read with James and John, it IS nonetheless what we strive toward. Matthew continues the prayer, while Luke DOES NOT, by affirming the supremacy of the Lord; as we pray this prayer we too then ARE making this affirmation that “thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever“. This we should relate to Peter’s words that show us the idea of “the kingdom, and the power, and the glory” as those “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). It IS in our Repentance and our Transformation that we “might be partakers” and, to be sure, there IS NO difference between “the kingdom, and the power, and the glory” and the rewards offered us through our trifecta: the Truth, the Kingdom and His Presence. Repeating 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).
Two more points regarding this Lord’s Prayer; first IS that as Jesus begins He warns us of using “vain repetitions, as the heathen do” and we should try to see here that this idea of heathen IS being applied to the Jews as well as other ethnic groups that DO NOT see the Truth of God. The word has come to mean non-Christian but this could NOT have been Jesus’ reference as His words predate Christianity as we KNOW it. Some define the heathen as one that IS a member of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a pagan* but this too IS a convention established by doctrines after the fact. The Greek word ethnikos which IS rendered as heathen means NO such things but IS rather related to ethnicity9a by Strong’s while Thayer’s tells us that the idea IS: adapted to the genius or customs of a people, peculiar to a people, national9. There IS naught here that Truly leads to the common understanding of a heathen. What should we see here? Perhaps that the reference IS to the “vain repetitions” that ARE used by the various ethnic groups which may have been their mode of prayer. Oddly there ARE some that see the Lord’s Prayer as “vain repetitions” as it IS used by some Christian denominations and the Catholic use of the rosary IS seen by some in a similar manner. The point to be taken here IS that our prayer IS a private enterprise, that it should be well thought out as to what we ARE asking of the Lord and that ALL prayer should be in accord with the Master’s injunction that we forgive ALL. This injunction the Master adds at the end of the prayer; He tells us “if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). This last point IS a sort of conundrum as most Christians ARE taught that their sins ARE forgiven through the death of the Master on the cross and ALL that IS necessary IS that we believe this to be True. This of course IS but another doctrinal creation; Jesus’ point IS simply that if we want forgiveness for whatsoever we perceive we have DONE, we need to forgive others for whatsoever they have DONE. When we see others clearly and understand that it IS the flesh that offends and NOT the spiritual aspect of the Soul, it can be easier to forgive under the same idea as Jesus shares with us saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). From the perspective of men yet caught in their vanity, they DO NOT KNOW what they DO from a spiritual perspective as they live carnal lives in a carnal world divorced from the reality of the Inner Man, the Soul; they live in vanity. When however men Truly Repent and begin their Transformation they can see and understand this spiritual perspective where forgiveness IS easily dispensed to ALL as a part of the flow of agape and Truth. The reality IS that we must forgive as we express Truth and Love as the Master instructs and in this we ARE forgiven as we DO NOT recognize our own shortcomings any longer. While this may seem a too simple idea to use in regard to the Master’s words, the reality of it IS found in what has come to be called the Golden Rule that clearly tells us “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). We should also remember here that the whole idea of forgiveness IS NOT as we commonly understand it; as we discussed in the last essay the idea of forgiveness IS that we let go of any and ALL emotional and mental response to whatsoever we may have done and whatsoever another has done to offend us, the Lord or themselves. In forgiveness we look past the carnal behaviors of men as we understand that such ARE entrenched in vanity which we should ever understand as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. It IS in our pursuance of false ends, our pursuance of carnal pleasures, etc., that keeps us “separate from God” and the longer we live in this carnal matter, the more difficult it IS to recover.
We should understand here that a carnal lifestyle IS the normal way of men in this world and we should try to see how that most ALL religious men ARE as entrenched in their vanity as ARE the purely secular. The difference here IS that while the secular man DOES NOT see that he IS pursuing false ends or care as this IS ALL that he may KNOW, the religious man lives in the same way but under the deception of his vanity. This IS deception because his doctrines tell him that he IS living right while NOT living in accord with the Master’s words nor the rightly understood words of His apostles. Again James clearly shows us this deception saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). It IS unfortunate that the disparity between the Truth as the Master teaches us and the doctrines of men plays such a large role in the deception in which the self proclaimed religious live. It IS also unfortunate that few understand the Truth of the apostles’ words that point us in the right direction as they pick apart their writings and use isolated and out of context pieces of text to guide their doctrinal lives. It IS these very ideas that we should see in Jesus’ words but fail to DO so despite the way that He presents the reality of the church, from the way of the Jews in Isaiah’s time to the way of the Christian yet today; the Master tells us “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). Continuing our discussion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we come to the next topic which IS fasting. The overall lesson here IS the same as Jesus offers us regarding almsgiving and prayer; that we should NOT do such things for the perceived benefit we may get from others; that in DOING such for the recognition of other men there IS NO spiritual benefit whatsoever. The Master tells us: “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:16-18). We should note here that there ARE three separate scenarios presented to us by Jesus which ALL basically say the same thing. That the Lord’s Prayer IS interspersed with these lessons has no effect upon the message that the Master is seeking to impress upon the human family. For us the message IS similar to that of the Apostle Paul’s as we noted in the last post; Paul tells us saying “though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). Paul IS showing us the matter of giving ALL and while the idea that “I give my body to be burned” IS an obscure one seemingly related to the perceived benefit of martyrdom, Paul IS showing us that there IS NO benefit at ALL in the absence of agape, in the absence of Truly following the Lord. The Master’s point IS clear and simple: when we DO such things as almsgiving, praying and fasting for the recognition of men we will then have that recognition and in this IS the idea that “They have their reward“. Their reward however stops there, there IS NO spiritual benefit to our public display of virtue; it IS better that when we DO give we DO so privately and without any desire for recognition. When we pray as a public display, and so much of this IS DONE today in the churches and similar events, we DO so to NO spiritual end and when we fast, except for our DOING so with purpose and in private, there IS NO spiritual benefit whatsoever. While fasting IS NOT a popular Christian element today, there ARE some that interpret the idea of “when ye fast” as being an acknowledgement that fasting IS a good and necessary practice but the reality IS that this idea IS focused on the practices of the times.
Perhaps if we look at these lessons from Jesus in terms of motivation, we can better understand that His point IS to be so motivated as to put on a showing for men; and we should note that this idea IS far broader that the three examples the Master provides, leaves us in carnal state against which Paul tells us “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). In these beginning lines of Jesus’ more specific instructions we should try to see that ALL things DONE for carnal benefit ARE without spiritual value and that should we be Truly following the Lord, expressing agape to ALL as He previously instructed us, our motivation would NOT be carnal; our motivation would NOT be of the flesh. One last point here IS in regard to the overall teachings of the church, their version of the gospel if you will. After his scathing remarks about “another gospel” addressing men that are allowing themselves to be led by alternate teachings rather than the words of the Lord, men’s doctrinal approaches if you will, the apostle says: “do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Such IS the result of seeking to please men and to being pleased by their recognition of our accomplishments: that we remain in the flesh and “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” and CAN NOT “be the servant of Christ“. The idea here of “another gospel” IS what has encumbered most ALL of the church from the beginning and this despite Paul’s words to the Galatians. The church today IS a mish mash of many “another gospel” which have been constructed to the pleasure of men as most ALL have diminished the edicts of the Lord in favor of their own doctrinal approaches to the Lord. It IS unfortunate that the church has NOT and DOES NOT see this as a reference to themselves but rather apply it to others with which they DO NOT agree; this IS unfortunately a a rather universal application of the idea. Denominations and sects, while they may tolerate each other, see the teachings of others as this “another gospel” while the reality IS that they ARE ALL but “another gospel” according to Paul’s words saying “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another” (Galatians 1:6, 7). Moving on we come to the Master’s words regarding the choices that men must make and it IS here that we should try to see that should one Truly follow the Lord that such choices ARE made in our True Repentance. Jesus tells us:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“
Matthew 6:19-21
While the former words from the Master regard pleasing oneself through the recognition of others, these next instructions ARE ever more personal and address the motivation of a man in this world and his constant choice of living carnally or spiritually. We should try to see here however that most ALL men ARE carnal creatures yet bound by their own vanity and while their religiosity may offer them some psychic relief, it IS at best half-hearted from a spiritual perspective. This the Apostle James shows us saying “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8) telling us, as IS the Master, that one CAN NOT DO both, that he CAN NOT please both God and the self. Jesus begins with the idea of treasure but we should try to see that He IS NOT speaking ONLY of monetary things, He IS NOT speaking ONLY in terms of possessions and wealth, but rather ALL that a man may treasure as important, ALL upon which a man may focus. Strong’s defines thesauros which IS rendered as treasure as: a deposit, i.e. wealth (literally or figuratively):—treasure9a an idea that we see as quite far from the Master’s intent. Thayer’s gives us even less understanding saying that thesauros IS: the place in which goods and precious things are collected and laid up;
a casket, coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables are kept: and, after some other similar ideas, that thesauros IS the things laid up in a treasury; collected treasures9 which IS the idea they link to the Master’s words above. None of these defining ideas reveals the full intent of the Master’s words whereas His words saying “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” surely DO. Similarly save for the ‘dreams’ of men, the idea of “treasures in heaven” IS also depicted and understood as the ‘riches’ that one may have in heaven and this IS seemingly reflected by Vine’s where we read of this treasure that: the promise does not simply refer to the present life, but looks likewise to the hereafter9b. In previous essays we have related the story of King Gondoforus which seems a good way to end this essay; Vincent relates this story to us saying:
The beautiful legend of St. Thomas and Gondoforus is told by Mrs. Jameson (” Sacred and Legendary Art “) : “When St. Thomas was at Caesarea, our Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The king of the Indies, Gondoforus, hath sent his provost, Abanes, to seek for workmen well versed in the science of architecture, who shall build for him a palace finer than that of the Emperor of Rome. Behold, now I will send thee to him. ‘ And Thomas went, and Gondoforus commanded him to build for him a magnificent palace, and gave him much gold and silver for the purpose. The king went into a distant country and was absent for two years; and St. Thomas, meanwhile instead of building a palace, distributed all the treasures among the poor and sick; and when the king returned he was full or wrath, and he commanded that St. Thomas should be seized and cast into prison, and he meditated for him a horrible death. Meantime the brother of the king died, and the king resolved to erect for him a most magnificent tomb; but the dead man, after that the had been dead four days, suddenly arose and sat upright, and said to the king, ‘The man whom thou wouldst torture is a servant of God; behold I have been in Paradise, and the angels showed to me a wondrous palace of gold and silver and precious stones; and they said, ‘This is the palace that Thomas, the architect, hath built for thy brother, King Gondoforus. ‘ And when the king heard these words, he ran to the prison, and delivered the apostle; and Thomas said to him, ‘Knowest thou not that those who would possess heavenly things have little care for the things of this earth ? There are in heaven rich palaces without number, which were prepared from the beginning of the world for those who would purchase the possession through faith and charity. Thy riches, O king, may prepare the way for three to such a palace, but they cannot follow thee thither. ‘”
Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
While this story alludes to the idea of riches and palaces in heaven, much like the misapplied idea of mansions found in John’s gospel, the reality of the lesson here IS simply that whatsoever we may have and accumulate here in this Earth IS of NO value in the afterlife and this regardless of how one may view heaven; one’s treasures here cannot follow thee thither. The crux of the story IS found in the heavenly reward, albeit mistakenly stated as a wondrous palace of gold and silver and precious stones that awaits those that live in expression of Love. Solomon offers the same idea on our worldly possessions saying in Ecclesiastes that “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15). The same sentiment IS found in the Book of Job where we read Job saying “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Among these ideas IS the Master’s point as He adjures us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven“.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- 9b Vine’s Expository Dictionary on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
