ON LOVE; PART CMXXV
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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).
June 2, 2015 IS the Festival of GoodWill which IS otherwise KNOWN as World Invocation Day and the Festival of the Christ or Christ’s Festival. While this day IS ordained by men, it IS founded upon high spiritual principals that ARE recognized by many in the world today and which we see under our blog’s banner saying that GoodWill IS Love in Action. As we have discussed, this IS the third of the Three Spiritual Festivals that are KNOWN by so many in the esoteric and occult disciplines but which ARE ONLY seen in the more structurally religious world according to the many various religious, denominational and sect doctrines of the world. Christians will recognize Easter, Buddhists will recognize Wesak but neither Truly see the reality of this Festival of GoodWill which is the underpinning of the teachings of both the Christ and the Buddha.
The Festival of GoodWill is an expression of Love as this IS taught by the Master and which can readily be seen in a proper view of the words of the Buddha. While this idea of Love IS NOT directly expressed in the Buddha’s words, it IS found in the ideas which He presents regarding one’s own view of himself as a spiritual man in this world. It IS in looking past the self and the things of and for the self that a man will realize such Love in both the Christian and the Buddhist traditions and it IS unfortunate that few see this underlying theme throughout their teachings. And it IS unfortunate as well that so few in the Christian world see the Truth of looking past oneself and the things of the self in the words of Jesus although these are rather clearly expressed for the man who can but glimpse the greater Truths.
Jesus words, as they are expressed for us in the Great Commandments that we carry above, ARE the reality of Love and when we can see that to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” requires that one look past the things of the self, we can then see into the greater realities of Life in this world, realities that ARE contrary to the ways of men. This IS the message that the Apostle John shows us as he tells us of the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual and amplifies the Master’s words on “God and mammon“. The apostle shows us how that it IS the “treasures in heaven” that men should strive for rather than the “treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:24, 20, 19) as he tells us:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
None of these ideas has resonated in the hearts of men through the centuries since the Master and His apostles left us their words; the reasons for this ARE likely many and ARE founded in the illusion and the glamour in which men yet live. It IS in this sense of illusion that men see that the teaching CAN NOT possibly be that they must look past the things and the pleasures of carnal Life and it IS in their sense of glamour that they will insist that this worldly view IS right and that the Master’s words DO NOT apply to them individually according to their several doctrines. This despite the rather blunt and straightforward words of the Apostle James who 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); James ideas are made unclear by the popular view of the apostles intent concerning the word rendered as friend. While we have discussed these ideas of friendship as familiarity in past essays, it IS important to understand that this idea of friend IS NOT meant in any strict English idea of the word and that the lexicon’s idea of: he who associates familiarly with one 2 sheds a brighter light upon the intended Truth.
In the view that the first part of the Great Commandments CAN NOT be a reality for the man whose Life centers around himself, we should try to see as well that it IS in the second part that the first can be Truly realized. When a man can Truly “love thy neighbour as thyself” he IS then Truly looking past the mundane thoughts and attitudes of self in the world and IS looking towards the deeper Truths that ARE found in this teaching and which ARE amplified by the Master as He tells us that to keep His words IS to Love Him and thereby to Love God. While this IS painted for us in a great circle, the reality IS simple: from the perspective of the Master the Great Commandments ARE of the greatest importance and they ARE His words. It follows then that by this expression of Love to ALL men as one would Love himself IS His words and it IS by keeping His words that we show that we Love God; we read the Master’s words again saying:
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).
It IS in this reality of Love, this reality of GoodWill, that we have the reciprocal action of the Presence of God in Life and, according to the reality of these words this IS the only way that this Presence is ours. That this idea IS discounted by the doctrinal authorities IS of NO moment to us as the words of the Master ARE rather clear and when we apply our ideas regarding the trifecta to our keeping His words we can see the greater Truth of Life in this world and understand that our own spiritual reality is inseparable from this idea of Love and from this idea that GoodWill IS Love in action. It is also unfortunate that the ideas behind the words GoodWill ARE NOT clearly defined for us by the dictionaries of the world and that like with the common ideas of men concerning the word Love most ARE left without a proper guide to the scriptural intent of these ideas.
We should however understand that the key to the Truth of Love and GoodWill ARE found in our proper view of the Golden Rule and this we explain above in our own summary of WHAT THEN IS LOVE? Our answer above IS both clear and illusive and IS subject to the interpretations of men who CAN NOT yet look past their own sense of self as they struggle through the illusions and the glamours of Life in form. In the simplicity that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself there IS sufficient clarity but in the sense of separation that men inflict upon others there IS little respect for this simple idea. This however IS the simple reality of Life for the man who Truly seeks God and, within this attitude of according to ALL what we would accord to ourselves, we will also have the depth of the idea of GoodWill: that this sense of Love IS our thoughts and attitudes on the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
This IS the reality of Love and the Truth of GoodWill and it IS these ideas that should take our attention as we celebrate the Festival of the Christ. In the spirit of this celebration we offer again the Great Invocation which IS a world prayer for the inflow of the Light, the Love and the Power of God into this world. When we can understand the dynamic that ALL men who Truly seek God ARE a measure of this Light, Love and Power, the force of this prayer can be better understood and we can realize that we can bring these ideas to bear in our own lives in this world…that it IS in the power of numbers that we can Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
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 |
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.
GOODWILL IS
LOVE IN ACTION
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James 2:8
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Galatians 5:14
Our Quote of the Day is a stylized version of the footer that has been a part of this blog from the beginning. It is in a few words our motto and our slogan and as we have posted so many times, it is the method par excellence of bringing about a world in Peace and in Harmony. The words of the Master that accompany our motto here are the source for our understanding of GoodWill and our method of practice and the words of His apostles are their echo of the second part of the Greatest Commandment as enunciated by the Christ. Let us all strive to do our part for in so doing we are doing as the Master instructed; we are striving to enter at the strait gate into His Glorious Kingdom.
This idea of GoodWill takes on added meaning as we approach the third of the annual festivals this year. Beginning with the Festival of Easter which IS followed by the recent Festival of Wesak, the Festival of GoodWill IS the third and comes to us at the full moon of June, the Gemini full moon which IS on June 2, 2015. While there IS much symbolism in the full moon idea, the reality for us IS more simple and IS intended to show the relationships between the Christ and the Buddha and the Truth of Love and humanity. This festival IS alternately call the Christ Festival, the Festival of Humanity and World Invocation Day and it IS ALL of these qualities plus the unifying idea of GoodWill that should be seen flowing through the ideas behind it.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 2 from New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
