ON LOVE; PART DCLX
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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.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
In the last essay we had some additional comments on the Festival of the Christ and this brought us to the reality that the entirety of His teaching IS about Love as we have written for us in the Great Commandments. We should try to understand that the Master came among us to show us the Way to the Kingdom of God and the reality of this way IS founded in Love; it IS in Repentance that we turn away from the ways of the world and toward the Way of God and it IS in our Transformation that we grow in our understanding and our ability to Love as the Master teaches us. Regardless of how this idea of Love is treated by the doctrinal church and regardless that so many believe this and that about the True teachings of the Master and the Kingdom, the simple Truth is found in these Great Commandments; that we must Love God with the entirety of our being which is ONLY done in keeping His words and that we must Love our brothers, our neighbors and the stranger who qualifies as both. As we noted yesterday, the second part of this enunciation by the Master of the Great Commandments IS inherently found in the accomplishment of the first, as an integral and important part of His words which must be kept by those who Love God.
Conversely, the opposite reality IS also True, if a man can Love his neighbor as he Loves himself which IS to see Life through the prism of the Golden Rule, then the natural effect of this IS to Love God. This we can see in the ideas presented by the Apostle Paul which relate for us that reality which IS that to Love one’s neighbor as himself IS to keep ALL the commandments and thus the Word of God. The Great Commandments work hand in hand as to accomplish one IS to accomplish the other and this IS the underlying message to the apostle’s words that we ended with in the last essay saying: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). Can we understand the logic and the reality here?
Paul offers this same idea in a shorter form for the Galatians saying that “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14) and it IS in these ideas that amplify and clarify the words of the Master above that we should see the ultimate Truth and Power of this Love. We must of course see this as Love for ALL men and ALL the time and we should add here that final idea that IS offered by the Apostle James which we interpret here as that we must offer this Love with NO reservation. In this IS the Power of ALL of His words and ALL of His commandments and this IS Paul’s message which finds its logic in the idea that in this Love, in this view of ALL men as children of God who are entitled to ALL things as I am; ALL consideration, ALL understanding and ALL forgiveness, it IS NOT possible for one to break any of the other commandments of God. And we should NOT see this as that it IS in any way reciprocal and we get this understanding from the deeper Truths of the Golden Rule which covers ALL things whatsoever and which includes even our thoughts and our attitudes.
And Jesus tries to make this clear with those words that we have discussed many times in our posts; he tells us that “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). Many view the Master’s words here in an eschatological way and others see the ideas presented in feeding and caring for specific persons in specific ways as the literal meaning; the reality however IS found in the deeper idea that whatsoever one can do for “one of the least of these my brethren“, this same IS considered as done unto the Lord. In its deeper sense this idea cuts both ways, the good things and the bad things done to others are the good things and the bad things that ARE considered as done unto the Lord; and the Master speaks much on this dynamic. And, when we can consider the idea of whatsoever here in this as we do in the Golden Rule, we can then see the depth and the effect of our thoughts and our attitudes.
ALL of these words on Love ARE NOT easy things to accept but they are easy things to understand when looked at from the perspective of the spiritual man, the Soul, the Christ Within. In the carnal view these things ARE likely impossible; not because they can not be done but because men can not accept them as the Way to God and this IS one of the great shortfalls of Christian doctrine. Few there ARE who can accept the intensity of these ideas on Love as their very intent IS to tear the hearts and minds of men away from their focus upon themselves and the way of that self in this world. But the reality IS clearly stated and clearly tied to one’s spiritual progress in discipleship and in being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. The Master goes to great lengths to explain these ideas on Love in ways that CAN NOT be seen in any other way but as He intended; these are however more or less ignored and seen as unattainable. At the same time we should see the reality that these ideas, that His words, are the greater key to the reality of the Great Commandments. In the Sermon on the Mount which we recently covered in much detail, Jesus tells us:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said , An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:38-45).
The clarity here IS deafening and the intent IS clear: Love ALL, give to ALL and resist none who would hurt or take from you. In this last part we find the ultimate reality of meekness; here a man who CAN resist will NOT do so which IS much as we see in the Life of the Master who willingly accepted ALL that was done to Him. While painted a bit differently by Luke, the reality IS the same; we read:
“But I say unto you which hear , Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive , what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:27-35).
While Luke’s presentation IS different, the intent IS clearly the same and the reality of the Golden Rule is woven into this from the apostle through which we should be able to see the relationship of ALL these ideas. This IS Love for ALL and it IS this sense of ALL that IS covered under the single word that IS rendered as neighbor by the synoptic writers and as brother by the Apostle John. And it IS here that we must take our stand as aspirants and as disciples….on Love; ALL of our spiritual endeavor must per force begin and end in this Love. Here, while these ideas CAN NOT be argued against by any, they are seldom taught as the Way of the man who Truly seeks God; the Truth of this Love has not been taught by many throughout the 2000 year history of the church that takes the Master’s name as its own. Millions profess to Love the Lord, to Love Christ and to Love Jesus but few understand the complexity of this claim which IS clearly stated for us by the Master as He says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And many also make claims of discipleship and of the closeness to Him that this indicates but few understand the complexity of His words that say “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
The whole of the Truth in Loving the Lord and the whole of the reality of discipleship IS intimately bound to keeping His words, there ARE NO shortcuts to these realities; there IS ONLY the DOING and there IS the striving which IS our marching call to True glory. It IS in striving that we become DOERS and this striving IS measured against the totality of His words as the Apostle James reminds us saying that “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). It IS in striving that we acknowledge our imperfections as aspirants and as disciples and it IS in striving that we continue upon the Path as we DO the work of Transformation. It IS in this light that we should view the apostle’s Truth saying that “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 1:6-8). In this IS the reality of the aspirant and, from a higher perspective the Way of the disciple who has NOT yet overcome. It IS the aspirant who lives in a world of duality that IS tossed on the waves of temptation and it IS temptation that keeps a man captive in the world the carnal self. It IS against this that he must strive as in keeping His words one can move past the temptations of the world and the double mindedness of his world of duality.
In these ideas it can be difficult to see a relationship to Love, how that succumbing to temptations can be seen as against Love. It IS here that the idea of self enters into our view as well as the reality of the Master’s words on the treasure of the heart, that “where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). In this we should see clearly the Master’s ideas on the view of the “double minded man“, that he must see and choose between “treasures upon earth” and “treasures in heaven“. This IS the dual nature of the man who can see in both directions and it IS to this man that the Master speaks about the ideas of who to serve saying that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon“. And it IS to this same man, the man who can see and understand the reality of duality, that the Master says: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:21, 24, 25). Here we should try to see that to see the carnal side of these things is to NOT see the Truth of God but rather the Truth of the lower carnal man in the world, and, in this view of Life, one CAN NOT be seeing clearly the things of God among which the Love for ALL men is the paramount part.
As we have discussed, there IS also the Truth of the first Great Commandment, that men should “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“; in the right understanding of this there IS NO room the the things of mammon nor the “treasures upon earth” and this IS the Truth of scripture for the man who Truly strives. To understand this properly one must understand that the common interpretation of these idea IS wrong, that these things ARE NOT merely possessions and wealth but they ARE the thoughts and the attitudes that bring the temptation to achieve such things. We add here as well any and ALL thoughts and attitudes that promote the self above another and any and ALL things of the world for which one would strive. Perhaps we can see here that it IS the striving that must become single minded, with a single focus upon the things of God.
These ideas ARE difficult to accept for the seeker and these ideas are fought against by those whose sense of seeking DOES NOT include a sense of DOING, those who may see the shortcuts of affirmations and rituals as the way of salvation. The Master sees this clearly and says to us in a rhetorical way “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). We should see clearly here that the ONLY reality for salvation and for any spiritual progress in this Life IS in keeping His words and in this we should understand James words that say: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). The Truth of man’s relationship with God IS NOT found in the world nor in the things of the world, it IS ONLY found in keeping His words and there IS one word that IS above ALL others: that word IS Love.
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.
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 those 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.
