ON LOVE; PART DCLIII
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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).
We continued with our look at the end part of the Epistle of James in the last essay and with our discussion of James use of the example of Elijah in his closing remarks. We found that Elijah IS exemplary for the Jews in James’ day for several reasons and we counted among them the reality of his being KNOWN by the Jews as a man who had been ‘translated’ by God which we can see in much the same way as we see the Transfiguration of the Master. In our view this ‘translation’ of Elijah IS the equivalent to the goal of ALL men: to so express the fullness of the Love and the Power of the Soul that we can Truly see the reality of the Apostle Paul’s reference to what ALL aspirants and disciples work patiently toward. This idea of work patiently IS what we see in James’ earlier words regarding patience and his example of the husbandman and we should see here how that this IS related to Paul’s words to the Roman disciples saying: “not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). Here we should see that Paul includes himself and his own patient work which IS service to the Plan of God and we should also see the reality of “the redemption of our body” in the what IS understood as the ‘translation’ of the Prophet Elijah….that he had achieved this level of expression of divinity that he should be ‘translated’.
We must ever remember that these words, written more than 2500 years ago, ARE intended for the understanding of the people in that day and then, by extension, those who would follow. We should see here as well that the way that these things are painted for us are in the way that they could be expressed and understood in a superstitious and barbarous society and yet have some spiritual meaning even in our day. Here in this story we have chariots and “horses of fire” and a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11) that takes the prophet away and this can be seen in the same light as the way that the depiction of the Master’s Transfiguration is painted by the apostles including Matthew’s saying that Jesus’ “face did shine as the sun” (Matthew 17:2). And this relation to the Master’s Transfiguration IS likely another of those reasons for James’ use of the example of Elijah as in this most significant spiritual event both Elijah and Moses ARE present which, in the minds of the Jews, should give greater comfort and perhaps even a sense of their approval of the words and the works of the Master. We should remember here that it IS to the Jew that James writes and he does so to try to keep those who had come to see the Truth of Christ from reverting back into the ways of the world which DOES include the doctrinal approach to God that IS practiced by the Jews.
As we noted yesterday and in several of our recent posts, the reality of James’ writing IS intended to keep these men, these Jews, on the Path that they had chosen and we must assume here that these men ARE Repented in the way that this should be seen: that they have made that decision to leave off of their focus upon the world and the self in the world and to put that focus upon the Truth of the Master, of His teachings and of His state of being as a Son of God. These men have decided to follow the Master and to believe in and on Him which we interpret as DOES Vincent….that we keep His words and that we accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. It IS in the tone of this binding that we should see James’ intent as he offers us the various lessons and ideas upon which we can build our own sense of this working patience as we DO the work of Transformation into the Truth of discipleship. There IS a hard Truth to the apostle’s words and in his blunt approach and straightforward tone this IS easily seen by ALL who can look at his words with a spiritually oriented eye: the Path to the Kingdom of God is chosen by Repentance, and it is followed by being “doers of the word“, by one’s ability to “endureth temptation“, and by following the Path which James tells us IS for a man to “keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:22, 12, 27). This IS NO easy task and the results are purely personal and spiritual and in so doing these things the aspirant and the disciple will be “be blessed in his deed” and “shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him“; and, this IS also the reality of “Pure religion” and the way to see oneself as “undefiled before God and the Father” (James 1:25, 12, 27).
In these ideas we should see clearly the cost and the reward if that word can be used here. There IS NAUGHT in this for the man whose focus IS upon himself nor the things of the world and it IS in this reality that so many seem to diffuse James’ words, where there IS the Light of Truth, and choose the lower path of comfort and pleasures in the world. It IS in this that the Truth of the Master’s own words from the Sermon on the Mount can be seen as He tells us that “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23). Here in the reality of the parabolic idea of the eye and in the True understanding of evil as the ways of darkness, the ways of the world as opposed to the ways of God, we can understand that it IS what one sees as his own personal Truth that will guide his Life; if the man sees the things of God, the Light IS his but if he see the things of the world, his fate remains in the world and in its spiritual darkness. In this we can see James pointing us to the Light and warning us of the darkness that can so easily engulf even the man who strives.
These ARE hard Truths for the man in the world and it IS easy to see the totality of commitment that IS required to be able to “enter ye in at the strait gate” (Matthew 7:13) that opens into the Truth of the Kingdom of God. And James goes on in his straightforward depiction of what IS required of the man who truly seeks God as he tells us of the “royal law“; how that one MUST “love thy neighbour as thyself” and how that to Truly DO so, the man CAN NOT “have respect to persons“. And he warns us that to DO so that men DO “commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors“. The apostle goes further so as to show the reality of this “royal law” and the effect that it has; he tells us that ALL sin IS sin and that this failure to Love as the Master teaches us makes one “guilty of all” (James 2:8, 9, 10). Can we see the intent of James’ words here and how that they reflect for us the Master’s more parabolic sayings that show these same Truths. James DOES NOT leave us to the mercy of our own thoughts of believing as he shows us the intimate relationship of faith and works and, while this may or may not be said to combat a doctrinal approach in his own day, many seem to have never gotten this message as they rely upon their own misunderstanding of the words of Paul. The stark reality here IS that if one’s faith IS True, that his believing IS according to what we have from Vincent above and that in this there IS the reality of keeping His words. Here we should see that if this IS the only thing that one DOES, it IS the work of faith that IS required by ALL who profess to live by faith. And here in this the apostle could NOT be any more blunt as he tells us: “wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).
As we discussed when we came upon this precept in previous essays, the reality here IS NOT works from the perspective of DOING any particular thing; the inference here IS that if one Truly has faith that one IS then keeping His words and this IS the work of faith. Without this there IS NOT True faith but this version of faith IS dead; it has NO Life and NO True substance. And this IS the work of patience as well, there IS ONLY one way to the Kingdom and that IS in keeping His words. By the example of Elijah we should be able to see this reality, that ALL that Elijah can DO is DONE in this faith and in the KNOWING that this faith Truly brings and IS. In this we should be able to see and to understand that those things that Elijah can DO are DONE in his ability to KNOW that he can, that he has overcome the self and the things of the world, and that the fullness of the Light, the Love and the Power of the Soul, the Love and Power of God, IS flowing through his Life. This begins for Elijah as it begins for us yet today; this begins in keeping His words and keeping His words begins with Love. In the end this work of patience and of faith IS our display of Love to ALL as it IS in this Love that ALL things ARE accomplished.
This IS again the hard Truths that James offers to us as aspirants and disciples on the Path to God and to the Kingdom of God. And the apostle goes on to tell us more of the things that we must be and DO in the world of men if we ARE to accomplish this goal of deliverance which Paul shows us in saying that we “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This IS True of ALL as an eventual result and while we DO NOT understand the dynamics of this for the whole, we can easily see this in our own individual view of Life and we understand that the timing of this IS in our own hands and IS according to our own focus and wherewithal to forsake the carnal for the spiritual. James goes on to tell us about Truth, about being sure that what we may say and DO IS in accordance with the Truth of God, and here we should see that this Truth IS NOT doctrine in the apostles words to the Jews and neither IS this Truth doctrine today; the Truth IS the fullness of Love, of the “royal law” and of ALL that this brings to the Life of the man in the world who can express it. The apostle tells us clearly about our own expression to the world using the example of the tongue, that it must be controlled and conform to the One Truth and that it IS the man who can so control his expression who IS “a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2).
James tells us the way of the man who strives to control his expression to the world, the man whose expression will be in the “meekness of wisdom” which we should see in the way of his controlled expression of Love. And the apostle gives us the reality of this sense of Wisdom, this sense of Love, and shows us that ALL that IS for the self and the interests of the self in the world IS NOT from God or from one’s own Inner divine self. The Truth of this Wisdom from above that brings with it the Love and the Power of the Soul IS that it IS “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). As we noted in the last post, these words are defined and discussed in some detail in In the Words of Jesus parts 1003-1022. We should try to see the intimate relationship between Love and Wisdom in a spiritual perspective and understand that in ALL of these terms that James offers us that define Wisdom are terms of Love as we should see it in the Great Commandment, the Golden Rule and James view of the “royal law“.
Perhaps James most poignant words from the perspective of the man who IS focus upon the self in the world ARE his words on the relationship between the man who seeks God and the world which he frames in a most blunt and straightforward way saying: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). It IS here that we are shown the totality of the need for one’s focus upon the things of God for the man who Truly strives toward that strait gate; here we see the end of being double minded and the end of the duality that afflicts the aspirant and the disciple. James offers us the reality of pride and the need to be humble and in his words we should see his point that to be prideful IS the essence of judging others; This the apostle speaks against from the perspective of words but which we should again understand as the complexities of one’s expression. It IS here that we must try to see the reality that to think higher of oneself IS to judge others as lesser; and we should understand that in the depth of the apostle’s words here there IS the idea that this expression of pride and one’s expression of ‘speaking’ against another need not be verbal or a carnal action but may be in thought or in attitude as well.
We did not intend to get into another round of summarizing the many things that we find in James’ words but we have done so nonetheless. In ALL these things we should try to see Elijah; we should try to see that he too was in this same place where he had to focus upon the things of God and to keep the word of God in order to find that working faith and KNOWING through which he could accomplish those things that were his own work in the Plan of God. We close for today by repeating our current sayings which we will get back to in the next post:
“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)
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
