ON LOVE; PART DCCCXXXVII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12)
We ended the last essay with the Apostle Paul’s words on strongholds and the “weapons of our warfare“. We presented this to show yet another way that we should look at the plight of men in this world and we should note here how that these strongholds ARE the product of that sense of glamour that makes men see that their own illusions ARE real, that the vanity to which they ARE subjected IS the real. And we can see this dynamic at play in most every area of human endeavor, in politics, in education, in social culture and any in other psychic schemes where men hold to that which they have come to believe or that in which they ARE nurtured. This IS the source of pride as it IS reflected in patriotism and in one’s ‘love’ for whatsoever IS his own, but NO where IS this sense of glamour more prevalent than it IS in religion where there IS great uneasiness and where ALL have come to believe that their way IS the right way and, for some, that their way IS the ONLY way. In the vanity of Life in this world where men DO NOT see the reality of their own Truth as Souls in form but rather see themselves as forms with Souls, this sense of religion can be one’s most severely held stronghold; one which he may NEVER come to realize IS that which IS holding him back from a Truer revelation of his own spiritual reality.
This glamour IS fed by the doctrinal teachings of the many different denominations that call themselves as Christian; it IS in doctrines that men believe and it IS in doctrines that men see their reality, and this IS the single most important stronghold that a man must conquer if he Truly wants to see his own Truth, and to understand the reality of the Master’s words which show forth the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to those who can see more clearly. It is the vanity that obnubilates the vision of men; it IS the illusion that their lives ARE as they deem them to be that blocks one’s one search for the greater Truth as he has come to believe that he already has that Truth; and it IS the glamour, the self deception that IS based in the illusion, that creates the sense of KNOWING that one’s own view and the view of his own group IS right. This IS the reality of the stronghold that he has built….the stronghold that imprisons him. Paul shows us this plight as he explains the reality of men’s Life here in this world, as he includes himself as among those who ARE yet lost; we read an expanded selection from his letter to the Romans:
“they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For 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 . For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans 8:5-25)
It IS in the context of the whole of the apostles thoughts that the Truth of His ideas can come forth and because doctrines pick and choose phrases and verses rather than the fullness of Paul’s context, the deeper Truths ARE missed by most. Some direct their attention at the doctrinal idea behind “whereby we cry, Abba, Father“, others use their own doctrinal ideas to interpret the apostle’s words on the flesh and the Spirit and see themselves on the right side of his words saying “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his“; here they DO NOT see the deeper ideas that the Master himself teaches saying “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” as we see in our our selection from John’s Gospel below. Still others see the verses on hope as of primary importance and they connect this with other singular verses that show the relationship to faith and salvation which ARE read into the words from the Book of Hebrews saying “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) among others. Few see the picture that IS painted by Paul as the reality IS obscured by the many interpretations of doctrines which, in the glamour of men’s own view on Life, make men to believe that they ARE among those on the positive side of what the apostle says. It IS in the glamour that men ARE deluded; it IS in their being “made subject to vanity“, their being subjected to the illusions of Life, that men see themselves as “spiritually minded” and among the few who DO live according to the Spirit.
While we could get into the deeper ideas of sin and evil here, that these ARE but the ways of the world and to follow such ways IS contrary to His words, we will NOT but will simply focus upon the easier view of keeping His words which IS what IS required of a man if he Truly seeks the Presence of God in his life. This Presence of God IS of course what Paul IS speaking about above; as he tells us that “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” we should see his reflection upon the Master’s words and understand that the criteria IS yet that a men keep His words. In this we should see clarification and amplification of Jesus’ words and NOT a foundation for doctrines that DO NOT see this requirement. Here again is focus, here again IS the reality of setting one’s thoughts and attitudes upon the things of God, and here again we see the reality of the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual; ALL of these ideas clarify and amplify the Master’s words yet most men still choose to see these Truths through the prism of doctrine rather than in the context in which they ARE offered. Paul tells us “if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” and in this IS the reality of the Presence of God as we see it in the Master’s own words which we repeat here again”
“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless:a I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 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 14:15-24).
How DOES Christ come to be in a man in this world but through the realization of His Presence in one’s Life, a realization that comes to the man who keeps His words. The Master tells us that the Spirit IS already with the Eleven, and by extension with us, and we can see by the dialogue that they DO NOT realize this Presence. We can assume here that they ARE yet bound by their own sense of doctrine and that they DO NOT yet see the reality that the Master IS teaching, the reality of the Presence of God in one’s Life….it IS this Presence that Jesus IS showing them in a parabolic tone that requires that they come to see the Truth individually. And so Paul shows us that “if Christ be in you, the body is dead ” and here we should see the same reality as in one’s realization of the Presence of God, the carnal instincts and desires fade to naught as it IS the Presence, the Soul, the Christ and God Within, that then will quicken your mortal bodies. If men could but see past their own sense of doctrines and see the reality that IS built for us by the Master and then amplified and clarified by His apostles, they could then begin to understand the greater Truths and see that their own holding on to their beliefs IS their own barrier to that Truth; that this holding on IS glamour and that what it IS that they hold to IS their own individual stronghold. And so we repeat here again Paul’s words from the last essay saying
“the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Can we see here how that the apostle’s tone IS in regard to spiritual things and NOT whatsoever stronghold one may have as a man? Can we see here how that the apostle’s reference IS whatsoever a man may believe that IS “itself against the knowledge of God“? Can we see how that the apostle IS speaking about doctrines and traditions and the ways of Life in those days which were contrary to the reality and the Truth that IS presented by the Master. When we can understand the deeper ideas that ARE embedded in the simple idea of KNOWING God we can see that the reality here IS yet tied to the Master’s words above on His Presence. And this IS also the message of the Apostle John who shows us that the reality of KNOWING God IS found in Love; we read: “let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Can we see how that this ALL works together and that in this Love, which IS a precursor to KNOWING God, that there IS the reality that we keep His words as Paul shows us saying: “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14).
Here we ARE then at the intersection of ideas; there IS the idea of Love, the idea of keeping His words, the idea of the Presence of God in one’s Life and the idea that ALL that IS contrary to these “exalteth itself against” these things. ALL of these ideas are therefore related. It IS the God and the Christ Within as the realized Presence of God in one’s conscious Life that IS the apostle’s reference as he tells us of the weapons that a man has, weapons which ARE “mighty through God” and which ARE the ever growing Presence of God in the Life of the man whose focus IS upon the things of God which IS a message to be taken from the apostle’s sayings above. These words from Paul are wholly misunderstood by most and it IS in their parabolic tone that we must see the reality of this Truth which begins with his own problems, with the view of him and his followers by others. This cause aside, the words stand on their own and show that they must NOT react to those who may be against them in a carnal way but it a spiritual way….this IS the outward message to the reader but there IS an inner Truth as well.
It IS the inner message of Truth that reflects upon a man’s own psyche and the internal war that men must have in order to free themselves from the carnal views of Life and of man’s relationship to God….to free themselves from the doctrines and the traditions of men. And more so: there IS also the idea of example, the example to those who may see the spiritual man as carnal; a view that IS deflected by one’s use of those spiritual weapons that he has through the Presence of God in his Life. What ARE these weapons? The apostle tells us this in his letter to the Ephesians saying:
“we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:12-17),
We leave again our sayings from John’s Gospel which we will try to get back to in the next essay:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, 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. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:31-34).
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.
Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate.
Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.
Live in joy, without possessions.
Like the shining ones.
The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.
Let go of winning and losing and find joy.
There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Today’s Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada (on JOY)5; a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. These words and ideas ARE much the same as those we discuss in our In the Words of Jesus essays. And what is this freedom but the release of our hearts and minds from loving this life in this world and attaining the Presence of God. This word Joy has many meanings as DOES the idea of Love, but in the context that it IS used here we should see the idea that Joy IS Love, Joy IS health, Joy IS peace and that Joy IS without the burdens placed on a man by the illusion and the glamour of the ways of the world. We should try to see that it IS the antithesis of these ideas in hate, in affliction and in troubles that ARE among the possessions of the carnal man, that ARE among the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45) according to the Master.
And it IS in the second stanza above that we see the basic psychic ideas that can eliminate the harm caused by such “evil treasure” as a man looks past himself and at the welfare of others which IS the greater reality of Love as the Master teaches us. It IS in losing such possessions, losing such carnal thoughts and attitudes, that one can truly find the “joy of freedom“….this IS the Truth of deliverance.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
