ON LOVE; PART CMXLII

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

GoodWill IS Love in Action

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

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).

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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 continued our discussion on the ideas intended by the Master and His apostles regarding sin and evil and lust and corruption. We have noted how that ALL of these ideas ARE the reality of the way of men in this world whose focus IS yet upon the self and the things of the self in this world. We should remember that these ideas ARE NOT ONLY the concrete things but ARE also the fullness of one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions as well. It IS these that lead to the concrete actions that ARE NOT ONLY those counted as sin and evil but ARE ALL of the activities of men whose focus IS NOT upon the things of God. It IS in this way that we should understand the Apostle Paul’s words regarding the flesh and understand that “if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body” IS with reference to ALL of “the deeds of the body” and NOT just those that the doctrines portray in their view of sin and evil and of lust and corruption.

It IS in the fullness of one’s realization of the Presence of God that one IS the True disciple who has overcome, as did Jesus who tells us clearly that “I have overcome the world” (John 10:30). And it IS by measure that men achieve and attain ever higher points of enlightenment and realization of the Truth that comes as they move closer to that fullness which IS the fullness of keeping His words. In the fullness of such realization a man will have attained the Truth, the Presence of God and fully realize the Kingdom of God and it IS these three that ARE our trifecta of spiritual reality, a reality that Jesus shows us in His words that we repeat here again saying:

• “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“ (John 8:31-32).
• “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).

It IS  the fullness of the Kingdom of God, which IS the same fullness that IS His Presence in one’s Life and that “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21), which IS the freedom gained in the fullness of KNOWING the Truth, that IS the True Life’ goal of every individual Soul. While this IS rather clearly pointed out by the Master and His apostles as we see in Jesus’ own words above which we call the trifecta, this Truth IS obnubilated by the doctrines of men who refuse to see the deep realities of Life and still cling to the idea that it IS this person that appears in the Earth with his personality, his mind and his emotions, that will continue in paradise with the Lord if ONLY he will believe. That there IS a paradise IS NOT to be disputed but the reality of this paradise IS here and it IS NOW for the man who can so detach himself from the wiles of the world that he can clearly see the Truth that IS presented to him by his own Soul, his own Christ and God Within.

We should ever remember that the words of the Master and His apostles were written first for the man in that day and that they ARE couched in the jargon of the day, and while the extracted meanings of the Greek words should be used point to the greater Truth, the common understanding has been changed to suit the ideas of men and of religious doctrines that DO NOT see, or refuse to see, those greater Truths. This Truth IS reserved for disciples of the Lord as the Master tells us saying to His disciples that “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). And while many men believe that it IS by their doctrines that they ARE disciples and that they can KNOW the mysteries, the reality IS that it IS in True discipleship that the Truth IS KNOWN as Jesus tells us above. Again we should try to see how that men can and DO achieve some modicum of the revelation of Truth as they move closer to the fullness of keeping His words and it IS in this sense that we should understand the Master’s words saying “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).

It IS the interpretations that ARE presented by those who have taken authority for such things upon themselves that both confuse and confound the Truth and it IS these interpretations that ARE become a part of the years of one’s nurturing through his years of infancy, childhood and adolescence, where he IS nurtured only in the ways of the world….and doctrines ARE indeed a part of this. It IS in this nurturing that one’s focus comes to be upon the complexity of the things of the world which develops into the working personality of everyman; it is this nurturing that shows forth as one’s sense of religion, patriotism and his sense of group relationships and while these may change as one’s Life proceeds, they are difficult to shed. It IS in one’s seeking that change comes and this DOES NOT have to be an active seeking but rather can include the happenstance of coming across some new view that IS more appealing than the old….it IS by this process that men can grow.

It IS when a man can actively seek the Truth that the idea of striving comes into play and it IS in his dissatisfaction with the things of the world, the thoughts, the attitudes and the actions of the world at large, that he can perhaps realize that there IS a greater Truth. It IS in this realization that one can find that His own Soul IS prompting his consciousness to submit to the higher purposes with which he had come into incarnation, purposes that ARE founded in his own intended spiritual advancement, and it IS unfortunate that so many never seem to find their own Truth. This IS the reality of Jesus’ words above  saying “for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in , and shall not be able“. And this IS also the reality of the Master’s words according to the Apostle Matthew on this same idea where we read that: “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).

Overcoming one’s nurturing IS NO easy feat from the perspective of the man in this world and this IS further exasperated by the interpretations of doctrines that appear to men as the authoritative message of Life. It IS in the illusion and the glamour of living in this world that men hold on to their own nurtured beliefs and their own developed attitudes about religion as they close their minds to most ALL other presentations of Truth; and it IS in the simple fact that there ARE many thousands of different interpretations that the fallacy of their view should be seen. The Truth however IS in the Master’s words and in the words of His apostles and while these words are misunderstood, misinterpreted and taken out of context, the Truth still remains for the man who will seek it and this IS the everlasting idea to be gleaned from Jesus own words saying:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek , and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:7-12).

We should note here how that the idea of receiving from God IS tied to one’s expression of Love as IS found in the Golden Rule, an idea that IS lost in the doctrines of men, and we should remember that, unlike most doctrinal presentations, it IS NEVER the things of the world that come from God….it IS only some measure of one’s own revelation and realization of the Truth, the Presence of God and His Kingdom here and NOW. It IS in the sincerity of seeking that one can be seen as striving as this word should be understood: as to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance ⁷ as the dictionary defines striving or, as Vincent shows us regarding the Greek word, that it IS: Originally to contend for a prize in the public games; and thus conveying a sense of struggle ⁴. And it IS in one’s sense of seeking and striving that one will accept and understand ideas that ARE contrary to his own nurturing and development, ideas that can upset his own view of Life here in this world. It IS with this in mind that we continue with our review of the Apostle Paul’s words that show us both “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit“, words which define for us Life here according to the wiles of the world against a Life lived according to His words. we repeat both of our selections from the apostles writings:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:17-24).

In the last post we began as Paul begins, with the idea of adultery which, although it IS NOT in the Greek text, we discussed anyway. Here, while most ALL understanding of this word IS in the common idea of marital infidelity, we have found some deeper ideas regarding one’s relationship with God. When we can understand that as Souls we ARE part and parcel of the Godhead and that this IS our True identity which is obnubilated by the clouds of illusion and the mists of glamour, we can come to see the greater Truth in the Master’s ideas that spring forth from the Old Testament teachings as well as those of His apostles. This IS what Vincent showed us in regard to adultery; if we can see the idea of idolatry and intercourse with Gentiles from the last essay as the reality of infidelity toward the Godhead, we can better understand the spiritual ideas that ARE His words. And we should NOT be fooled by Vincent’s use of the word intercourse, another word that IS most always viewed sexually, we should rather see this as the dictionary also defines this word; as: dealings or communication between individuals, groups, countries, etc.; interchange of thoughts, feelings, etc.⁷. And we should understand the idea of gentiles in the broader view of humanity, a view that can show us that adultery IS attending to the world and the ideas of men rather than the Truth of God.

And so it IS with words and the presumed meanings that men have ascribed to them in their doctrines. This brings us to Paul’s next word: fornication. This IS another word that IS seen through the eyes of doctrine but which, from the Greek, has much deeper implications. Even the legal ideas regarding this word are influenced by Christian doctrines that seem to believe that Paul IS speaking ONLY about sex and NOT about a man’s relationship with God and, of course, his fellow man. The lexicon defines the Greek word porneia which is rendered as fornication as illicit sexual intercourse but also includes that this can be the worship of idols ². Here we should see how that the first part has become a part of the English culture that uses the idea of porn, from porneia and its kindred words while the other idea of idol worship IS rather ignored and the very idea of what IS an idol IS diluted to the presumed ideas of the times.

Jesus uses this idea of fornication along with the idea of adultery, which IS already included within it according to men’s common understanding, and in this we should see that there IS more to His words saying: “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32) that doctrines portray. The topic here IS of course divorce and Jesus repeats His words on fornication, adultery and divorce again in a separate discussion saying: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” (Matthew 19:9). We should try to see here how that it IS the idea of divorce and that this fornication in marriage IS one’s infidelity towards the partner….NOT the sexual act only but rather the changing of the heart from a focus upon the one to whom one IS committed to another…and this IS much like the way that men come to focus upon the idols of worldly living rather than on God.

And the whole gist of the Master’s idea extends to others who would take upon themselves such a one who IS so inclined to lean toward the things of the world as this IS a sure way to become adulterous oneself. That doctrines DO NOT see the greater reality here can be readily understood in the way that the men who promulgate them see Life in this world and in the way that these doctrines provide cover for the man who CAN NOT see himself in the role of the True disciple based upon his own inclinations, his nurturing and his experience. We can get another glimpse of this idea of fornication from the writer of the Book of Hebrews where we read: “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright” (Hebrews 12:16). Here there IS no sense of sex but ONLY a sense of choosing the carnal over the spiritual. We close today with this thought on doctrines; how that we should try to see the hypocrisy of those who see fornication in its sexual role and how that even in this view they look past this as a thing that causes men to “not inherit the kingdom of God“. This idea, like adultery in its common understanding which includes fornication as its act, ARE accepted as minor failings of men while they invoke the wrath of God against the homosexual’s ways although this idea IS scarcely mentioned apart from the common idea of fornication.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	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.

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
•  ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁷ Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011