ON LOVE; PART MCCLXI
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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 some thoughts on the last words from the Apostle Luke’s version of the Parable of the Wise and Faithful Servant which tells us “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). These words DO NOT appear in the versions offered by the Apostles Matthew or Mark and this specific idea IS rather unique; other similar ideas ALL refer to having rather than what has been given. We should remember here that the ideas imported by some translators which refer to men ARE NOT in the Greek text which IS rendered by others as “from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked” in the Common English Bible and “from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” as we find in the New Revised Standard version.
In leaving out the reference to men the inference of the Master’s words can turn much more spiritual and be understood as a restating of the primary thought which precedes it. We can see the idea of these words as first showing what a man IS given from the Greek word didomi and, from a spiritual perspective, this IS whatsoever spiritual ability one may possess; here we should understand that there may be NO realization of what one has unless one DOES note the prompting of his own Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True….the things of God. That the doctrines of men DO NOT see this or see this as a ‘gift‘ IS because that they DO NOT understand the principal of spiritual collateral which we define as the sum-total of one’s Souls ability to influence and work through his carnal self once he has been able to awaken himself. We should note here that this idea of being awake runs through the Master’s dual parable which we repeat here again; we read:
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
And the Lord said,Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:35-48).
The idea of being awake IS inherent in both parts; in the first it IS inherent in the idea of watching while in the second the more spiritual ideas come forth as it IS the man who IS NOT spiritually awake that will “say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming” or who “knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will“. In the first part the Greek word gregoreo IS used which Strong’s defines as: to keep awake, i.e. watch (literally or figuratively):—be vigilant, wake, (be) watch(-ful) 9a. In the second there IS the awakened man who IS “that faithful and wise steward” while the other examples ARE of those who ARE yet asleep. We should note here the relationships that we drew between the men of this parable and the men, as the ground, in the Parable of the Sower in our last essay and understand that these include the religious and the irreligious. One IS NOT Truly awake based in his adherence to a doctrinal path, one IS awake based in his performance, in his DOING those things that ARE the Truth of God’s word of which we remind ourselves again with 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).
The idea of being awake IS and integral part of one’s ability to be on the right side according to Jesus’ dual parable; it IS ONLY the man who IS awake that can “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord“. Others can convince themselves that they ARE watching but when we consider that this idea IS but a prelude to DOING, to being ready, most ALL CAN NOT support their readiness against the Master’s words. In this we should try to see a specific purpose of the doctrines of men which allow them such convincedness of their own ‘salvation‘ according to those doctrines; it IS ever against the Master’s words that one’s DOING must be measured and here again we should see this through the Apostle James words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 2:9).
We should try to see and to understand that this deception of which the apostle speaks IS one’s own ability to convince himself that that he IS ready, that he IS “that faithful and wise steward” and that he IS “like unto men that wait for their lord“. While this should be easy to see and to understand based in the words of the Master and His apostles, the doctrinal thinker DOES NOT, he refuses if you will to see any ideas that ARE NOT a part of his doctrinal approach to God. This doctrinal thinker may seek out different versions of the doctrines of men but he rarely seeks out the alternative which IS simply that men should keep His words or, as an aspirant, strive toward that goal. And when confronted with the Wisdom of others outside his doctrinal beliefs, an even larger obstruction generally blots it out. and this generally without any critical review. Such would be this man’s view of these words from the Buddha on being awake; we read on wakefulness that:
“Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps as if he were already dead, but the master is awake and he lives forever. He watches. He is clear. How happy he is! For he sees that wakefulness is life. How happy he is, following the path of the awakened. With great perseverance he meditates, seeking freedom and happiness. So awake, reflect, watch. Work with care and attention. Live in the way and the light will grow in you. By watching and working the master makes for himself an island which the flood cannot overwhelm. The fool is careless. But the master guards his watching. It is his most precious treasure” (Dhammapada on Wakefulness).
The point here IS that until a man can embrace the Truth regardless of where that Truth seems to originate, he IS NOT Truly awake. Spirit and Soul DO NOT see the divisions of humanity caused by the vanity, the illusion and the glamour in which we ALL live; as Spirit and Soul we ONLY see Spirit and Soul working through the world of men and we understand that whatsoever issues we may see with men’s expression of this Inner Force IS NO different that the issues that we ourselves have. In the spiritual world there ARE NOT Christians nor Muslims, there ARE NOT Buddhists nor Hindu, there IS ONLY Truth ALL of which IS based in the One Truth of the One God. It IS religion that destroys the Truth and this because of the deception that keeps men believing that they KNOW while yet being asleep in their carnal thoughts and attitudes.
As we have discussed in previous posts, the Apostle Paul IS the most basic source for most ALL of Christian doctrine as his words have ever been distorted into the doctrines of men, doctrines which teach salvation through atonement alone and salvation through their nebulous ideas of faith and believing. While so many doctrinal thinkers take the misinterpreted words of the apostle on the idea of works and the law to help them to believe that they need DO little but believe to be saved and that Jesus DID everything necessary for their salvation, they look past such ideas as we post below on keeping the law and on Love as Paul admonishes men to “awake out of sleep” which IS the same idea that we should understand in Jesus’ words above. Paul tells us to:
“Owe no man any thing, but agapao one another: for he that agapao 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 agape thy neighbour as thyself. Agape worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore agape is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:8-11).
In these words we have the intersection between keeping His words and Love and here we should ever see the equivalence that Paul prescribes for us to understand and to follow. His words here ARE however NOT seen in the way that he intended and this, combined with the total lack of understanding of the very meaning of agape, has left most ALL of Christianity in a state of confusion where one DOES NOT KNOW how to Love another under the common understanding of the translated idea of agape….Love. This IS NOT because the Master and His apostles have NOT shown us the Truth of Love but rather because men have refused to see their intent past their carnal interpretation of the translated word.
It IS this lack of understanding combined with the doctrinal ideas that have been substituted for the Truth of keeping His words that have kept the religious man in the same vanity as IS the irreligious; there IS but one sense of vanity which Vincent describes for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Of course the doctrinally religious man will NOT admit to his own sense of vanity viewed this way and this because he has convinced himself of the validity of his own doctrines while at the same time NOT ascribing that same validity to the doctrines of others. In this IS the deception that overcomes ALL who ARE NOT “doers of the word” and in this deception IS our own defining ideas of vanity….illusion and glamour.
Here we should see that the deception IS part of the illusion by which a man sees himself as a part of this world rather than as the spiritual being that Lives through his form while the glamour IS that factor by which he has convinced himself that his path and his view ARE right. The doctrinal thinker perhaps sees himself as a sinner but he considers his sin as far less than that of whomever IS the unbeliever in his eyes; and this despite James other words that tell us that sin IS sin; words which show men that they DO NOT hardly understand the Truth of sin nor the relationship of sin with agape. James tells us “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:8-10). Few Truly comprehend the force of these words in the lives of ALL men and few see themselves as sinners according to these words.
The reality here IS that one’s failure to Love as this idea IS intended in the Greek word agape, IS as much a sin as IS the murder or adultery which the apostle uses as his examples. This IS the message of the entire gospel and this IS the weight that IS put upon that singular idea of agape. James tells us that “he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:11) and perhaps it IS this idea along with the idea we should take away from Paul’s words above that have driven men away from the Truth and onto their mystical ideas of atonement and salvation through faith as these things ARE taught in the doctrines of men.
And perhaps in this perceived difficulty of the expression of agape, which must be with NO “respect to persons” as James shows us confirming the words of the Master, that have driven large sections of the church to their fixation upon their various doctrines of eschatology. There ARE many denominations and sects that seem fixated upon their ideas of the ‘end times’ and, as we discussed in recent essays, much of this IS taken from sayings that were NOT intended for that purpose. Again, while some of what the Master says in His words can be interpreted to be of these ‘end times’, much IS NOT so but deal ONLY with the effect of His death and resurrection upon this world of men….a sign and a symbol that has had the lasting effect that was planned.
The Plan was for the world to realize the effect Master’s words saying “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword“. This IS the division of humanity, beginning in the regions around Jerusalem, where those who ‘believe’ can be seen as separated from those who DO NOT and we should understand here the intimate nature that Jesus shows us this saying “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36). Can we see the point here? And can we see that idea of agape, with NO “respect to persons“, must be the effect?
In this we should try to understand the dynamic way that Jesus presents these ideas; that while one’s “foes shall be they of his own household“, he must still Love them and understand that this division IS ONLY in the spiritual direction of the rest of their lives. This separation between “a man” and “his father” or between “the daughter” and “her mother” IS NOT a True separation, they ARE yet Loving family members; they have merely chosen different paths going forward and we should see this same idea playing out, on a smaller scale, in families throughout history and along many other lines in addition to religion.
While the English ideas of “variance against” create a picture of True division and disharmony, this IS NOT necessarily the reality of the Master’s intent as He shows us the effect of the incoming and new spiritual force set loose as the reality of His death and resurrection take hold in the minds of men. Can we see the point here? Can we envision how that the idea of foe, rendered as enemy by others, gives off a certain idea according to the common understanding? If we can see this in terms of opposing however we can then understand this in the context of Love, of agape, which IS the central theme of the Master’s teaching.
The Greek word kata which IS rendered as against IS a primary particle that has very varied meanings from the idea of according to, to the idea of against, to the most simple idea of as 9a according to Strong’s. It IS the presumed context that furnishes the meaning and here kata IS joined with dichazo which IS rendered as variance. This word IS used but once in the New Testament and here Strong’s tells us that the meaning IS: to make apart 9a while Thayer’s defines this as: to cut into two parts, cleave asunder, dissever 9. The more moderating ideas of simple differences in religious perspective, the Jew verses the new believer, in these sayings ARE however ignored in favor of the implications of True family division and of the idea of hatred and enemy that IS supplied by the Greek word echthros which IS rendered as foe and as enemy in most ALL translations.
If we can see this idea of echtros more simply as one’s opposition or and opposing view, we can better understand the idea that Jesus presents us here. We should understand that the Master IS our Avatar of Love and for us to consider that His purpose IS to cause hatreds and and family demise IS NOT within the bounds of His True teaching. At the same time however there IS a division, a dividing between those in a family that will consider the Master as Messiah and those who will NOT. We should note here that the Master continues His words with a comparison of one’s Love for Him, for God if you will, with his Love for these same family members and this should give us a greater clue to the very nature of this idea of division. Jesus says “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).
This same idea IS separated from the Master’s words on division in Luke’s Gospel where this last idea IS shown to us in terms of discipleship and if we can use Luke’s description to further moderate Matthew’s words we can then see that this division IS between the disciple of Jesus, the True disciple, and the disciple of the Jewish religious leaders of the day. This IS of course according to Jesus own words on keeping His words which becomes the dividing line where the father, or the son, or the daughter, or the daughter in law, or the mother will keep His words while other opposing family members will NOT.
Should we tie ALL these ideas together we can more clearly see how that to “continue in my word” as Jesus tells us makes of men “my disciples indeed“; how that the man who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me“, and how that the combination of these ideas IS, perforce, to neither “loveth father or mother more than me” nor “loveth son or daughter more than me“. Can we see the point here? Can we also see that there IS a spiritual view of these apparently carnal ideas of division and of enemies and hatreds within a family caused by Jesus coming “not to send peace, but a sword“? And can we see how that this idea of sword can be spiritual as well as we read in Paul’s words which tell us of “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
Luke’s version of Jesus words on this sense of division that will reach even into the family IS much less caustic. Luke reports the Master’s words as “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Luke 12:51-53). Here there IS NO reference to the sword but rather to simple division and it IS much easier to see the philosophical nature of this division in Luke’s words.
We should remember here what brought us to these ideas, how that we ARE offering the more spiritual view of the ideas that doctrines attribute to eschatology, a subject upon which too many doctrinal thinkers spend an inordinate amount of time. In such ideas as “when the Son of man is revealed” and “so shall also the Son of man be in his day” (Luke 17:30, 24) which most ALL of the church sees as pertaining to the ‘end time’ there IS much more meaning. If we can see these sayings in terms of His death and resurrection and the ideas of division above as the result of this dynamic change in the hearts of those who ARE Truly awakened by these events, we can then better understand our greater point: that the ONLY True link to the end, the end of one’s Life or the end of ALL, IS found in the idea that the Master presents as He tells us to “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not“.
It IS this readiness that IS of importance and while men obfuscate the Master’s words through their many eschatological views which ARE taken from the isolated writings of the prophets and the Master and His apostles, they ignore the most basic ideas of His words. Jesus tells us to “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord“, it IS in this tenor that we should understand the idea of “Be ye therefore ready also“. There IS NO profit in the interminable wrangling of doctrinal authorities over eschatological matters yet for some this wrangling IS ALL consuming. And here we should say that regardless of whether some of Jesus’ words DO pertain the such ‘end time’ or NOT Truly DOES NOT matter as ALL accept His words “the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not“.
In the Apostle Matthew’s more rambling summation of the Master’s words which ARE spread through Luke’s Gospel the Master says “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” and even here Jesus’ presents us with the same Truth saying “be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:36, 44). This IS the message but the doctrinal thinker remains stuck; first in their belief that by their ideas of atonement and of the salvation that they assure themselves that they have, that they ARE ready and this without understanding of the impact of the parable’s words saying that the one that IS blessed IS he “whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” and here “so doing“.
This idea of “so doing” IS defined in the parable as the man who DOES “according to his will” and in this IS the idea of the ages, the idea of keeping His words. But this IS rejected as works by the doctrines of men based in their misinterpretation of the words of Paul and then the misapplication of the doctrinal ideas that they have conjured up to be their salvation. While there may have been a purposefulness in this way of doctrines, this IS more a subconscious mental and emotional appeasement of what was and IS considered as that impossible task which IS to keep His words. There IS another place where the doctrinal thinker IS stuck and that IS in the area of what to DO when the nebulous doctrinal ideas of faith and believing ARE exhausted; when it IS apparent that whatsoever one may ‘pray’ for in that faith and believing comes as well to the man who DOES NOT pray and who DOES NOT attend to any doctrinal view.
It IS in this, again perhaps subconsciously, that the doctrinal thinker IS led into areas of eschatology by the various authorities in the church. While eschatological ideas ARE certainly entertained in the early church and in the centuries that followed, the whole of this idea has reached a fever pitch for some today. Eschatology has been inserted into the whole idea of faith and believing from the perspective that if one has faith and believes, that he IS then a Christian and IS entitled to whatsoever vision of being among the elect he may have. This IS the foremost and final ‘benefit’ of believing….that one will go to heaven and be with the Lord according to doctrinal interpretations of such ideas as we read in the gospels and in the writings of His apostles.
Jesus tells us in these words that ARE much more than their eschatological interpretation that “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31).
And when this idea IS combined with such sayings as “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), we have the doctrinal hope and the larger reason why eschatology IS become so important a part of most doctrines.
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 |
Quote of the Day:
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
