ON LOVE; PART DCLV
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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 continued our discussion of the ending part of the Apostle James’ Epistle and have been rather stuck on the ideas that we see in James’ use of the example of the Prophet Elijah, how that this prophet IS the one who, like Peter and Paul in Jesus Dispensation, was able to overcome the ways of the world and channel through himself such power as to effectively control the more physical aspects of Life in this Earth. In the control of the rain that the prophet exhibits we should be able to see the reality of moving the mountain of which the Master tells us that: “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Matthew 21:21), And, while Elijah’s story IS painted for us in the verbiage of that era, we should be able to see the fullness of Elijah’s discipleship in his ‘translation’, in his being taken by God according to the view of Elisha. In this era of superstition and the passing on of verbal stories, it IS difficult to KNOW what IS and IS not to be taken literally; this should not however deter us from seeing the reality of the messages that are hidden in the words. That the drought was three years or three months means little, it IS that the prophet could control this in the Earth that IS the reality and, when we look at the entirety of the Old Testament, that it was God’s word for the Nation of Israel and NOT for the individual man, the harshness of the action can be more easily reconciled.
Similarly, we should be able to see other aspects of Elijah’s Life in a less literal way as it matters NOT that ravens actually brought Elijah food in this time of drought, it matters only that he was sustained and it IS in this that we can see the Master’s words that tell us “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?…… But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:31, 33). The same idea can be seen in Elijah’s interaction with the widow at Zarephath where the events need NOT be according to the stories; the underlying idea of these same words from the Master should be seen here as well as our own thoughts on the way that there ARE men born as the ready help for the accomplishment of divine missions and this widow can be seen in that light. We see ALL of this in the words of James which end his epistle and which we repeat:
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:17-20)
This brief saying from James regarding the prophet would have elicited similar ideas from the Jews who held Elijah in high esteem albeit in terms of Judaism and NOT in the ideas of Christ as we DO. These would have served to clarify the apostles message on that working patience, that idea that the man who Truly strives toward the Kingdom of God can see his own hope and encouragement in the general words and works of the prophets, the story of Job, and in the specifics of the Life of the Prophet Elijah. And this IS James’ message: “Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11); and in this we should understand that same idea of blessed that the Master uses to refer to the ‘reward’ of the success of the disciple. The overall point here IS this patience, this patience as the husbandman who works diligently against his receiving the “precious fruit“, and in so doing the aspirant or the disciple avails himself of the tools, the spiritual tools of prayer and focus which ARE the reality of our communion with our own Souls. In the struggle of duality that divides a man’s focus, it IS by this sense of prayer, this communion, that a man is able to continually asses his thoughts, attitudes and actions as he works patiently for this blessing that comes in his endurance which will in the end allow him to stand and say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
James closes out his words with two obscure final verses. In these we should try to see that while the idea that one can convert another IS noble, that it IS NOT something that can Truly be done; NO one can convert another. Conversion, like Repentance and Transformation IS a supremely personal undertaking and involves the struggle of the duality that exists in men and at ALL levels of existence. We of course are seeing ONLY that sense of duality that involves one’s focus upon the things of God against the temptations to revert that attention back onto the things of the world; and we should remember here that this too works out in Life by degree. We can see this more clearly if we can see the idea of enduring by degree; that the closer one can come to the fullness of endurance, where there IS naught left of the world or the worldly Life that can distract a man, the closer a man comes to the Kingdom of God and True discipleship. This IS the reality of Life and in the Life of the aspirant and the disciple to whom James’ speaks, the best that another can DO is to point out an error; to otherwise convert another back from sin IS not within the ken of any man and this includes the Master Himself who ever shows us to the Way but can never DO it for us…..we can ONLY convert ourselves.
This word convert has taken on a doctrinal and a religious meaning that DOES NOT serve to bring out the True intent of its use which we should see in the Master’s words to the Apostle Peter; Jesus says: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32). The point here IS for us clear; this idea should be seen as the reality that NO ONE can do this for Peter and that in his working patience he will endure. And we DO KNOW from the Book of Acts that Peter DOES find the wherewithal to dispense with whatsoever carnal thoughts and attitudes may have been in his Life and that he DOES stand as the rock of which we read the Master’s words saying: “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). While the Master’s words are predictive, he applies NO force in this; it IS Peter’s work to overcome.
Vincent tells us this about the word rendered as convert here in this saying from the Master: Art converted (ἐπιστρέψας); Converted is simply the Latinized rendering of the word to turn round (convertere). Rev. renders the aorist participle, denoting a definite act, by once: “when once thou hast turned again” 4. And Vincent tells us this about the Greek word epistrepho as it IS used by the Master saying: “And said , Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven“; he says Be converted (στραφῆτε); The word converted has acquired a conventional religious sense which is fundamentally truthful, but the essential quality of which will be more apparent if we render literally, as Rev., except ye turn. The picture is that of turning round in a road and facing the other way 4. It IS with this significance of meaning that we should see the intent of James’ words as well.
And this should bring us back to the ideas that we discussed on the earlier verses from James Epistle that tells us about the power of prayer for the afflicted, his communion with his Inner self, his Soul, this IS what can overcome the aspirant’s and the disciple’s slipping back in to the ways of the world. This IS the same idea that we discussed in regard to the words of the apostle about the weak man calling upon “the elders of the church” which we should see as like minded people, other aspirants and disciples, and NOT those who have taken a place of authority or tenure in the organized church and who ARE NOT likely to share the same sense of Truth. Like minded men can however pray with a man from the perspective of counsel and advice but the rest IS left the a man himself. Here, if the idea is seen as sickness instead of weakness as we see James’ intent, then the healing ideas of doctrine can work at times but, as we have ofttimes said, the results of healing by the man who IS NOT a True disciple, are haphazard at best. It IS in this light that we should understand the apostles intent IS weakness, as the Greek word IS properly defined, and NOT sickness, as well as his additional words on one’s admission of his own faults, not necessarily to others but to himself in open honesty, and, then, the reality that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:14, 16).
There IS NO other logical approach to interpreting the words of the apostle in our view as the carnal approach to this ALL DOES NOT serve to teach anything to the aspirant and the disciple who ARE clearly James’ audience. There IS NO spiritual value to any Truly carnal interpretations such as we have seen in sickness or before this is swearing, and there NO spiritual purpose in the story of Elijah except it bring to mind the Truths of the Master’s own teachings. Similarly there IS NO help for the man who Truly strives to be found in the prayer of elders as this IS commonly understood but there IS much value in the spiritual counsel of men of like mind and in the advice of men who had tread this way of Truth before us.
It IS in the reality that NO MAN can DO anything for another spiritually that we must try to see these last words from James, that aside from the counsel and the advise of those who KNOW, each man IS left to his own devices and it IS this realty that is hidden in the apostle’s words that: “the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:15-16). Here IS the KNOWING found in one’s communion with his Inner self, the Christ Within; it IS in this that a man is strengthened in his time of weakness and it IS in this that the Soul, the Christ Within, will raise up the again the focus of the man and bring him back to the Truth of God. And, in this ALL IS forgotten and understood as the duality of Life in he world for the aspirant and the disciple. In the end here we should try to see that it IS the righteous man who has this ability, the man who has Repented and who IS Transforming, and in the idea of “effectual fervent prayer” we should try to see the idea of the sincerity and Truth of one’s focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True…the things of God.
Here in this same breath the apostle tells us about the success of the Prophet Elijah and in the end, in the reality of “availeth much“, we should see that Elijah had seen the same affliction of duality and suffered the same pangs of temptation; and, most importantly, that he did overcome ALL things and accomplish his task. In this view we can tie this ALL together and then see the ultimate reality of the closing words and understand how that these too are tied to the duality of Life in the world for the aspirant and the disciple. He will err and it IS in communion with his own Soul that he will be able to see and admit any faults and it IS in this communion that the man can be converted….turned back again to the True focus upon the things of God. There IS a simplicity here for those who can see the spiritual reality.
And so for James’ next words as well which close out this short treatise on discipleship, this straightforward and blunt discourse on the perils of treading the Path which are founded in temptation and the reality of sin and evil. It IS in putting the focus and the attention of the man who strives toward the Kingdom back upon the things of the world and the things that can benefit the self according to his illusory view, that keep a man bound in this world and prevent his being “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). James tells us “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him. Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” and it IS this that we should KNOW:
- We do err as aspirants and as disciples and we do so in both weakness and in the illusory tones that we can present to our own selves in our less that honest personal assessments of our thoughts and our attitudes.
- That the conversion IS and CAN ONLY be of our own accord, that there ARE NONE who can do more than counsel and advise. In this the one who can convert IS our own divine self and in the ambiguity of the English translation of the Greek word tis that IS rendered as one we can see such alternatives as: anything, a certain thing and even something 2 which can greatly change the view of this saying’s doctrinal rendering.
- Similarly with the idea of “he which converteth“; this phrase is rendered from the Greek word epistrepho which the lexicon tells us means to turn to and which lists among the meanings such ideas as: to turn to one’s self and to turn one’s self about 2. Can we see here the greater reality of behind the idea of “let him know” as the apostle begins this closing sentence?
- In this context the saving IS real, in this conversion from one’s reversion, in part or in whole, to the ways of the world. It IS in this turning about of one’s focus as impulsed by the communion or the prayer, that a man can save his own Soul from the continued death or limited expression in the world. And, in so doing, this man can and will cover a multitude of errors, a multitude of temptations and in this word that IS rendered hide and which means cover we should see the lexicons defining idea that this IS: to hinder the knowledge of a thing 2.
There IS great insight in these closing remarks which take us from the idea of working patience to this final thought and we should try to see that in this and in the whole of the apostle’s presentation there IS the Truth of the Way of the disciple.
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 Chris.t |
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.
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
