ON LOVE; PART MCCLVI
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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 about the Patriarch Abraham who, while he IS almost universally recognized for his faith, IS misrepresented by much of doctrine. Abraham IS called “the Friend of God” and in this idea we should try to see how that to be so he must be in accord with the ‘unwritten’ word of God in his time. It IS ONLY in this way that he can KNOW God which IS the deeper reality of his faith and the reality of his being “the Friend of God“. We should try to see the prompting of his own Soul in the revelations and the realizations that Abraham has and understand that while the idea of God Immanent IS NOT a subject found in his time, it IS nonetheless a reality. We should try to see as well that to have such revelation and realization IS NO different in these superstitious and barbarous times than it IS today; both his KNOWING and his ability to hear and understand the prompting ARE founded in the reality of our trifecta which, while spoken by Jesus, embodies the singular eternal Truth of keeping His words. Repeating our trifecta again 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).
Abraham’s Way IS NO different than the way of the apostles and NO different than the potential for everyman today. Abraham’s Way IS to follow the Truth which IS founded in him through his unction, through his anointing, by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). The Apostle John’s expression of this Truth thousands of years after Abraham lived should be seen as a reality of the Godhead, a reality that transcends time and which IS the Truth of one’s revelation and realization of the Truth in the heart of the man in this world. We should remember here that the unction, which IS the anointing as both are rendered from the same Greek word chrisma, plays out in the world through the personality of the man who has such revelation and realization of both the Truth and the Presence of God through keeping His words as the Truth IS revealed. We should understand here that the uniqueness of the personality IS fixed by the quality of its vehicle of expression, the body with the mind and the emotions, which IS more or less in tune with the most general way of Life in any given time period.
In Abraham’s time the barbarous and superstitious world of men was largely governed by emotions and one’s thoughts ARE reflective of their emotional state. It IS in the evolution of the vehicle of expression that mankind IS steadily moved from that mindset to what we have today and if we look at history from this perspective we can surely see how that the emotional drive of humanity has steadily grown toward critical thinking, again in a most general way. Not ALL men ARE equal as men in this world; each and every personality IS unique and, while we DO NOT understand the mechanism, IS fundamentally suited to the Soul which inhabits it. In some mysterious way the Soul plays a part in the development of the personality and this likely begins in the womb and according to the spiritual collateral that the Soul has amassed. It IS through the personality that one IS able to hear and to recognize the prompting of the Soul which IS drowned out by the degree of nurturing and indoctrination that everyman endures.
Abraham hears the prompting and here we should understand that he had spent seventy five years living in Harran before he was moved to leave and whether we believe that he hears the voice of God or that he hears the prompting of the God Within DOES NOT matter; what matters IS that he DOES hear and understand what he should DO. We KNOW nothing about Abraham’s Life prior to this but, based upon the things we DO KNOW, we should be able to see that he IS a ‘Godly’ man, as this idea would have been understood in those days, else he would NOT have such understanding of those things he IS prompted to DO. Nor would he be called “the Friend of God” if his Life and his focus were upon himself and the things of the self in this world; this Truth IS presented by James who tells us 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). Can we see the point here?
As Abraham sets out we find that his motives ARE yet carnal but perhaps NOT from the perspective of why it IS that he IS leaving Harran. He IS found conniving to fool the Egyptian out of a fear, perhaps unfounded, for his own Life and IS sent off and here we read that “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Genesis 13:2) but we ARE NOT told the source of his wealth nor DO we KNOW how long since Harran that this comment IS made. We KNOW also that his focus IS upon the Lord as he travels back to where he started and, while we DO NOT KNOW the time frame, back to the place of famine. It IS this wealth that has been the focus of the doctrines of men as they try to frame this as the product of his faith but we should note here that while his wealth was added to during his time in Egypt this IS despite his carnal motives.
The story continues as we read of Abraham and Lot separating because they have become to ‘big’ for the land to support and we find that Lot moves on to Sodom; we read then of the battles for Sodom and we come to KNOW the kings by name. There IS likely a purpose to the way that this story plays out including the defeat of the kings by what IS apparently a much smaller force headed by Abraham and the sudden introduction of Melchizedek who IS said to be a “priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18). We will go NO further with this story other than to note that in the 350-400 years from the flood to Abraham’s hundredth year there IS quite a civilization of sects and groups and their armies and while this should give us pause to contemplate what meaning IS in this story, doctrines take it verbatim. The Truth was likely lost thousands of years ago.
Our point here IS simple: like most ALL of the Book of Genesis there IS a message here of faith; NOT that nebulous doctrinal faith of Christianity but rather that KNOWING that comes in keeping His words and here, in the story of Abraham and of Noah before him we find men keeping His words when NONE were yet spoken into law and commandments. Their stories ARE based in the Way that they KNOW God, from the God Within, the unction, apart from ALL of the gods that were laid out before them. Here, if we can see as entities the named kings “Amraphel….king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim” along with the opposing forces of “Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)” (Genesis 14:1-2), we can then perhaps see these forces as they Truly were.
The Jews, especially those of the more common religious following, had taken up the Genesis stories as best they could understand them though there were doubtless some who DID discern the deeper meanings. It IS these that understood that the way that these ARE presented by Moses and by the verbal tradition before him was for the understanding of the barbarous and superstitious people of the day. To be sure there ARE many yet in the world today who can glimpse and even understand the deeper message of the books of the Pentateuch but even today these ARE shunned by the mainstream doctrinal Jewish thinkers and leaders. This IS NOT unlike what has happened in the Christian world.
When the Master comes among them He tries to show the deeper Truths but IS soundly rebuffed by the then mainstream doctrinal Jewish thinkers and, because it IS to their followers that His message IS directed, Jesus uses the words and the ideas that they understand to make His points KNOWN. The writings of the apostles IS similarly constructed as they ARE writing as those who DO see the deeper Truth to the masses who DO NOT yet see past their doctrinal ideas….ideas into which they ARE nurtured and indoctrinated. Buried in their writings IS the Truth of ALL which they DO see and understand and in the realization that in their time few would be able to appreciate the tone of the Truth, they write in the language of the common man and this perhaps without realizing that their words would be interpreted by future generations and become yet another doctrinal barrier to the Truth.
It IS in this light that we should try to see why the Old Testament IS interwoven into the writings of the apostles who were writing to men whose ONLY understanding IS the Old. The intent was NOT to have the Christian world form an admixture of the two but rather to allow the New to clarify the Old and to present the singular ideas upon which the whole of the law was founded….on keeping His words and on Love. His words and the words of the primary law ARE intended to show that the relationship between man and man IS the Truth of the relationship between man and God and this the Apostle John makes abundantly clear to any who can separate themselves from their doctrinal approach to God. But NOT John ONLY; Paul and Peter and especially James offer the same Truths albeit from different perspectives and through the filter of their different personalities. NONE however ARE any clearer that Paul’s words which we repeat here again; words that properly tie the Old to the New and show us the original message in a more evolved way. We read Paul’s words again saying:
“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).
While we CAN NOT find much of agape in the story of Abraham nor in that historical books of Kings and Chronicles, it IS ever visible through the ideas that Paul presents above….that keeping His words and the expression of agape ARE the same. In this we should understand that if one can Truly be on either of these Paths, that both ARE accomplished. We should see here as well how that the reality of one’s ‘Love’ for God IS tied to this same idea of keeping His words; Jesus tells us that saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” as we see in our trifecta while the Apostle John clearly amplifies this saying such things as “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20). The doctrinal thinker seldom makes these connections and he seldom sees that to keep His words IS to “love thy neighbour as thyself” which IS at the heart of the law from the beginning and this, along with the first of the Great Commandments, IS the summation of the Ten Commandments.
While these ideas ARE embedded in the law given by Moses, they ARE NOT the emphasis found in the Pentateuch and the historical writings and this likely because the mindset of men in those barbarous and superstitious days could little comprehend the concept. The law and its specificity were made to be the Path and again we should try to see that if men in those days could walk on this Path, the reality of both Great Commandments would be accomplished. The Apostle Paul writes much on this idea of the law and while doctrines have from the beginning interpreted his words as being against the law, the reality IS that he IS showing “a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31)….agape.
While the apostle frames this idea of “a more excellent way” in regard to the seeking of spiritual gifts we should understand that such gifts ARE in Truth the same grace, the same charisma, that we discussed in the last essay. Again we should try to see and to understand charis and charisma as those things that come from the Godhead and that naught of this IS carnal. Here we should try to see also that whatsoever comes from God, being NOT carnal, IS spiritual and that ALL that comes into the heart of a man that IS spiritual IS his revelations and realizations of Truth….and this comes ONLY in keeping His words as the Master tells us in our trifecta. If we can see that charis and charisma ARE the most basic rewards for men’s being “doers of the word“, we can then perhaps see the steady progression of the Power that comes into the lives of those who will DO so.
NONE of this IS newly minted for the Christian as it IS this idea that colors the law from which Jesus extracts the Great Commandments and here again we should try to see that the outward effect of the law on the Jew’s was based in their barbarous and superstitious state and this IS the same reason why the early Christian church also DID NOT embrace these ideas of the Great Commandments. The reality of agape IS strewn across the pronouncements of the law in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus as the way for men to relate to their fellowman and this attribute of the law takes into account the antithesis of the Ten Commandments which IS based in vengeance; much of the law enables the protection of the innocent. Why the law DOES at the same time command death by stoning as the resolution to seemingly minor offenses IS unclear but we must remember here that these ARE barbarous and superstitious days.
Our point here IS NOT the ancillary laws that ARE put in place by Moses however, our point IS that the heart of the law IS Love, it IS a sense of agape that was NOT understood and perhaps was NOT intended to be understood in those days. But, at the same time, the intention was NOT to have agape ignored in favor of the ancillary parts and the interpretation of these in the Jew’s doctrines. We should see this in the writings of the prophets that speak out against the practices of the Jew’s religious leaders and kings and we should see this in the way that the Master rails against the Jews for these same practices and traditions. The Truth of the Old Testament IS the Truth of agape and while this may NOT be apparent in the translated and interpreted writings, they ARE shown us to be True by Jesus and in the clarifying and amplifying words of His apostles. It IS here that we should try to understand both the Master’s emphasis on the Great Commandments and on Love and the churches resistance to these as the guiding Light for ALL humanity.
For the Jews and for the Christian these ideas have NEVER been placed at the forefront of their respective doctrinal teachings which ARE taken up by the Jews with such ideas as circumcision, the sabbath and other ceremonial laws that govern the lives of men even till today. While the Christian may place some emphasis upon the idea of Love, they DO so according to the carnal understanding of the idea and NOT the spiritual Truth that it IS. This emphasis however IS difficult to see through the disagreements and the conflicts that have plagued Christianity over the centuries; it IS difficult to see the idea of “love thy neighbour as thyself” through the divisions of the church, divisions that have at times resulted in wars. Similarly there IS the divisions of humanity through politics and religion and the ensuing conflicts based in the illusions and the glamours of each side; ALL are guilty and ALL ARE yet trapped in the vanity of Life in this world.
On ALL sides the religious divisions of men each claim to KNOW God and we should understand here that this IS the most basic illusion that afflicts mankind on that level. This same idea of division stretches across politics and the whole realm of human ideas, be they scientific or philosophical, as can be easily seen yet today in the conflicts caused by patriotism and the confusion that has been introduced into fight between business interests and the interests of the whole as we see in the fight over climate change. In religion however we should see an additional effect of this sense of division which IS become quite vocal as religions speak against religions and denominations and sects speak against each other; this effect IS the growing disinterest in the doctrines of religion especially by the younger generations.
While there ARE many ideas on why this IS happening, and it has been happening for some time now, most ALL ARE ALL carnally oriented. There IS NO great wave of atheism however, there IS ONLY a great wave against the picture of God painted by the religions of the world and this IS especially True of the religions of the West. While there IS a move away from the practice of religion and adherence to religious doctrines, there IS an equal move by these same persons toward the fundamental and founding ideas of that religion….Love, harmony and Goodwill. In some respects those who shun organized doctrinal religion ARE closer to the Lord than ARE those whose doctrines keep them in their vanity and we should try to see here that should the attention of these who shun religion be somehow channeled toward the Truth a great wave of change can encompass the world.
In the New Testament accounts of the lawyer or the scribe that interacts with the Master regarding “which is the great commandment in the law“, we should be able to see a point that IS hidden behind the words exchanged. Both Matthew and Luke paint this lawyer or scribe as that he IS “tempting him” (Matthew 22:35, Luke 10:25) and Luke’s version shows the question as “what shall I do to inherit eternal life” and our point here IS that this lawyer KNOWS the answer. According to Luke the lawyer answers Jesus’ question of “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” (Luke 10:26) with the same words that the Master offers in Matthew’s version….both citing the Great Commandments. These ARE, to be sure, a foundational Christian idea that IS offered by the Master and perhaps we can see the crux of this in Mark’s version of this same account.
Mark DOES NOT show us the same combatant idea of “tempting him” as we read in the others and in Mark’s version the scribe repeats the Master’s words, affirming their Truth according to his own beliefs, to which Jesus says “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). Can we see the point here? Can we see that this Jew IS affirming that foundational idea of Christianity which IS the Great Commandments and that there ARE many in this world who practice NO particular religion but who have the same beliefs lurking in their consciousness but without the wherewithal to properly understand them nor to grow in them. And can we see that it IS these foundational Christian ideas that ARE walled off by doctrines that teach salvation through atonement or rites and ceremonies that DO NOT appeal to the modern thinking man.
Here we should understand that this IS NOT ONLY the young that ARE dismissive of the doctrinal approach but that this reaches out to ALL and it IS unfortunate that most ALL alternatives ARE wildly condemned by the ‘authorities’ while many others ARE seen as being as outlandish as the church doctrines that these people shun. Who IS teaching the singular Truth of Love, of agape, in the world today IS a great question that goes without answer and, we should note here that this approach to the Lord IS likely to be soundly dismissed by the organized church; NOT because it IS contrary to the Master’s words but because it IS contrary to the doctrines of men.
It IS however the reality of agape that IS the ONLY hope for humankind; NOT that ALL will cease to exist without it but that the path to True salvation remains dimmed for ALL save the few people of True vision. This salvation IS NOT the ‘salvation’ of the doctrines of men although it DOES, in part, represent the Path to the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom that of which the Master tells us that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:41). The doctrinal promise of everlasting Life in His Kingdom IS a promise that much of the church sees as being after the death of the body and while some to teach that one can achieve the Kingdom while yet in this world, they base this solely on their own ideas of ‘salvation‘ through doctrinal faith.
The Master’s words should serve to show that the Jew’s view of the Kingdom as a place that should come among them with the arrival of the Messiah IS of NO value, nor IS the Christian view of heaven and hell. The reality of the Kingdom IS found in Jesus’ words; first in His words on Repentance as He tells us to “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), then, in His teaching; He tells us of “my Father which is in heaven” and, if we tie these two ideas together we can sense that it IS God that “is at hand“. We should also note that as He tells us of the Father, that heaven IS His ‘place’, He tells us as well how that we can “enter into the kingdom of heaven“; He DOES NOT say when we die but rather when we “doeth the will of my Father“. Add to this the idea above where He tells the scribe that “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” and we should be able to understand the seemingly hidden idea that “the kingdom of God is within you“.
In the simple reality that Jesus presents we should be able to see that the Kingdom of God IS the reward that men come to realize as men in this world; they can enter in consciously as they “doeth the will of my Father” and it IS here in the Kingdom that one will also realize the Truth, KNOW the Truth if you will, which “shall make you free” from the vanity of Life and from the illusion and the glamour in which men live. It IS this vanity that IS that: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4 as Vincent defines mataiotes which IS rendered as vanity; it IS from this condition that the True man, the Soul, needs to be freed.
We should remember that much of the deeper ideas are presented as mysteries which ARE ONLY unlocked by the man who has such revelation and realization of Truth; for others these mysteries remain as words and this despite the way that some doctrinal authorities believe that they have the KEY without DOING the necessary work of keeping His words and of expressing agape as the Master teaches this. These mysteries ARE spiritual realities which ARE unlocked in the revelations and the realizations that come to everyman who will keep His words and by measure to those who Truly strive. These mysteries ARE revealed in the Presence of God which, as Jesus shows us in the trifecta, comes to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“.
And here IS the rub; the doctrinal thinker believes that he has unlocked the mysteries by way of his doctrinal approach to the Lord, an approach that places his interpretation of Paul’s words above the reality of the Master’s and their developed ideas of salvation and atonement. Most ALL believe that it IS through their doctrines that they have left the natural world and entered into the spiritual as they see the “natural man” as those who have NOT accepted their doctrinal approach; and this includes other Christians who may believe differently. Most ALL DO NOT see themselves in Paul’s words saying “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
These doctrinal thinkers DO NOT understand that spiritual discernment comes through the one’s realization of the Truth and of the True Presence of God in one’s Life which, according to the Master’s words, comes to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” and, to be sure, these commandments include the fullness of agape which IS sorely lacking in the outward display of overall doctrinal church. We close today with the reality that keeping His words has every been the Way and this from before His commandments were written or even discussed among men and we should understand here that from Noah to Abraham to Moses to Jesus to today the reality of KNOWING DOES NOT come through what men see and hear by rather comes from Within, from the God Within, for the man whose focus IS upon the Truth and the things of God.
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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
