ON LOVE; PART MDXLIII
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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 a discussion on the disciples of Jesus and specifically His twelve apostles. We DID so in regard to the Master’s own criteria for discipleship which IS where our original discussion regarding the Apostle Paul’s words to the Colossians began. We will return to this as we finish with our discussion on the idea of discipleship and the criteria that the Master has established for actually being one. We began with the Master’s words from the first part of our trifecta where 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). Here discipleship IS directly tied to keeping His words and while this IS framed as continuing in His words, the better rendering IS that we should abide in them; this IS the more prevalent translation of the Greek word meno. The reward for keeping His words IS that we can be among His “disciples indeed” which idea IS better understood as His True disciples as several bible translations render the idea. There IS a secondary reward cited here by Jesus which we should try to see as the result of being a disciple; that reward IS that we “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. We should understand that these rewards ARE NOT bestowed upon us by some church authority or even by the Lord Himself; these rewards ARE the natural result of our individual efforts to keep His words and, to be sure, these rewards DO come to us by measure. As an aspirant to discipleship we can have a proportionate measure of the Truth through the revelations of that Truth which flow from the Soul to the now ready human mind. It IS the mind that IS made ready by our focus upon the things of God and, of course, this IS the first step to becoming His True disciple….that we Repent as this idea IS meant to be understood. This Repentance IS our willing change of focus from the self and the things of the self to the things of God and we should try to see here that while we can pretend to be focus on the Lord, it IS our thoughts, attitudes and actions that tell the Truth.
Our second view of discipleship follows upon this idea of keeping His words and takes it a bit further but this furtherance IS NOT a separate idea; it IS but a part of the overall reality that we should keep His words. In the Master’s teachings to us on agape we should be able to sense the reality of the way that we must act and react to those that ARE closest to us; our “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also” ARE the subject here. As we discussed in the last essay the idea of hate here CAN NOT be understood as the word IS defined. The Greek word miseo which IS rendered as hate was NOT intended to convey the ideas that ARE attached to the English word which IS: to feel intense dislike, or extreme aversion or hostility*. Surely we ARE NOT instructed to have such feelings in order to become His disciple. The fault here lies with the Greek word and its rendering as hate and we should note here that the defining ideas for the Greek word DO resemble those of the English word hate. The lexicon tells us that the idea of miseo IS: to hate, pursue with hatred, detest; to be hated, detested and we should note that while this IS the intent in many sayings it IS NOT the intent in this one on discipleship nor in our other example of “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13). Why miseo? We DO NOT KNOW but Vincent gives us a partial explanation that can be used in these sayings as well as in Jesus words saying “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Vincent tells us that in regard to these three uses of miseo we should see that: The expression is intentionally strong as an expression of moral antipathy adding that No idea of malice is implied of course4.
As we discussed in the last post and throughout our essays, the idea to be taken here IS that miseo should mean to Love less and this idea we garner from the reality that the Lord DOES NOT hate nor would He offer for us to DO so in contrast to His words on Love. Add to this the way that Matthew frames the Master’s words saying “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” (Matthew 10:37).
Both gospels, Luke and Matthew, go on to further define the criteria for discipleship. In Luke we read that “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27) while Matthew frames this as “he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). Both of these tell us the same thing: that a man must “bear his cross” but we should understand that this has naught to DO with crucifixion as IS supposed by some. John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible mentions the idea of the Roman punishment of crucifixion and adds another doctrinal wrinkle saying that: Every minister of Christ, or professor of his name, has “his” own cross, his own particular afflictions, appointed by God, and laid on him by Christ, and which he should cheerfully take up, and patiently bear, for his sake8. For us this IS NOT the intent of the the idea that one must “bear his cross“; for us the idea IS clearly that we must be prepared to forgo ALL that we hold as important in Life; from family and friends to possessions and careers, ALL must be forsaken for the reality of discipleship. Vincent describes this in simple terms which must then be applied to one’s own Life circumstance; he tell us: His cross. More correctly, his own. An important charge. All must bear the cross, but not all the same cross: each one his own4. This commentary IS in regard to Luke’s framing of this idea; in regard to Matthew’s Mr. Vincent shows us a different idea that somewhat resembles that of John Gill but he ends his commentary saying: His cross: his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs: “Every cross hath its inscription – the name of him for whom it is shaped“4.
There IS yet more to our quest for discipleship and this last idea IS perhaps the clearest and the most ignored. In Matthew’s Gospel we read the Master’s words saying “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). This same idea IS repeated in Luke’s Gospel with a slight difference; here the Master tells us that the aspirant must “take up their cross daily” rightly implying that this denying IS a continual event in one’s Life. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 8:34) tells us this also in the same words as in Matthew. The idea here should be understood as we cite above; we should try to see that this denying of oneself and the former ways of Life ARE the cross that we must bear continually; we carry our former selves with us as we proceed to discipleship and it IS this that helps us to understand the plight of our brothers on the Path as well as those that have NOT yet entered onto the Path toward “the strait gate“. Here we should try to see the reality of our Path according to the Master’s words saying “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” Matthew 7:13-14). Can we see the point here.
This brings us to our final idea on discipleship and perhaps the most difficult for a man in this world to understand and to achieve. In Luke’s Gospel the Master goes on from His words on the cross and on denying to offer us some ideas on understanding what IS involved in our denying ourselves; He offers us some parabolic ideas on counting the cost of discipleship before telling us “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). These words ARE perhaps the most apparent roadblock that men face and the reason that such ideas ARE NOT easily spoken of by the church. This IS however the same message as the Master has already delivered, albeit in more muted terms, as He tells us about denying oneself in order to be His disciple. As we cite above this message of denying IS offered to us in each of the three synoptic gospels and we should note by the way that it IS framed in Mark and Luke that this pertains to ALL and NOT ONLY to those that ARE already with Him as disciples and aspirants. In Mark’s Gospel the idea IS framed as “he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34) while in Luke’s Jesus the writer tells us that He addresses His words “to them all” (Luke 9:23). We should try to see here that this idea of denying oneself IS tantamount to the idea of forsaking “all that he hath“. And this IS NOT an isolated theme spoken of by the Master, it IS also a part of the example offered to us in the story of the rich young ruler who IS seeking “eternal life“. He tells this “certain ruler” that “Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (Luke 18:18, 22). Jesus’ words should have established the criteria for discipleship and its benefits among which IS “eternal life” which Jesus interprets for us as “thou shalt have treasure in heaven“. The church has twisted this idea into saying that having such treasure can be possible by giving liberally to the poor but this IS NOT how the Master teaches this precept. Jesus emphasis IS upon denying oneself and forsaking ALL and while it IS True that we can have the benefits by measure, the precept itself must be understood to require relinquishing ALL. It IS this that we should strive toward as part of our effort to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). Here, the Master shows us the difficulty that men will face even as they strive as He alludes to the impossibility for those that DO NOT so strive.
In the combination idea of denying oneself and taking up one’s cross we have yet another most basic criteria for discipleship and one that we have not yet fully explored. While the idea of taking up one’s cross IS discussed above, we DO NOT have a full grasp of the Master’s intent in using this phrase. That we disagree with the common ideas that this IS offered with a view of the cross of crucifixion upon which Jesus dies IS certain; the idea IS NOT one of martyrdom. Vincent shows us a picture of the doctrinal idea saying that: His cross [τον σταυρον αυτου]. This was no Jewish proverb, crucifixion not being a Jewish punishment; so that Jesus uses the phrase anticipatively, in view of the death which he himself was to die. This was one of those sayings described in John 12:16, which the disciples understood not at the first, but the meaning of which was revealed in the light of later events. The figure itself was borrowed from the practice which compelled criminals to bear their own cross to the place of execution4. Applying the Apostle John’s words here IS but a matter of doctrinal convenience while John DOES admit that much of what the Master had said to them remained at the time a mystery. In regard to the foretelling of Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem to be crucified the apostle tells us “These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him” (John 12:16). We should note here that this note by John IS in regard to a certain incident and while it may be stretched to cover many of those things that bewildered the apostles, it DOES NOT apply to this idea of taking up one’s cross. This phrase has a definite meaning which for us IS related to the burdens that each man must carry with him as he enters onto and treads the Path; as Paul, he DOES NOT forget those things that brought him to this point in Life. We should add to this whatsoever happens in the lives of those with whom the apostle was close as they see the aspirant’s departure from his own heretofore carnal Life. This IS the cross upon which the body IS mortified to use Paul’s terminology as he tells us that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). Can we see the point here? Can we see that this phrase has much more meaning than that assigned by the doctrines of men. Can we see that the cross IS real and that the idea that: All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs : “Every cross hath its inscription” – the name of him for whom it is shaped4 has meaning for us ALL.
The next part of this combination IS that men must “deny themselves” in order to be a True disciple. The Greek word here IS aparneomai; the lexicon defines this as: to deny; to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone; to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests2. It IS of course the latter idea that pertains directly to the Master’s phrase that “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me“. Strong’s defines aparneomai as: to deny utterly before adding English the synonyms disown, abstain:—deny9a. In these defining ideas we get a closer view of the Master’s words that call for our forsaking “all that he hath“. Thayer’s simply defines aparneomai as: to deny9 before adding in commentary the ideas cited above from the lexicon as they pertain to specific uses. We should try to see here that while the Master’s words that we take from Luke’s Gospel, that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), may seem harsh, they ARE indeed supported by Jesus’ words on our denying ourselves and here we should see that to deny oneself encompasses ALL thoughts, attitudes, actions and possessions that ARE of this Life and this world. We should try to see here that this IS NOT Repentance but rather the result of Repentance, the result of our decision to Truly follow the Lord and that this result IS an integral part of our Transformation. Further, it IS in our Transformation that the carnal mind rebels against the changes wrought by our denying and forsaking and here we should be able to get a better view of Jesus’ injunction that aspirants must “take up their cross daily“, take on the burden of the rebelling carnal mind and emotions continually. And here too we should see the value of the idea that there are different crosses for different disciples as we try to navigate our own Transformation. In the fullness of discipleship this forsaking and denying ARE necessary parts of our journey but we must remember and understand that there IS NO on/off switch by which we can simply change; there IS ONLY the slow and ofttimes tedious process of Transformation. And we must remember here that ALL of this begins with our Repentance, with our decision to change the focus of our lives off of the carnal and the mundane and onto the things of God, onto the agape Love and the Truth that ARE our God and our Guide. Here it would be beneficial to again try to understand the depth of Repentance which IS eloquently shown to us in Vincent’s words saying that Repentance IS: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice4. To be sure this virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose IS the virtuous alteration of our focus and the necessary change based in the Master’s words saying “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
While these words from the Master should be seen as poignant, they ARE NOT. The ARE simply put into the general doctrinal category of Jesus’ sayings which have little or NO impact upon the minds of the doctrinal Christian world. Jesus’ words here however ARE of the defining nature; they define the focus of a man in this world. They follow upon His admonition that men should “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” (Matthew 6:29-20) but these sayings ARE also ignored by the doctrinal church. As we have ofttimes said, two things ARE important here; first IS the way that the Greek word thesauros IS understood strictly as treasure with NO vision of just what this idea Truly entails. It IS defined in strictly monetary terms but this IS NOT the way that we should understand the Master’s point; we should try to see that NOT ONLY possessions and wealth contribute to our treasure but ALL that we hold dear be it persons, places or things to state this simply. Strong’s tells us that thesauros IS: a deposit, i.e. wealth (literally or figuratively):—treasure9a while Thayer’s tells us that the idea IS: the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up; a casket, coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables are kept; a treasury storehouse, repository, magazine; the things laid up in a treasury, collected treasures9, 2. Thayer’s defining ideas ARE the same as we find our lexicon. ALL of this point directly to wealth and possessions without ever veering into the realm of the mind and the emotions which ARE the home of the heart which such treasure afflicts. The message here IS simply that we should NOT seek carnal treasures; our motivation should NOT be toward wealth, possessions, career and Loved ones and here IS where Jesus’ words ARE tied to His words above on forsaking and denying oneself. Our second point IS stated in the first. While we should refrain from seeking “treasures upon earth” in favor of seeking out “treasures in heaven“, this whole idea has been diluted and changed by the doctrines of men that have come to say that it IS alright to accumulate wealth and focus upon our worldly affairs so long as we: lay up your earthly treasures in heaven; that is, put them into the hands of God in heaven; and this is done, by liberally communicating to the poor8 as John Gill frames this for us. This however IS a wrong approach to the Masters admonition and, based upon the ways of men in this world, it IS also unpractical for when men have, they ever seek to have yet more. Yes many DO give some portion of their wealth to charities of all kinds but such giving generally IS NOT offered to the poor. Mr. Gill leaves the idea of giving liberally without definition and his words ARE contrary to Jesus’ instruction to the ‘rich young ruler’ to whom He says “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21).
Most ALL doctrinal Christians also ignore the Master’s words that directly affect men’s inability to readily forsake what they have or to cease pursuing wealth and possessions as this idea IS generally understood. They ignore, dilute and change the meaning of most ALL of the injunctions against wealth offered by the Master and His disciples. Perhaps the most visible of these IS from this same encounter with the ‘rich young ruler’ of whom we read that “when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22). The Master’s response to this IS a lesson for His disciples and for us but, unfortunately, this lesson has been ignored from the beginning as men have sought out clever ways to deflect the onus from themselves. Jesus tells His disciples and us “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24). While the church has created a clever rational for the “eye of a needle“, their ideas ARE rather worthless when we view the entirety of the New Testament words spoken against our seeking after the things of the world. That some see this “eye of a needle” as one of the gates into Jerusalem, a narrow gate where camels, heavily loaded with goods and riders, would need to be un-loaded in order to pass through IS but fantasy. In this the idea IS merely of difficulty; this IS NOT the substance of the Master’s words. The words rendered as needle, raphis, and eye, trypema, DO mean what should be understood as a True “eye of a needle” which IS used for sewing and the ONLY takeaway from this would be that it IS impossible for “a camel to go through the eye of a needle” and therefore impossible for “a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God“. ALL of this IS based upon the reality that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). In the end it becomes a matter of focus, of the focus of one’s Life in this world and, to be sure, having wealth preoccupies the minds of men in ways that prohibit them from Truly seeking the Lord.
While many look past the Master’s words and hold onto the doctrinal ideas into which they have been indoctrinated to see that having material wealth and maintaining it IS beneficial to a man, the opposite IS True. Even for the man that IS liberally communicating to the poor as John Gill tells us IS tantamount to seeking after “treasures in heaven” his effortw will most often fail to move their focus off of their carnal position and onto striving to be a disciple of the Master. And we should understand here that discipleship IS the ONLY Way to Truly reach the Kingdom of God; it IS the disciple that DOES keep His words; it IS the disciple that actively will “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). ALL others ARE among those that either ARE striving toward discipleship, those that ARE merely doubleminded men or those whose focus IS strictly carnal. James, whose writings ARE clear and blunt, tells us about being doubleminded saying “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). While it IS the final words that show us the fate of the doubleminded in this world, the entirety of this saying IS important as whensoever we seek Wisdom we DO, at the same time, seek the agape and Truth which come to the man who DOES keep His words. For the aspirant this doublemindedness remains in play as he struggles to overcome his own vanity, his own rejection of worldly thoughts, attitudes and actions; this man sees the Path and IS likely upon it to some measurable degree. Those NOT seeking to keep His words for most any reason fall into the category of the Truly “double minded man” and we should try to see that those in the church ARE more greatly afflicted than those who may occasionally think about things other than their carnal lives. It IS to ALL groups however, those focused somewhat on the Lord as well as those that ARE ambivalent as they follow their doctrines while reading of the Truth, and those that simply DO not care to seek after some measure of the Truth that we post our trifecta. Our trifecta IS the Master’s words on keeping His words as He outlines the rewards for DOING so and while our selection IS but three sayings, there ARE many more that show us the same reality. 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).
Each of these three points given us by the Master outlines the Way that we should keep His words but we should note that the whole IS a combination of these. As we seek discipleship or merely desire to be an aspirant to discipleship we must understand that it IS “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” that can have the Presence of the Lord, a realization of that Presence in his Life. We should understand here that the bar IS high and necessarily so. However, we should understand as well that the ‘rule of measure‘ IS at play and that it IS “with what measure ye mete” that “it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). Then, if we have His commandments and strive to keep them we DO have some measure of benefit. This adage IS True across most ALL human endeavors, spiritual and carnal; our rewards ARE most always in line with the effort that we put forth. This IS the third part of our trifecta and here we should understand the symmetry of this with the second part where the injunction IS similar but NOT the same. In this second part we have the idea of keeping His words framed in terms of the commandments of God; it IS those that “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” that will reap the reward of the Kingdom of God. There IS NO difference between keeping His words as applied to the Master and keeping His words as defined as the Will of the Father; these ideas ARE equal. Jesus explains this saying that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. Can we see the point here? Finally we have the first part which IS worded in terms of continuing in His word; this idea we have redefined as abiding in His word as the Greek word meno IS generally rendered in terms of abiding. Abiding should be understood that we live in His word, that it becomes the central part of our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions and, to be sure, the ‘rule of measure‘ IS at play here as well. Here the reward IS the Truth and the freedom that it brings and we should understand that whensoever one Truly abides in His words, he IS the True disciple….the disciple indeed. So then, in the trifecta we have the Presence of the Lord, the realization of that Presence if you will, we have access to the Kingdom of God and we have the Truth that frees us from our vanity in this world.
Again we must remember that there IS a ‘rule of measure‘ at play here and while we have not referred to this idea as a rule in the past, we DO so now as it IS a dynamic force in the building of a disciple; in removing him measure by measure from his carnal and mundane existence and giving him some measure of the “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). While we should try to understand that NOT ALL men or women can be disciples, we need to understand why. There IS nothing preventing everyman from becoming a disciple save for his own ego but we must add to this a total lack of understanding of just what a disciple IS. The point here IS that when one IS unaware of the reality of discipleship his own ego has little or nothing to DO with him NOT striving toward discipleship; this IS ONLY countered by the promptings of one’s own Soul which, for most ALL men, remain unheard against the din of daily living. When one IS aware of the criteria for discipleship and the benefits of being a disciple, a secondary barrier IS erected by one’s own mind and this IS the moral of the story of the ‘rich young ruler’ who, while desirous of discipleship, rejects the cost of becoming a disciple. He rejects the cost of that the Master defines as that one must “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Again, taking “up their cross” tantamount to KNOWING oneself and expressly working at deflecting one’s own carnal proclivities while following Him, Truly following Him, through striving to keep His words. DOING these things, striving to deny oneself and striving to follow Him, can put one into the position of as aspirant to discipleship where such aspiring IS defined as: aspiring or seeking to attain something important or of value*. It IS ONLY when in this position of aspirant that the fullness of the Master’s criteria for discipleship Truly come into play. It IS ONLY in this position of being an aspirant that one need be concerned with the other criteria of continuing in His word, abiding if you will, as one comes to realize the deepest Truths regarding agape and the reality of having NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). It IS here that one can see clearly the criteria of True discipleship that the Master frames for us as “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).
While this saying may be hard to reconcile, it also IS a factor that grows out of a True expression of agape where one comes to Truly “love thy neighbour as thyself” (James 2:8, Mark 12:31). In our ability to DO this, in our ability to see ALL men the same, we will perforce see “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters” as we see ALL neighbors. Hence, our difficulty IS NOT in meeting this criteria once we ARE prepared but rather accepting our preparation while KNOWING what the end result must be. The same IS True with the criteria that tells us clearly that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). This criteria may be the greater burden for the carnal mind to handle and it IS ONLY when one becomes a True aspirant to discipleship that DOING so, forsaking ALL, loses ALL burdensomeness. Again, it IS by measure that we reach out to each spiritual goal and by measure that we achieve some of the rewards which begin with our acceptance of what we must DO.
Men should expect NO help from the church at this time as most ALL ARE in the throes of denial regarding most ALL of the Master’s words on discipleship as well as being able to define just what discipleship IS. Add to this the fact that far too many already believe that they ARE His disciples and we have the current situation. This leaves ALL up to the individual who must, on his own terms, seek True Repentance while even this beginning point IS muddied by the defining ideas attached to it by the church and our secular societies. It IS Repentance that begins our journey, it IS in Repentance that the seeds are placed that allow us to grow into aspirants to discipleship where we will gain our measure of the promised rewards….NONE of which ARE carnal or mundane.
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 |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.or
- * 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
