ON LOVE; PART DCXLVII
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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 discussed how that James’ ideas on help for the aspirant and the disciple who IS finding difficulty in keeping his focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, the things of God, in telling him to “call for the elders of the church“, will be quite difficult time in our day and age. In fact, in every day and age since the substitutions of church doctrines for the Truth of the Master’s words, the man seeking such help would ONLY find it from that doctrinal perspective. We should see how that this phenomenon grows as the number of denominations and sects has increased to the many thousands that there ARE today. While it IS True that the man whose vision of God and of discipleship IS tied to his particular doctrine can yet find such help, the idea of aspirant and disciple that we speak of, the man who James’ speaks of, will find a most difficult time. In this we should add that the doctrinal churches have yet to comprehend the depth of the Master’s words on Love nor have they accepted the reality of James similar words on the “royal law” which we read as: “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” (James 2:8-9). Who IS there that can understand and practice the Truth of these words and the reality of the Master’s Great Commandments and the Golden Rule as we have at the top of our essay? What denominations and sects teach us of these Truths as the way of Life, the Way to the Kingdom and the Way of discipleship?
And this IS our point; the aspirant and the disciple MUST live according to these precepts on Love and if he IS faltering in any area of his Life, if he IS tempted by whatsoever and is have difficulty in maintaining his focus, to whom can he turn that would understand the depth of this idea of Love. Similarly we have James’ words on the world and our relation to the world as he tells us “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). This IS James understanding of the Master’s words regarding “God and mammon“, the “treasures upon earth” versus “treasures in heaven” and the ALL important idea of “take no thought” (Matthew 6:19-25) and these are equally misunderstood by the doctrinal church which has NOT gotten the True message which IS also repeated for us by the other apostles. To whom would the aspirant and the disciple who IS having difficulty with temptation in this area of his relationship to the things of the world and the thoughts and attitudes about those things go to for help in maintaining his sense of True focus? And we should remember here that the relationship to the world IS much more that the wealth and the possessions; it IS the relationships and the attachments that hold us as well.
In this light we must see that as aspirants and disciples who hold to the Master’s words and strive to keep them ALL, we DO NOT have a ready place to go for such help as we may need, and we should see that we ARE more or less on our own. We should understand however that this aloneness IS NOT a problem as even in the presence of men who could help us to maintain our focus by their counsel and advice, it IS still each man who alone must decide. In a deeper spiritual tone, our Tibetan brother offers us these words regarding the Life of the man who Truly strives toward the Kingdom of God; these ARE addressed to the aspirant and the disciple and ARE NOT contrary to James’ words as this writing considers what has become of the elders of which James speaks:
Nothing satisfies him until he finds the Way, and nothing appeases the desire at the centre of his being except that which is found in the house of his Father. He is what he is because he has tried all lesser ways and found them wanting, and has submitted to many guides only to find them “blind leaders of the blind”. Nothing is left to him but to become his own guide and find his own way home alone. In the loneliness which is the lot of every true disciple are born that self-knowledge and self-reliance which will fit him in his turn to be a Master. This loneliness is not due to any separative spirit but to the conditions of the Way itself. Aspirants must carefully bear this distinction in mind……A paradoxical situation is brought about from the fact that the disciple is told to enquire the Way and yet there is none to tell him. Those who know the Way may not speak, knowing that the Path is constructed by the aspirant as the spinner spins its web out of the centre of his own being. Thus only those souls flower forth into adepts in any specific generation who have “trodden the winepress of the wrath of God alone” or who (in other words) have worked out their karma alone and who have intelligently taken up the task of treading the Path.**
The full text of this can be found in In the Words of Jesus part 487 and the part we post here IS simply to offer some greater understanding of the reality of this idea of aloneness and, looking out around us, most can easily see this point: that there are few who ARE seeing Life in quite the same way as we ARE. These ideas span ALL True religious philosophies and go to the heart of the Truth as it has been expressed through the ages, the Truth that the Way to God, the Way of the disciple, IS NOT found in “the friendship of the world“….the world IS the antithesis of the Truth of the Kingdom of God. From our own perspective we see this aloneness and most often welcome it for its peace and its lack of distraction but we should understand at the same time that we must be a part of the world, a teacher of the Truth by the example of our own lives and whatsoever else that we can contribute. Hence the importance of James’ guiding words here regarding the working patience that IS needed to endure the temptations of the world of men. In James’ words we can find encouragement and hope and there are undoubtedly many sources for similar ideas if one can identify them and it IS with this in mind that we repeat these words which we wrote into In the Words of Jesus part 930:
And so we strive, we make our sincere effort to Transform our lives in ways contrary to society and religion and we do so alone as individuals whose only comfort may be in the words of scripture and in the words of others that are undertaking the same rigorous journey and it is our sincere hope that our words can help others to understand that they ARE NOT alone.
While we can see that the help of the elders IS largely unavailable to the modern man, we should also see and understand the Power of the True self, the Soul, the Christ Within, to maintain the focus of the Life of the aspirant and the disciple which see above in the words of the Tibetan and we find in James’ first instructive tool as well. This Power IS in the reality of prayer, the reality of one’s communion with his own Inner Lord and savior which, if approached with True intent, will offer the same encouragement and hope and the wherewithal to stand against whatsoever is coming and to re-focus upon the Truth of God. In this we should see that the Soul IS one’s own elder and IS the master and the Lord of the Life of the awakened man in the world. Here, if we look deeper at the words of the apostle, we can get a glimpse of the reality that it IS the Soul that IS a large part of the apostle’s own reference when he speaks of elders and this becomes clearer as we proceed through his words.
We ended in the last post with James words on sin and forgiveness which we DO NOT see in the doctrinal way but rather in our own Light of Truth; we KNOW sin as the misplaced focus of men upon the things of the world and we see forgiveness as that whatsoever IS DONE in error is set aside and forgotten as the man moves his focus onto the things of God. In this Light we can see the spiritual reality of what one has done carnally; that it IS forgotten as the man spiritually moves and in this we should understand that this idea of forgiveness IS a personal one. It IS the man himself who must look past those offenses of ALL kinds that he may have done; this IS forgiveness and this IS ONLY possible when a man has moved past whatever sinful thoughts, attitudes and actions in Repentance.
It IS in Repentance that one comes to realize the nature of carnal Life and how that when men DO NOT see the Truth they err, they do wrong to others and to themselves by their selfish thoughts, attitudes and actions; and, one comes to realize his own part that he played in this same way of error in the world. It IS in this realization that we must understand the nature of the Master’s words which say “if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). Can we see the reality here? Can we see the relationship between “your heavenly Father” and the reality of James’ words that “the Lord shall raise him up“; that the Lord and a man’s access to the Father IS his own Soul, his own God Within? Repeating our sayings from James Epistle again along with our next section, we read:
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold , the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And 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 5:7-16).
In the reality of forgiveness, in the Truth that it IS NOT some outside Power that forgives the errors of the man in the world but that it IS the True man, the Soul, who understands the very nature of carnal life and of error who must look past any offences; and continue in his work of Repentance and Transformation as the carnal Life in the world becomes more and more the expression of the God Within. We should understand here that there IS some sin that IS against civil laws and some that harms others and for these there IS likely a penalty that one should endure in the world of men but, save for the effects of karma, this IS NOT a spiritual price as the Soul IS NEVER guilty in his own right. When we can see these ideas with some clarity, we can then understand the deeper aspects of these words from James regarding the elders and the idea that the afflicted man should pray; that he should commune with his own Inner self, so as to deflect the carnal attractions to error. We should remember that much of the apostle’s previous words were directed at the conflict of duality and these words should be seen in a similar way; and while there IS a value to the carnal aspect found in one’s spiritual understanding, there IS a greater value to the spiritual realities which are sometimes hidden in his words by his obscure language and use of symbolic ideas. We should not forget as well that much is confounded by the doctrinal bent of the translators and that this same IS True of the parabolic style of the Master.
And so with the following words as well. To whom should one confess and for what True purpose….and how IS it that one should pray, how IS this done in the view that such prayer IS one’s own communion with the God Within? If we believe that we pray for intercession from the Supreme God of ALL things, that He would grant us favor or healing, we ARE seeing this in the more doctrinal sense. However, if we try to see this idea of prayer as one’s drawing upon the divine Power Within, we ARE seeing more clearly and we can come to understand the realities of such prayer; that while there may be some benefit here to others in one’s calling upon his own divine nature as we see in the healing and other works of the Master, we will also see that there IS naught that one can do to bring another closer to God. And this IS the reality of James’ words, to bring one closer to God through the patient work of striving toward that strait gate that opens into His Kingdom.
Can we try to see in James’ words that men should “Confess your faults one to another” that there IS the reality of admission, and then can we see the Truth that this admission IS the first one that every man must make?…..an admission to himself. The word rendered as fault here IS generally rendered as trespass, as in Matthews version of the Lord’s Prayer as we cite above, and in this word we should see the generality of sin and understand that as we admit our own shortcomings as men in the world whose focus should be upon the things of God, we can see our brother in much the same way. We close today with these ideas on the word that IS rendered as “one another“. According to the lexicon this word IS also rendered as yourselves which idea can take us to a very different view in English. It IS also used in conjunction with another Greek word that is sometimes rendered as “one another” as well and we find this combination in Paul’s words to the Colossians among others; we read: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Colossians 3:13). Here we have a definitive subject of men forgiving others and here our word from James is used in the first instance while the other word is used in the second.
We have chosen this verse because Vincent speaks on the use of these pronouns and his words may help us to understand James’ intent here in our current saying; Vincent says: One another – one another ( ἀλλήλων – ἑαυτοῖς ); Lit., one another – yourselves. For a similar variation of the pronoun see Ephesians 4:32; 1 Peter 4:8-10. The latter pronoun emphasizes the fact that they are all members of Christ’s body – everyone members one of another – so that, in forgiving each other they forgive themselves 4. We should note here the doctrinal understanding and while the idea of yourselves DOES NOT match from these words to James, as here the other Greek word is rendered as such, the picture of uncertain meanings should be seen as the lexicon tells us that both can mean yourselves.
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
- ** A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC OR THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY COPYRIGHT © 1951 BY LUCIS TRUST
