ON LOVE; PART DCLIV
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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 again discussed a summary of the words given to us by the Apostle James in his epistle that is apparently written to Jewish believers in Christ, men who had Repented as the Master teaches us and who professed to be True followers of the New Dispensation brought to the world in the words and the example of Jesus. In IS this new philosophy that they follow there is sure to be uncertainty among the Jews and there IS much said against this new way by the rest of the Jews who ARE entrenched in the centuries old doctrines and traditions. This combination can and DOES create doubts in those days and it IS against this doubt and the potential that this doubt has to revert the minds of men back to the old that the apostle writes and why he gives his example of Elijah at the end of his words. In this idea we can see that if a Jew is slipping back because of doubt and pressure from those who DO NOT see as he does, that James’ words on Elijah can create a parallel that can give the slipping Jew some strength upon which to stand. This IS NOT accomplished ONLY in the words that James uses but in the fullness of the strory of Elijah….how that he IS ‘translated’ by God because of his righteousness which IS his keeping the commandments in Love and seeing the and DOING those things that he did in his own vision of the Plan of God.
And it IS the same for us today; James words are and encouragement and a hope for the man who can see past the carnal implications, the man who strives toward the Kingdom of God….the disciple and the aspirant. And we today have this similar combination of doctrines and traditions plus the pressure of the many who DO NOT see the Truth of the Master’s words as clearly and who think that this world IS our fate and that its comforts and our pleasures our right under God. James teaches strongly against both of these things to the Jew and to the man today and his words are firmly grounded in the Master’s own teachings and, while much of what he says IS alien to the man whose focus IS in the world and the doctrines and the traditions that he KNOWS, the Truth glares out at ALL who seek it and who DO NOT try to cover it in clever translations and interpretations. James’ words ARE harsh and difficult to understand from the perspective of a man in the world and it IS in this reality that they are lightly used by the doctrinal churches; many of which have relegated the reality of keeping His words to the doctrinal ideas of faith and believing and interpretations of Paul’s words on these and on the idea of grace.
Our words here are likely seen as harsh as well and they may be from a carnal perspective but these ideas we take from James and his words are born in the words of the Master himself and in the ultimate Truths that underlie Jesus sayings that:
- “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. And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass . Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:51-56).
- “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For 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. 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. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me” (Matthew 10:34-40)
In this dual presentation from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew the ideas are the same but the context is a bit different; the main message IS that of His own word being the sword, or rather that the Truth of what had been conveniently covered by doctrines and traditions becomes the sword that separates the Old from the New. In the example to of the house and the division of the family, we should try to see how that this reality effects ALL relationships; that there ARE those who will see the Truth in the Master’s words and there ARE those who CAN NOT or will NOT accept them. And this dynamic IS as True today….there are those who see and accept the Truth of His words which ARE founded in the Love that we present at the top of our essay and there are those for whom this Truth DOES NOT resonate or who deem it too difficult to be the Truth and cover it by doctrine. In both of these groups, those of James’ time and those of today, there are also those whose focus IS upon the world and who DO NOT really fall into these equations that the Master enunciates. In common understanding however these ideas are not counted as we count them but ARE rather seen in the context of the second and third groups with the second seeing their own doctrines and the traditions as the Truth.
There are some who confound the Master’s words from Matthew’s Gospel with other obscure sayings and even the Book of Revelation and who teach and believe that Jesus IS advocating violence and this IS in our view a simply absurd position. They forget or choose NOT to see the Master’s words that so clearly say:
“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 5:38-48).
This IS the Master’s view on violence. We should see the idea of the sword in the same way that we view the alternative saying by Luke, that both reflect the division that His words, His works and His example create. There will be some who are hearing and seeing the Truths that the Master offers the world and who will become His followers and His disciples; and there will be those who choose to remain in the dark, covered by their doctrines which blind them from the Truth of the Lord. In the Gospel of John, in that part after the Master’s interaction with Nicodemus which IS thought by some to be John’s words and NOT the Master’s, we read these words: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Regardless of whose words these ARE, the reality should be clear and we should remember that this word that IS rendered as condemnation IS better seen as judgement and in this particular phrase there can be several meanings gleaned. We present a new one here today based in a better understanding gained from the words of James on judgement.
James offers us the idea of “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge” (James 4:11). When we discussed this saying recently we noted the idea of “Speak not evil one of another” should be rendered as “speak not against one another” as this IS the translation of the phrase according to the lexicon and this IS the way that many of the other translations present this. we noted as well that the idea of speaking should be seen in the light of ones expression, as whatsoever comes from the mouth also comes from the personality’s thoughts and attitudes, and in this we should be able to see that thinking without saying has the same merit in James words. We noted also how that to think highly of oneself is a form of judgment that IS seldom presented and here we can see that if one believes himself superior to another that he IS at the same time judging others to be inferior and in these ideas we should try to see the further extent of pride and its relationship to judgment.
Relating this to the words above from the Apostle John’s Gospel we should be able to see the idea of judgment; that the Light has come in the person and the words of the Master and that these ARE judged as inferior to the doctrines of the Jews, a doctrine of darkness as it IS grounded in the carnal rather than the spiritual. The Jew in that day preferred the way of darkness, the way of the world as seen through their own doctrines. And this IS the division that we should see in the Master’s words above; here we should see that there ARE some who prefer the darkness of their doctrines and ways of Life over the New Truths that the Master brings. And this same IS True throughout history; the doctrines may change but the realities remain the same. There ARE still men who will see the higher Truths of the Master’s own words on Love and on the Kingdom of God as an affront to the pictures that they paint through their own doctrines and who hold their doctrines as higher when offered contrary ideas of the Truth of the Master’s words.
And this brings us back to the idea of the harshness of the ideas that James puts forth, the harshness of the Master’s own view of Life as seen in the Sermon on the Mount and the harshness of any ideas that ARE restrictive to the lives of men when viewed from a carnal perspective. In the end it IS easier to believe that one IS saved by grace as we see in the Apostle Paul’s words “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Here in this misunderstood and out of context saying by the apostle there IS NO personal responsibility for one’s own salvation, it IS simply a gift but this idea in and of itself IS contrary to so many things that the Master tells us. In a previous essay we made this statement on grace and faith which shows our own frustration regarding the doctrinal idea; we say: The doctrinal ideas on faith and grace as the Way to the Kingdom are NOT in the end wrong, it IS the interpretation of these idea that leads men to believe that they have NO True part in their own salvation and this ever leaves us wondering how the Master’s words can be so confounded. We still wonder this same thing and the deeper our understanding of the Truth of the Master’s words becomes, the more exacerbated we ARE at the thought that so many miss the reality and the Truth.
We have said that the idea of grace IS a nebulous one as are many of the English renderings of Greek words. Here, in the idea of grace, we have tried to show that it IS a part of the very nature of God as John tells us in the Prologue to His Gospel saying that the Master Himself IS “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In our view, the grace of God IS the expression of His Love to ALL men and, when we can consider this as a Truth, we can see as well that whatsoever grace a man may have from God IS this same expression of Love. Paul’s point from the context of his words above IS NOT that we are simply saved by the free gift of God. While there IS Truth in this idea, that the grace of God IS a free gift that IS showered upon His whole creation, that this IS the source of True salvation, it IS from the carnal ways of the world that one IS saved and this must be seen in a spiritual way, as man’s being “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This DOES however require the participation of the man, that he exhibit the faith that IS found in keeping His words, in letting go of the carnal ways in favor of the promises of the Master’s words and the Kingdom of God. There are NO shortcuts.
Here again we should see the ideas of working patience and the use of the Prophet Elijah as James’ example of the aspirant and the disciple who IS of the same nature as the reader to whom the apostle writes; that he was able to DO what was the Plan of God based in his realization of grace and his expression of it which IS based in the Truth of his faith, his KNOWING that what he would say would come to pass. And so it DID.
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!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
