fiatlux

My bad! You are right. It is probably far bigger than either of us or anyone can define.

fiatlux

All this is true, in a way. For me, there is only one love and that is of God. If we are to speak of love, it is only of God; anything else is a worldly amalgam that lacks the full depth, breadth, and height of the divine. We can go on and on with how the world sees love but God is love. As such, love is only of God. There is no other definition or character description. As God is love, all justice comes as a by-product of love. Love does not punish or condemn, for it is mercy and compassion, all-forgiving. It seeks only restoration and redemption. Yes, it disciplines, but discipline is "encourage to grow." To rebuke is not to deem someone as evil but to note an action that is misguided. The purpose is to return to the fold for their own ultimate well-being.

Love of chocolate, football, guns, or whatever is not love. Love comes in three types: 1) unconditional; 2) unconditional; 3) unconditional, however that may manifest in the world with our various human relationships. Objects do not enter the equation.

Theo Loc: Within 1000 miles of Tampa, Florida

I think everyone has done a great job defining love, because love is all encompassing. You know as well as I, no one can define love for you; because love must be developed, not defined.

As you well know, love can even be destructive. "Self-love" (narcissism) is about as bad as it gets, yet if we do not love ourselves in some way, we will never forgive ourselves for our faults and failures, and will become disillusioned and bitter and doomed to failure in ever more.

I think you have given life to one of the most elastic, all-covering, hard-defined issues there is, and thank you for the stimulation of the mind it offers in attempting to understand ourselves by defining it.

Part of the issue revolves around the fact we have only one word for "love" where the Greeks, (for example), have seven;
1. Eros; from which we developed "erotica." Intimacy between married couple.
2. Phileo; abiding friendship
3. Ludus; flirtacious love
4. Agape; what is best for another
5. Pragma; lasting foundation of love
6. Philautia; self-love
7. Storge; love of Mother for her children

fiatlux

Sorry, I must disagree. Love may express itself differently but there is, for me, only one type: of God, having his nature and purpose. Love never fails. To use the term self-love meaning conceit is to misuse or corrupt what is love; this conceit is arrogance or pride and has nothing whatsoever to do with love. Love cannot be corrupted or used for self-interest; this is not in its nature.

I came up with this:
Love described: it takes no thought for its own life, what it may eat or drink; it is other-centered and unconditional; it sees each moment as a blessing and privilege to serve, the best and holiest thing that could happen; it has nothing to lose or gain; it cares nothing about success and failure; it is without want; it is without need; it is without desire...but fully passionate; it gives without expectation of return or reward, acceptance or approval; it is not an emotion but a state of being of one spirit with God.
With love, our end is the moment, and we are a means without ends.

Theo Loc: Within 1000 miles of Tampa, Florida

The original challenge was "Define love."

Scripture defines Agape love and Phileo love. You may limit your own defining thereof, but it means nothing for you to say you disagree, for it is God's word. You may agree you may disagree, but My understanding will never limit God's word to one definition when He offers two.

fiatlux

God is love: deal with that definition and description. Love has no meaning outside of God. That is agape. Phileo is only a form of agape expression, having all godly characteristics. You are missing the point over some law-like view of interpretation. Chocolate is chocolate, no matter how it is packaged; the effects are the same. To say chocolate is different from candybar to candybar is false.

Theo Loc: Within 1000 miles of Tampa, Florida

So God is simply a "Form of expression" to you?
Of course "love" has meaning outside of God. The Pharisees love the chief seats in the synagogue more than they love God. THAT HAS MEANING.

I will now rest my pen for it is becoming fatigued.

Workinman Loc: Bayou Pigeon

This is how God wants us to love based on what He tells us in the bible:

John 3:16
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


1 John 4:8
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Colossians 3:14
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Mark 12:31
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

You have not defined love, just stated that God loves us and expects us to love one another. The different words of love Theo presented are important to remember the special meanings to each. The "progressives" often purposefully forget those differences which allows them to claim that David and Johnathan were sexual partners, by incorrectly translating the word for brotherly love in the Bible to mean husband and wife love. That is why it is important to understand the differences. The "progressive" propaganda can be better evaluated by understanding the meanings in the original language.

Workinman Loc: Bayou Pigeon

The definition of love to me at least are with the examples that God has given us...for example...how great is the love of a father that he would send his Son to be executed for the benefit of his other children...or the example of giving ones live up to save another.

I did not view the question from a political standpoint and entirely agree with what you are saying about the manipulation of words that progressives employ to further their agenda.

Theo Loc: Within 1000 miles of Tampa, Florida

The issue is faulted, through no fault of the author, because "love" is not defined, but we are asked to define it.

Yet, no appreciation is given to the fact "Love" doesn't mean love, it means whatever the translators want to use it to mean. It can mean many different things, and we are limited in our understanding by whatever standard we use for parameters in its use.

You repeat a mantra "God is love" as though agape love is all there is; you have even stated it that way as though it makes it happen. When you so limit your parameters to that of one narrow condition of a non-human being, you set yourself up for many misunderstandings.

There is enough problem built into defining a word, because different people have different teaching, different experiences, different forms of expression, all serving to divide us in understanding the problem, much less settling the issue.

And to simply write off six out of seven different aspects of love just because it isn't expressed in the all-encompassing English form, is to build in a complexity that destroys, not builds up, for you cannot express a Mother's love for her child in the same way with Agape, as the Greek can with "Storge." "Agape" does not include every facet of meaning when defining words in a different language. In this case, "Love" is the different language; because you have used the Greek for your basis for understanding.

English "love" is in no way limited to "God is love." That is applicable only to those who believe in God. But belief in God was never declared in the challenge. Nor does belief in God control the meaning of words in all languages.

THAT is the basis for our differences in defining "Love." You voluntarily limit your vocabulary, while I try to expand my understanding through as much vocabulary as I can stuff into defining meaning from presentation.

Otherwise, I begin to limit my understanding to only those things you state the way I state it. All "other" is simply untutored opinion having no meaning. I don't want that for me. And for you I would offer broader meaning to bring you out of your narrow defining way that limits understanding to 1/7th of available variety of meaning.

susanblange Loc: USA

Love means acceptance and forgiveness. We are to accept and love God with all of his faults. Loving God is a requirement for forgiveness. Exodus 20:6. "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments". Loving God is also part of the first commandment. Deuteronomy 6:5. "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might". Hating God means certain death. Proverbs 8:36. "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death".

fiatlux

You said, "Of course "love" has meaning outside of God."
Love has "meaning outside of God" only for those that do not know God.

You said, "The Pharisees love the chief seats in the synagogue more than they love God. THAT HAS MEANING."
THAT IS NOT LOVE, lol. That is pride. That is selfishness. That is ambition. That is arrogance. "Love" is often used in worldly terms to mean obsession and possession for pure self-interest, which is not the character of God.

Theo Loc: Within 1000 miles of Tampa, Florida

Your argument is not with me, because I did not write the scripture. It was God who said "God is agape."

But God also said "The Pharisees phileo the chief seats in the synagogue."

Until you understand the variety and magnitude of love as laid out in scripture, you will never really appreciate the agape aspect of God.

fiatlux

No thought, no mental effort can teach us anything about love, and love is the only true knowledge we will ever have of God. Get rid of all you hold dear, both material and mental possessions alike. Let yourself be totally without virtue or image or any support for your faith but complete trust in God. Give Him all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength—and all means all; have nothing left for or of yourself. Let there be no room for boast. Be a means without ends, the sole purpose of life the moment you are in as the loving companion of God.

Is it doctrine that helps the widow and orphans or is it love? Is it doctrine that we bring to God in prayer or is it love? Is it doctrine that brings delight or is it love? Doctrine should have the same foolish character as God if it is to be of help in our faith To be aware of the true character of love would do nothing to strengthen our love. Love gets all its strength from humility and humility is a gift from God. We are empowered by grace to surrender, to put all of our trust in God. God is jealous. If it is it is nothing, and the result of that is that you have nothing. All of our trust in God means the fullness of life for us; it means the greatest freedom and deepest joy possible. His jealousy is not covetous but wholly compassionate. If you knew the true character of love, perhaps you would begin to lose interest in those beliefs and practices, thoughts and ways you think reflect love. Perhaps you would become more open and receptive, more as a little child. If you accepted this as the true character of love, that love has no hierarchy of endearment, would it make a difference? God created the spirit of humanity with infinite diversity, each soul a precise and unique expression of His love. Unique means “one of a kind and incomparable.” There has never been anyone like you. Nothing like you existed before or will exist in the future. Love alone allows you to live as you were meant to be, for love is the source and designer of your being. The soul is jealous also but it is, without the light of love, also blind. It wants what is for its ultimate well being but is without the vision to see or recognize it, so it feels around, growing attached to this and that out of its deep longing to be at-one with its source.


If your government declared the people you love most dearly in the world enemies of the state and ordered you to napalm their homes, would you rush to do so? This is what it means to go to war. Christ made it ruthlessly clear. The enemy is your loved ones, your friends and family. You are to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but your love is not his to take and use for his purposes. Love resides in the kingdom of heaven. Love is God’s to do with as He pleases. Only through trust in God, not certainty of belief, can the soul remain safe. Christians who believe it is okay to go to war are still living in the Old Testament, still living under the Law and the rules for a physical kingdom. This changed with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Our kingdom is not of this world. The necessity for government and armies, with its border and honor to defend, is gone. We now live in a spiritual kingdom where love is our only function and fulfillment. Our allegiance is to love alone. No events, no circumstances and conditions, decide the way of love. It is not influenced by causes or demands. The world has nothing of value that love either wants or caters to. Love is reality itself. Love is the singularity out of which all life springs into being and gets its true purpose. Love alone sees what is for our ultimate well being. Thus, there is nothing for it to desire or possess outside of itself. Joy is the life of love, its natural expression; love does not take joy in what it does, finding some reward in its activities, for joy is simply what love brings and gives to the world. Do we worship God with joy? No, joy is our worship of God. There is no object out there to praise; joy is the expression of the spirit of God within us. Do you see the distinction? Love cares nothing for the self we have created, either for its worries and sorrows, or for its dreams and ambitions, which is why so many prayers appear to go unanswered. Love sees the self we have created for what it is: our bondage.

This “self” is the one true burden we carry in the world. Would the love of God want to aid and abet our misery? If we are truly asking for his help in securing what is for our ultimate well being, if our heart is earnest in this request, far too often for our liking, a firm “No!” will be the most loving answer to our wants and desires, for the Carnal Mind, the self we have created, is blind to what is for our infinite advantage. The world cannot and does not add a mote of weight to this burden. Events have no influence on our condition; “fate” merely draws our attention to the struggles and problems within us. What God is said “to allow” that causes pain is really what we welcome out of blindness. Truth is ruthless, it is an awful mercy. If pain is absolutely the only way for someone to realize their greatest freedom and deepest joy, truth will let it be. Truth will rush to put “burning hot coals on our heads” if it is really necessary. This is totally incomprehensible to the Carnal mind still living in the utter darkness of judging good and evil. It cannot see this ruthlessness of truth as anything but evil, responding to this seeming attack on its possessions or well being with its unwavering repertoire of shame or blame, just as in The Garden. This sincere—sanctified—delusion leads inevitably to a life of tragic grandeur: for the person looking to be a saint, repeated cycles of holiness and falls from grace. Without love, we cannot see that each moment is the best and holiest thing that can happen. Nothing that we need for our ultimate well being is denied us. For with love, there is nothing “out there.” Trials and tribulations, dreams and rewards cannot be found in the world. In truth, nothing ever happens to us or for us; it all happens within us. Getting the eyes to see is to live in spirit. In spirit, the kingdom of heaven within is the “happening” place—here, there is everlasting love, joy, peace, and unity as the way of life. The spirit of humanity knows infinite diversity, And this is God getting to know himself, The total depth, height, and breadth of His creation
God is love, and as such each soul is a unique expression of eternal love, all carrying the imprint, the image, of God‘s likeness in their heart.


In truth, we have only a lamp unto our feet, enough light to take a step, and living by that light alone is the key to holiness.
(This is personal. I simply want more joy in my life, to be surrounded by it and play in it everyday as often as possible. I want to be around people whose very calling is joy through Love. Yet worldly values and conventional wisdom simply have no place. Reason and logic will never get us to a place of understanding. Love alone has the eyes to see reality. And there's the rub. Love is the most severe discipline that can be followed, for love begins here: “Take no thought for your life.” Love is other-centered, the self no longer resides in our own flesh. Love does not care one wit about making your life on earth easier, better, or safer. Life is not precious, only the love of God is precious. It has no country or other earthly loyalties; obligations, yes, as long as those obligations do not conflict with love but no loyalties. The soul's allegiance is to love alone. There are three types of love: 1) unconditional; 2) unconditional; 3) unconditional—and this finds various forms of expression. Love has no hierarchy of endearment, and this underscores my earlier point about no earthly loyalties. Love cares only about the ultimate well being of your soul, its eternal, not its worldly, life; anything else is a carnal distraction. This separates you from the world, it divides you against it, as Christ said it would. But this is not the stance you take or a worldview you hold; it is the world's reaction to your utter foolishness which creates this one-sided opposition. That everything they hold dear holds nothing for you is both absurd and threatening to them. It is usually like heaping burning hot coals on their heads. Love appears either to mock or undermine what the world values and this is not appreciated, which is way the persecuted are blessed. A Christian has joy where the world sees good reason for complaint and battle. Delight in the lord does away with any expectation or need for justice on this planet. When they bang on your door and shout, “The British are coming, the British are coming,” and you respond, “I'll make a fresh pot of tea,” they are not amused. They will despise you, as they did Christ. It is this foolishness that shows the wisdom of God and that is my final word on this topic. I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ...You are still worldly, for since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly. 1Cor3:1 Your minds are on worldly things. But our citizenship is in heavenPhil3:19


My kingdom is not of this world, if it were I would fight. I do not live by the standards of this world. For though I live in the world I do not wage war as the world does. The weapons I fight with are not the weapons of the world. 2Cor10:3 I do not belong to the world. Jn15:19 I am not of the world any more than Christ.Jn17:14 I do not love the world or anything worldly. For everything in the world...comes not from the father but from the world. 1Jn2:15 The ways of the world are not worthy of us. Heb11:38 Do not conform any longer to the patterns of the world Romans12:2 The wisdom of this world is foolishness.1cor3:19 God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1Cor1:27 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Let us set our minds on things above, not on worldly things, for friendship with the world is hatred towards God. Anyone who chooses to become a friend of the world is an enemy of God. Be not afraid. Put away your sword. Stand ye still. You do not have to fight this battle. The lord will deliver you. Rest in Christ, the full armor of God. Love gives reality its true depth. Without this dimension we will always fail to see what is for our ultimate well being and what is best for others. One word in the Bible, just three letters long, tells the most about what it means to be a child of God. The word is “all”, as in all of you heart, mind, soul and strength consumed in love. If I were to take all of your paycheck, how much is left over for bills and entertainment? If you were to give God all of yourself, how much would be left over for your thoughts and ways?

Nexus of Love:
To the world, this will be the least desirable look at our relationship with God and the nature of who we are. Besides lacking the most important feature for the majority of mankind, control and self-, it is also lacking in virtue and drama, empty except for joy. We are not individuals in the usual sense of that word, that is, existing as autonomous and separate entities, isolated and alone. In truth, we do not exist, function, or develop independently of God, others, and creation. We are a nexus of love. We only find wholeness, our sanity, in the quality of our connections with God, others, and creation. But we are not in quality control or in control of anything—if we are functioning optimally. Our will was always meant to be open to the flow of love from God. Each soul is a unique expression of God, a gateway for God’s love. The right use of will is to be the doorman and keep the gateway ajar. “Self” is our finite identity, what both burdens the soul as well as what inhibits or blocks the free flow of Love. “Self” is restrictive. Nothing of this world has added anything of value to who we are. The relative concerns of “self” is a blindness. The divine life at the source of every soul (Christ) holds the full and exact nature of who we are and what is for our ultimate well being. To realize the divine life and allow its expression is to be fully human, as Jesus was in life.
The right use of Reason is, primarily, to unearth our delusion of control and reveal our essential powerlessness. It is to show that we cannot rely on our own understanding. It is to be a witness to our mortality, the shortness of life, to rust and ruin, and see there is a season for everything under the sun. It is not something we are to rely upon to live our life but to reduce a dependence on self: The nexus of love allows us to freely live by inspiration, what is of God, instead of by motivation, what is for our finite advantage. This is why being good is not good enough. Each moment is the best and holiest thing that can happen to us for this where we come to know both God and ourselves. To know ourselves is not a knowledge we carry in our heads, such as the awareness of strengths and weaknesses, but give with our heart. Our identity is not defined but expressed--in this moment. Our character has no history and is independent of circumstances, simply love unfolding precisely as needed in a particular time and place as God sees fit. For this true identity to live, the “self” must die, which is another way of saying that suffering as it an end and our burdens are zero. Ruthless joy is the purpose of all sacrifice. When we give from love, we lose nothing. Anything we give up is only that which has stood in the way of love. Our sacrifice is not acceptable to God because it hurt a little (or a lot) but because it was given through love.
In the end, the question really comes down to this: how much suffering do we want to hold onto. I know I am doing God’s will when I have no interest in the outcome. Love is all that I know in the moment; I am simply a means without an end. Or I could say that as a child of God my end is the moment, for it is only there that I can surrender my heart, mind, and soul to God to do with as He pleases. Perfect availability to His will is the means and ends acting as one. Each moment then becomes the best and holiest thing that could happen, no matter what unfolds. This is the good death and the only death a child of God will ever know. If we want to know about Love, we need to know about death. It is said that a coward dies a thousand deaths and a hero only one. That seems to be true, but for the child of God each moment is death and that alone brings the fullness of life. Death puts us squarely in The Eternal, and that becomes our point of view on creation, our ground of existence. Take no thought for your life, for what you may eat or drink. This is The Way of Love. It is nothing we can strive for, hold as an ideal to work towards. Perfection is not about steady self-improvement or trying to live without error. We are not looking to modify or correct our behavior to conform with a standard of righteousness. No effort to “be good” or do what Jesus would do is enough. Our death alone suffices for the will of God. Turn, and become as little children. We are to grow down, not up. Infancy is The Mark, to fully rest in God’s arms for our care and sustenance. Our will is the infant. Our stature is in becoming smaller than the eye can see. Our maturity is in reliance, not strength. This reverses the worldly standard, where our maturity is to ask less and less of our parents and become more and more self-reliant. With God, that is a form of madness. The will is designed for submission, not power. It would seem right here to say that no one knows God better than the little child, yet that is not Truth. In Truth, no one knows God but the little child. As stated earlier, this little child is our will, which when surrendered to God, gives us all the power and presence of God. We become the mind of Christ. Nothing can teach us about his thoughts and ways but surrender, which allows for the open discernment of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is our submission, not our Reasoning or even the Bible, that teaches us all things. The little child goes by another name; it is humility. Humility is being of One Spirit with God.
I must confess from the start to being at what is perhaps a great disadvantage. From my perspective, Christian theology should be really quite simple and I am at a loss as to why there are so many denominations and sects in The Church. Where is the conflict? What could divide Love against Itself? The Church is no more than the expression of God’s Love and not a theologian’s ideas. The only true knowledge of God is Love. Love sees my existence this way, as eloquently stated by Jean-Pierre De Caussade: Each moment is the best and holiest thing that can happen. God would not have it any other way. This vision is real freedom.
THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING BELOW is a GOOD PLACE TO START: The only thing that matters is faith expressed through Love LOVE IS THE WHOLE PURPOSE Of TRUTH. Truth makes straight the Way of LoveWe can not begin to know the true meaning of life, or our purpose in it, without Love. Without Love, all the knowledge we have stored about who we are and why we are here is useless...and worse, a lie, for outside its proper context of Love, all that knowledge can not help but deceive. Love is the I AM both of God and man.
Love is the organizing principle of the universe--and its very foundation as well. Without Love, we live a life of illusion. There is no gain whatsoever without Love--and to know perfect Love is to possess nothing.
Love is the gravity of the soul, our ground of existence.
Love is immovable and unchanging--and that is the platform of Truth. We have no leg to stand on in any debate or in any action without love. Love IS NOT DIRECTLY OF THE HEART BUT OF THE ETERNAL. Our heart, the core of who we are in essence, is just the gateway. And if we were to view the true nature of Love by our reason, it would be wholly unattractive. It would be madness. The extremely radical nature of love says this: THE BARRIERS TO REAL LOVE WILL BE EVERYTHING OF THIS WORLD THAT WE VALUE, INCLUDING OUR OWN SELF-WORTH…and even the self itself. Truth is expressed in a state of being and not in a statement of belief. Our interpretations of Scripture are authenticated in Love and nothing els.
QUALITIES: comes only from a place of fullness, of overflowing; offers only what is for another’s highest good; knows no measure; is almighty; always unconditional; never fails; is of God.
The Way of Love is found in the full and open expression of the qualities of the Little Child. I have heard many debates on the topic of the various forms of love. For me, there is only one actual Love and that comes direct from God, when we are of one spirit with him. If it is a fact that love never fails than it is not the love that comes from me, by my will and desire, that has such a capability. Few people have any idea of what love is and what it is capable of, the all-encompassing power and wisdom of love. When you consider that Hope is the anchor of the soul and that Faith the size of a mere mustard seed can move mountains, what are we to think then of Love--which is greater than both Hope and Faith? How can that be? And how do we realize that in our life? What would it look like?
Love is only of God, this is why it never fails. One type of love: almighty--in no matter what form it may express Itself, such as for our mate, our children, our neighbor, or our enemies. Agape is how it looks from our limited perspective and is not how God sees it. Not different types but different forms of expression, and never anything less than unconditional...if it is truly love. Let’s say God is sending you on a mission to witness to the world. You have the choice of taking one of these two things: The Bible or Love. Which would you take? As a devout Christian the above statement about Love and the Bible may trouble you. You may want to argue that The Bible is not only an actual historical record of the Love of God for us and a direct expression of God’s Love for us but also the only way for us to find the Love of God. I agree. Yet I think you will agree that the Bible is gibberish without the eyes to see. I can have The Bible, know it backwards and forwards, but if I have not Love I have nothing…I am nothing.
Love never fails. This perfect love of God is all that need concern us. God is love, so Love is not an emotion or a virtue but a total state of being and power--direct union with the divine. For us to know Love is, simply, to be at-one with the heart, mind and spirit of God. How is this possible? Be empty of self. To turn to God is to turn to Love. This takes nothing short of all our heart, mind, and soul. As God is love, love comes from God. As there is one God, there is one love, which simply finds different forms of expression...unconditionally. I capitalize Love simply because I capitalize God. God is Love, so all Love is of God and has no earthly or finite equivalent. Love does not develop within us; God is not evolving or maturing. What we experience as the “maturation of Love” is merely the reduction of what inhibits or blocks the unrestricted flow of Its out of the self we created, and this allows for a greater and greater flow of Love to come forth. Love is never anything less than perfect. When Christ said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," he did not say "...as you love yourself" because the "self" he was referring to was our essential self, the image and likeness of God, whose substance and nature, like His, is Love.
Love is not an attribute we acquire but the state of our being. Every part and particle of the "personal self" we instinctively created as part of our finite nature, which innocently reached for and grasped the conflict-based knowledge of good and evil, is all that keeps us from our innermost perfection: Love.
We can not strive for perfection but only surrender to the process of self-destruction, to die and thus to finally find the fullness of life in fully and openly expressing who we are meant to be.
There is only one thing that we can--or need to--improve: our conscious-contact with God. To "be good" is still make-believe, part of that illusion of self that we created.
The Law of Gravity "commands" attraction just as the essence of who we are "commands" love; and as the Law of Gravity is the dominant force in the universe, so too this ground of existence within us is the dominant force in our lives. Every part and particle of our relative existence is influenced by and drawn to the Absolute of Love.
Gravity is what gives order to the universe and Love gives order to our lives. We are to be obedient, not in the sense of mustering our will to comply with a directive but where the act of compliance is a result of the dynamic energy of Love, a state of being like the force of gravity that "commands" attraction. Without having previously surrendered to unfolding Love, it is impossible to obey the "command" to Love.
Obedience is not an action we take, it is the incidental result of being the very force of Love Itself. Morality is a process of non-attachment whose true end gets foiled by virtue.
In the usual and limited scope of understanding about the nature of morality we can find the most difficult blocks to the full realization of who we are in essence: the image and likeness of God Without knowing the true end of all things holy--which is the unrestricted flow and unique expression of Love found in the kingdom of God within each one of us, we will continue to strive in vain to know God.
If God is love—that is to say that Love is His very being, his exact and complete nature, and not simply one of His attributes—then all the attributes we give to God are simply forms of expressing that Love. And those qualities of God we ascribe to us, created in the image and likeness of God, have as their source this same essence: Love. Love is the substance of our being.
Morality then becomes more than principles concerning right and wrong, and deeper than the Pharisees and Sadducees (that "brood of vipers") could or wanted to see. The point being that we are not meant to live by formula, or to rely on or live by a set of rules. We are to find our greatest freedom and deepest joy in Love alone, being of one spirit with God.
The one Absolute is Love. Moral imperatives, a code of restricted or strictly adhered to behaviors, in the end defeats the purpose of Truth. Condemnation of self and the judgment of others, recriminations, pursue and grab our attention.
Ideals substitute for relationship, and we get lost in striving for perfection. We have cause to boast or worry. Performance and progress obsess our thinking. Staying in control seems mandatory for the ultimate well-being of the soul. Useless comparisons to a standard, past experiences, or others distract us. We remain captives of a self that must be shed to allow the steady unfolding of Love.
Morality is a process that begins with discerning good from evil, evolves into the aesthetics of our inter-connectedness, and ends with self-destruction: a state of non-attachment, where we possess nothing of earthly value or concern and thus are free to be of maximum service to the ultimate well-being of others.
Our sanity is not to be found in our ability to reason well, however useful a tool that may be, but in our openness to the process of morality. The childlike quality of trust, in our willing reliance on principles and then wholly on God, is the key to our wholeness, which is counter to worldly values. (We are taught to become less and less dependent on our parents and more and more self-reliant; to our Father in heaven, this is a form of madness. At first it will be the self-centered concern for approval and acceptance (a form of pleasure-seeking instead of wholesomeness), to win the favor of and rewards from our guardians for "being good." The self-centered concern then broadens its boundaries to the salvation of our soul (eternal pleasure). Here is where many people find the end of morality, in following with their minds instead of leading with their heart. The brain is an organ of finite nature, of creatureliness, incapable of fully grasping the limitless reaches of The Eternal, of spirit. But morality is meant to continue maturing, to slowly deepen into a we-consciousness, into a profound care and appreciation for both nature and others. Other childlike qualities, such as curiosity and imagination, enter this play of the soul and grow in their roles. We are moving toward the Universal and Eternal. The bondage to self is being steadily left behind and God starts to emerge in the light of our new awareness and understanding of who we were truly meant to be.
Yet this light is not what we seek; it is Love, the flame that consumes all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Morality ends where we begin in God.
This brings up the subject of LOVE=AWE: we become unconditionally accepting, willing, and enthusiastic in each moment to be what God asks us to be. All the world's knowledge is worthless when compared to Love's quiet wisdom. Love allows us to see as God sees, with immaculate perception--pure of self.

Love animates Truth.

Can love be studied and memorized, or taught like mathematics or a foreign language? ( When we study and memorize scripture, what is the end?
The truth about Love: it is utterly selfless. It possesses nothing. It has nothing to lose or to gain, hence there is nothing to deny or defend. We have to be unbalanced and out of our minds to have love. Love is not temperate; it is wildly enthusiastic. To love we must be off the acre of thought we call self and within the mind of Christ.

Non-judgment…unconditional love…and non-attachment: the emptiness that is the fullness of God. Emptiness rings of truth, gives Truth its resonance…and that is the sound love makes.

Let’s say God is sending you on a mission to witness to the world. You have the choice of taking one of these two things: The Bible or Love. Which would you take? Love has no loss or gain to consider, no expectation or demand for a particular result.

Love is ruthless, it wants me dead. The Steps will kill me, if I let them.

Absolute: always has to do with what is loving or not.

Love is greater than the Bible.

The science of Truth is love. It is impossible to over-emphasize the need and place of love in our life. It must be in everything, from the smallest detail to the biggest and most complex. A Christian can never stray from the topic for there is no other topic but love.
If you were forced to choose amongst God, Truth and Love, the choice is really a no-brainer: only with Love are we certain of finding all three; the other two come adulterated with beliefs.



Ecumenical Movement:
If we can agree on the nature of Love, we will have one Truth and One God, and find we have no fundamental disagreements. Love is unadulterated godliness. It is purely the image of God within us drawn forth into active being.

The Bible is not enough for one to know God—but LOVE IS.
We could define love as being of one spirit with God 1cor6,17, which leads us to see that we are all parts of one body eph4:25, perfectly united in our common understanding icor1:10, eph4:4.
Could also define love as the fullness of Christ.
If love is the sum of the law, of what use is following the Commandments? Love knows all and never fails. Why not just love and forget about the rest? And there is that great danger of “boast” in doing good; we tend to believe in our own power and righteousness. And where is faith in that? Isn’t it always better placed directly in Christ than in what we think and in our ways?
The openness of our mind seems to be the point, so that God’s love may completely fill it.

It is impossible to speak of Love without speaking of Truth and humility: this is the trinity of our spirituality.

The norm: God’s love as revealed thru Christ.

Love is what distinguishes a Christian.

Love is to the Christian what flour is to the baker: the basic ingredient in all that they do and the substance that makes them who they are. Do everything in love. 1cor16,14 Above all these have love. Col3,14 Everyone who loves is born of god and knows god. 1jn4,7
Love is the public face of the Child of God and Its private heart. Ask, what would love do? It will be more than what Jesus could do.
God pours it into our hearts rom5,5, 1jn4,9, 15-21;
Originates at new birth 1pt1,22
Loving is a matter of surrender, not of will. Love is not an emotion but a total state of being, at-one with God.

LOVE QUALITIES: possesses nothing, desires nothing, has nothing to gain or defend, has no expectations; One Concern--our ultimate well-being; takes no thought for its life; beyond self-preservation; comes only from a place of fullness, of overflowing; has no need of trust, fairness, ambition, blame, judgment, demands, conditions (unearned in any way); inexhaustible; offers only what is for a person’s highest good; knows no measure. Selfishness is part of the process in un-earthing love.

RECONCILIATION: Our challenge from Christ is to reconcile all things in him. The Way of Love has no tolerance; there is no need of it. We look to give love and compassion to others, caring only for their ultimate well-being

UNDERSTANDING LOVE: a) Love is not a feeling; it is emptiness of self. b) If we possess nothing we have perfect love.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR LOVE IS TRUE? Your love is true if it has no hierarchy of endearment. One will not love their country anymore than another, love their family anymore than another, or love anyone or anything anymore than their enemy. We may grudgingly accept this to be true but then quickly add it is an ideal, something we must certainly try to emulate yet can never really hope to achieve in this lifetime. That is Godlike love and we are mere human beings. We will always fall short of such perfect love by nature. WRONG!
We are a new creature, hidden in Christ through whom all things are possible. As you believe, so shall it be. Jesus said we are to be “as perfect as the father in heaven”: Such perfection as this love is possible.

The First Characteristic of True Love: No self-interest. The person has nothing to lose or gain, nothing to promote or defend. He or she possesses nothing-not even their own consciousness, for they are one with the mind of Christ. Their reliance is wholly on God.
The Second Characteristic of True Love: No psychological needs, not for acceptance, belonging…or even survival.
The Third Characteristic of True Love: sees as God sees. It is being centered in The Eternal, our true ground of existence:
The Fourth Characteristic of True Love: it cares only for another’s best interest, their ultimate well-being.
The Fifth Characteristic of Love: it is an out of mind experience, for we at-one with the mind of Christ. To know where Love is, what it looks like, and how to find it is the path of the Child of God. Not our place to condemn other faiths; look for reconciliation in Christ (which is the fullness of love. Light of the world: thoroughly devoted to the maximum well-being of others. EX. At an anti-abortion rally, we have signs that say only these things: “We love you” or “Need Help?”
Stewards of creation; pollution and other environmental problems can cause others to stumble through their suffering, the least of these usually the first and most grievously harmed. We need to work to obviate future offenses.
Christ redeemed Nature (Rom8, 1Cor10:26, 11:12, Col1:17, Heb1:3, Ps24:1 Glory of God: see his presence plainly there in nature RomI:19-21
Has no tolerance: just what is for the ultimate well-being. Never stands against something but solidly in the stillness of love.

Some queries the Creeds and Confessions of Christianity failed to answer and thus misled the world:
What is God?
What is it that “distinguishes a Christian?
What is “the only thing that counts?
What is “the sum of the Law and the prophets?
What never fails?
What is it that without which “we have nothing” and “we are nothing?
What is “our perfection?
What are the Two Greatest Commandments?
What is greater than hope, which is “the anchor of the soul?
What is greater than faith, where a smidgeon “can move mountains?
Why did God send his son?
Why on earth did Christ die for us?
And what is “the whole object and purpose of instruction and change?
LOVE is THE ANSWER. LOVE IS OUR DEEPEST KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH. Love is the crucial and defining article of faith, the missing link to God in the Creed’s chain of beliefs. Love, and do what you will, love, and forget about the rest. Possess nothing…and you will have perfect love. First put forward love and what follows is Gospel. Truth is the Gospel of the living moment. Love is ultimate knowledge, being of One Spirit with God: What end do beliefs serve? Love is the exact likeness of God, for God is Love, and the person that dwells in love dwells in God and God in that person.
Of what use are beliefs When we are at-one with this Love? Love is not allied with any sect or denomination. Or even with the label Christian. Truth uniquely expresses us; we do not, uniquely or otherwise, hold and express Truth. Love is the essence of the human spirit,What it means to be fully human, Living as the image and likeness of God. To love is to partake in the Divine nature, to be of One Spirit with God. Christ said, “Believe on me”: what did that mean? To trust all that he said about himself was possible for us as well. And how is that possible? As it was with Christ, our full submission and reliance is to be on God in all things. Like Christ the self must die. Beliefs help open us to this possibility but it is in Christ, not in our beliefs, that we get there. Believing that I will someday be a rock star has validity if I am assured I have the talent and do as rock stars do. Once I am a rock star of what use is the belief that I will accomplish this goal? LOVE is our perfection. Always perfectly expresses God will AND THAT MEANS TOTALLY EMPTY OF self, BUT THE LOVE OF GOD OCCUPIES--OUR HEART…MIND…and SOUL. Our sanity is centered in Love, not reason How do we acquire this great Love that never fails? Perhaps it would be helpful if we knew what this Love looked like. So Here are some unexpected characteristics of love: First, and foremost, it is not ours to give. God is Love, Love is of God. Second, If we possess nothing, we have perfect love. What makes it so terribly hard to possess nothing is vanity, for this self we have created--and, in a way, this world--makes us feel "as gods..." Tough act to follow or give up. POSSESS NOTHING Poor of spirit…as a little child: this is an Absolute, for it is the first. In the Principles of Self-Destruction we have a path to obviate the development of self, help us to recognize we are in bondage, or to break that bondage. The true purpose of sacrifice is to help us realize we own nothing and that we do all for God: LIFE BASED ON OUR ONE TRUE DESIRE: AT-ONE-MENT WITH GOD. ONE CHOICE IN EVERYTHING: TO BE SELF-CENTERED OR God-centered. On this point rest heaven and earth. THE CROSS: God does not ask us to give up who we are but only what we have made of ourselves, which is at the heart of our suffering. Christ came so that we may freely be who we are in essence, and for us to know how to find it. We can not possess anything, even the most sacred belief, and know God at the same time. What we cling to corrupts the moment we are in and thus inhibits or disrupts the flow of the innermost truth of who we are. We are givers. There is nothing we need to hold onto to serve or protect Truth, if we act from the kingdom of God within us. Seek surrender, not self-improvement or any standard for how to live, and Truth will come, untarnished, from the source. It is there we must take our stand, at-one with The Eternal: unchanging and immovable and of unlimited loving expression to serve every soul. Even the intention to possess nothing will have us cling to that as an ideal and thus make it something that we are working towards, which centers us back in self and distracts us with evaluations of performance and progress--all this over a process whose stages are unknown to us and whose end is beyond our sight. ("We may know who we are but know not what we may be," Shakespeare) In this classic illustration, say to yourself "I will not think of a pink elephant" and, viola, it materializes, and every concerted effort to drive this thought from our head adds fat and stubbornness to the creature. Yet if we relax, if we bring our attention to our breathing instead, surrendering the effort of purposefully herding this growing monster to oblivion, it will be gone. Our spiritual progress is not directed to growth, to striving constantly for improvement or perfection, but wholly focused on trust (which is "rest”). Trust is the only sacrifice we can make of ourselves; we have nothing else to offer to God--not our effort, not our striving, not our suffering, not even our lives. And when our trust is in God, we have nothing to lose. What we then give to others is only that which God has given us for them, and the fullness of this exchange becomes our greatest freedom and our deepest joy: to be of maximum service to others for their ultimate well-being. The circumstances and conditions of every situation are extraneous to the one choice we are actually presented with: to be self-centered or God-centered. This is having "the eyes to see."
PN-POSSESS NOTHING: Expectations are the leading cause of the vast majorities of our ills. We can look at expectations as being the centerpiece of our sincere delusion.
Practices for The Way of Love: The list of “No’s” that will follow are not new restraints or rules to follow but simply descriptions of The Mark (as the Sermon on the Mount is not a new ethic but simply a description of the one who is truly at-one with the innermost truth of who they are in essence: the image and likeness of God). Knowing the end of all the things noted below can act like the Principles of Self-Destruction, meant to reduce what diminishes or blocks the free flowing of Love. We cling to those worldly values as if they were somehow part of reality, but they are all illusions, the off-spring of stages in the grief process, merely signs of unresolved grief. Humility holds nothing of the earth, including “self.” To Possess Nothing and to have humility are synonymous. We do not suppress the “self” to have humility we turn to the kingdom of God within us; it is there we are at-one in spirit with God. Humility is only that at-one-ment. What constitutes an earnest search for Truth is to fully surrender all of our pre-conceived ideas; these are earthly treasures. The object is to simply allow ourselves to fall into the abyss of principles that are beyond reason and belief, taking no thought for our life.
Self-denial: has no interest in self; it is not to torment the "self" through suppression, which only tends to create greater hunger and pride, but to love, to do all for God. This "self" is an illusion, a figment of our pain. Heal the pain and our direction becomes clear. “The old man is gone.
The Way of Love is so radically different than conventional wisdom, so contrary to worldly values that no one who has yet to experience it would wish something so awful on themselves.
It is not for the critical thinker. The mind of man is a young god, what can you tell it? But try. Say to it that to conquer death you only have to die. Or to be first, be last. Or to receive, give. Paradox gives symmetry to Truth, and this unbalances the mortal brain.
With love, what we value, that which would be genuinely missed, is taken from our grasp... Love recognizes no ideals. Ideals are just more false images to put before God, like this "self" we created. Id-A little more on Ideals. Humility has no future. It can not be attained through effort or striving, and yet it is only in that state of humility that we have the strength to do anything good and to know God. It is hard for me not to rant when it comes to a discussion on the concept of ideals. I want to scream and shout my indignation at the insult to the spirit of humanity this malicious notion represents but hardly anyone would listen and most would think I am crazy. "Something wrong with ideals, with standards of excellence and perfection? What are you, some kind of nut. Possibly, yet I think I am onto something here. #1. based on judgment and a lack of acceptance; perpetual dis-ease #2. seeking instead of inward discovery #3. artificial existence; second-hand meaning and purpose; miss your calling #4. rejects uniqueness; an open distrust in God's design (Notice the bold print; it also tells the story. Ideals instantly cure us of wonder and exorcise all mystery. Ideals perfectly corrupt the spirit of humanity, taking away the only two things an individual actually has: the moment and the heart of who they are meant to be. Although these are not their possessions to hold but the opportunity and privilege to give, both to themselves in the fullness of life and in the joy of sharing their unique talents and vision with the world, this perfect gift is denied to all by the tyrant Ideal. "No," it says, "be an imitation of something you can only strive for and never quite attain. Tomorrow is the only suitable place for you. No one was every meant to either strive for or to attain any ideal. To even attempt it says that God makes junk, and it turns every person from their appointed way and place. No ideal of perfection could possibly surpass who we are at this moment, for who we are at this moment was perfectly designed for this particular time and place to give and receive what was most needed for our ultimate well-being. All that may be missing are the eyes to see that what is best for the ultimate well-being of the soul is always where we are right now. To challenge the value of ideals is to question the worth of Civilization, and it is not too long after one deep look into this subject that a Fatal Flaw appears: both openly reject our uniqueness. The prime example of the insidious nature of this Flaw is religion in general and Christianity in particular. "Unworthy servants" and "totally corrupt": almost impossible to believe their is anything of value within us, so of course the right thing, if we are "humble enough" to see our complete inadequacy, would be to strive for and be contented with an unattainable perfection, high gloss theology the only way we can possibly shine. What did Jesus think of the "ideal Jew" in his day? Conformity and productivity, no matter what Civilization says out of the other side of its mouth, are the highest virtues. Exceptions to the rule in art, music, science, and technology, our great masters and geniuses, are tolerated because Society claims them as the marvels of its order. But where would they be if the Ideals promoted by Civilization always got their way. What is truly brilliant is the light of uniqueness in each of us, for this illuminates the true spirit of humanity. And Jesus, the one Christianity insists we imitate, told us plainly not to hide light under a bush but put it on a high hill for all to see. Ideals make perfect politicians. They offer us a large rhinestone in exchange for our small diamond in the rough, and we been educated to accept it and believe that we got the best of the deal. An imitation for the unique and genuine thing? That's crazy. Humility, the essential strength in the spiritual quest, is paralyzed by ideals. Humility is to be no more and no less than who we are. It was not made by doing great things but out of heart and genuineness. It does not seek greatness but open relationship. Self-interest has no priority. The moment is where it naturally abides because that is where a servant lives. Ideals tell us we are not to accept ourselves, and that there is nothing within us of any greater value than the ability to ape some concept of perfection we can never, by our inadequate nature, hope to attain. And we are assured this perpetual bondage to discontent, dis-ease, is noble. The future holds the best for us, not this moment. Ideals are truly terrible things that, by definition, openly admit to their bad character and ill-intent, which should be obvious to anyone, and yet Civilization has convinced us the opposite is true. Why do we accept that view. The answer to that question reveals the Fatal Flaw in Civilization, and says a lot about the low opinion we hold of ourselves and have come to think of as a virtue. If the Inner Self is as the Christ said and billions of followers claim, a perfect essence or expression of the divine (by whatever name), then of what use are ideals of self-improvement when it is already there waiting and perfect? What religion provides, at best, is a possible means to discovering this Inner Self through an "unearthing" process, of reducing those elements that inhibit or block Its full and open expression. We are simply recovering what we were meant to be--as is, and not looking to improve anything about us. Ideals tell us, lie to us, that our own bright spirit is not enough, that we must seek to merely imitate a conceptualized perfection that we will never quite attain; Buddha and Christ held entirely different opinions on that subject. In their words, you are…the light of the world. Who we are as we are in essence is far, far greater than anything we could ever make of ourselves or even dream to be. Why strive for perfection, fuss with comparing our performance and measuring our progress against an abstract ideal, when to "be still" is to know God, the real thing? Make every effort to enter the rest of who you are in essence. Love is desireless; it does not hope, wish, want, or crave anything, ardently or otherwise. Love has everything It needs. It gives out of fullness and joy, and yet It is utterly ruthless, never pandering to comfort or person, giving only what is for another's ultimate well-being (which is often like heaping hot coals on their head). It is even desireless of heaven. Love is where belief and faith have their end, or purpose, and meet their end, or eventual demise. Love sacrifices neither for God nor man, for it has nothing to lose and flows freely from over-abundant mercy. The virtue of sacrifice does not end with the pain we endure for what we have given up but in the final realization that we possess nothing. Suffering for God or others is, first, impossible and, second, not to be seen as where the virtue lies in our sacrifice, for suffering is merely indicative of what we have failed to learn: that we possess nothing. All good things come from God, and if we are of one spirit with Love, we have far more than we will ever need or desire. (When we think of Love, perhaps the first quality or characteristic that comes to mind is sacrifice. Which sounds truly grand, yet in Truth, Love never sacrifices for God or anyone. Love gives freely out of limitless abundance and has nothing to lose. The greatest sacrifice we can make is the full realization of our deepest joy, for in that realization alone are we liberated from the bondage of self and that allows for the unrestricted flow of God's Love to come through us. Love has no patience, for where it is and what It is doing in exactly the time it takes is the generous fulfillment of Its deepest desire. Love can never be delayed. Love does not forebear or suppress annoyance, pain, etc. to maintain an even temper; It only gives with joy. There is no burden. In trying times, Love does not need to "maintain an even temper" because it sees only pain and the great light beneath it, and for that Love gives joyfully. Our ultimate well-being is that "great light" of who we are in essence: the image and likeness of God. Love trusts no one, for there is no need: it gives without wanting or demanding anything in return, even the expectation of loyalty or faithfulness. There is no loss to Love in what It gives, and Love can never be fooled. What return can we give to Love except our willing acceptance of it, and those who do not accept It or fail to be true to It, only hurt themselves. Love has nothing to gain or defend but has only one concern: our ultimate well-being, for Love takes no thought for its life. God is Love, and as there is only one God, there is only one type of Love: unconditional, which expresses Itself freely and in various forms. Eleventh, Love has no tolerance, for there is no need: It sees only one thing and that is the light of the world in each soul, Its one purpose is to draw that forth. The word means "a fair and objective attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, and religion differ from one's own. To Love, all the aforementioned things that need "a fair and objective attitude" go unseen. Twelfth, Love has no need of fairness, ambition, blame, praise, judgment, demands, conditions, respect, tolerance, and it is inexhaustible. Thirteenth, Love has no self-interest, no self-esteem, and no self-worth. In fact, it has no self at all. Fourteenth, Love has no faith, hope, or belief in God. God is Love, ask if He needs such things. Fifteenth, Love trusts no one. There is absolutely no need. Trust is an expectation of faithfulness, of getting a return on the risk of giving. Love gives freely and without conditions. There is nothing to lose or to gain for Love. It is onerous to trust another. Sixteenth, Love takes no thought for our life, what we may eat or drink. When survival becomes a necessity, life becomes a burden. The Child of God is well beyond any need for self-preservation. We are here for nothing-near-an-instant of our true lifespan: what is there to cling to?

Al-ALL...YOUR HEART, MIND, AND SOUL: AT-ONE IN SPIRIT/GOD-INSIDENESS (THE MARK):
Once in Christ, we can no longer call ourselves “sinners”; “godders” would be the appropriate term:
The Mind of Christ: I do not possess consciousness; I am part of consciousness. (Self is simply a limited perspective.) And there is no “higher” consciousness, though one could say Nearer Consciousness, as we draw ever closer to being of One Spirit with God. (Jn14:20, 15:4-7, 17:26; Rom8:9-10; 1Cor6:17; 2Cor1:21, 5:17, 21; Eph4:13; Col1:27, 3:3; 1Jn2:24, 4:16)

To be fully human is to completely realize the glory of God and our divine potential. The glory of God is a human being fully developed.
It is not to rise above, deny, or attempt to overcome our human nature but to allow it to fully mature through love, where we become partakers of the divine nature.
This is our inheritance as a Child of God. Our own Self-interest dehumanizes us, diminishing the substance and purpose of our being. AS HE IS, SO ARE YOU. Let Go! Grow down! Become as a little child, the Original Self that God created. Our worth does not increase or decrease by what we do or fail to do. The value of our soul is constant: we are priceless to God. It is surrender, surrender, surrender, each moment an opening for perfection and holiness in a simple, Yes, Lord. It is not to imitate Christ or to try to be faithful or to seek a higher standard to live by or to be pure of heart but to stand ye still and simply allow God to live through us as us, the unique expression he created: that is the end of life.
Our full availability to his will--this moment!--is perfection. (Those who are in first stage which is for self first see faith as to do for God, and they cannot begin to comprehend second stage people which is for others who see faith as to allow.) And whatever we allow is always for our particular soul, for the ever-deepening of our unique relationship with him: this is the meaning of Grace. Make every effort to enter the rest. There is no "higher ground": there is one ground--and it is a common ground and it is a holy ground: the kingdom of God within each person. The ladder to perfection descends within to the true ground of our existence, The Eternal set at the core of our heart, where there is no up or down, no West or East. Our ideology is of the moment, for it is whatever best serves--Now!--the love of all creation. There is nothing else to consider. Separation from God is separation from who we are. We are not autonomous beings but unique and precise expressions of God.
Godders: The Mark and the Profound I. we are a new creation…the old man is gone…yet not I but Christ who lives in me…every man perfect in Christ…partakers of the divine nature...the light of the world. (gal2:20, col3:3, 1:28; 2cor5:17 and ?3:9 where it says we can no longer sin. We have a problem with praise and worship if we are hidden in Christ. To adore God we put him outside of ourselves, eyes reverently staring up at the sky and his being reduced to the tawdry concept of ideals to emulate. PRAISE AND WORSHIP is to be of ONE SPIRIT with God: whatever could possibly be better than that, to His glory and our ultimate well-being. Failing that, what of anything good is left? The “mark” is to be still in the kingdom of God within. We are The Word in flesh. I and the father are one is the norm. THE DIVINE does not help us escape our humanity or bring us to a higher plain but merely completes our humanity. To be a partaker of the divine nature with God is the fullness of our human nature “The glory of God is a human being fully developed. If we have come to know our true self, we need no introduction to God. “The more God takes us over, the more ourselves we become.” (Lewis) To be genuine is to be godly. iii. To be genuine is beyond my intent. Spontaneity is un-rehearsed godliness. We are not to lose ourselves for another but to find ourselves in that other as yourself: the likeness of the image of God found in yourself clearly reflected in that other. Parts of one body. Eph4:25; perfectly united in your common understanding 1Cor1:10 Ephesians 4:4 MATURITY: is The fullness of Christ. Eph4:13 We are each The Light of the world God-insideness-the utter splendor of being a partaker of the divine nature-“BECAUSE AS HE WAS SO ARE WE.” Think about that “The more God takes us over, the more ourselves we become.” Lewis You are perfect, as the father in heaven is perfect: a statement of fact, not a command. If perfection is not possible in this life, Christ lied to us. We do not strive toward perfection; it’s just a moment away, the one in which we say, Yes, Lord ii. Why strive for perfection when to be still is to know God iii. Perfection is not to be without error, for error is often essential to understanding; it is to be fully available to God’s will. I have one purpose, to serve God, and that is a moment to moment calling with no end in sight. Our strength is made perfect through weakness. The attempt to live without error is a bankrupt form of perfection. Ideals inhibit or crush the unique soul God has made. I remember when this insight first came to me, about there being a distinct and vital difference between saying, "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Love your neighbor as--yourself." It was ten years ago and the 'distinct and vital difference' was not too clear at the beginning. The many pastors and other studious Christians I attempted to share this with all listened attentively and all left shaking their head Is there actually a 'distinct and vital difference' between the two expressions of the Second Great Commandment. When Christ said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," he did not say "...as you love yourself" because the "self" he was referring to was our original self whose substance and nature, like His, is Love. Love is not an attribute we acquire but the divine life at the heart of the soul quickened by Christ, We are not to lose ourselves for another but to find ourselves in that other as our self: the likeness of the image of God found in yourself clearly reflected in that other. Freely give: AS YOURSELF If we alter the words of the Second Great Commandment to read, Love your neighbor as you love yourself, we put self back at the center of things. My neighbor is myself, for as I am in Christ, he is in Christ and that is "the self" of us both. The "self" in "as yourself" is not the Personal Self we created but our essence, the image and likeness of God that He created. Eternity has been set in our hearts, and nothing real exists outside of that kingdom of God within us. It can not be loved nor love. Understanding that I can not possibly love myself but only Love itself, for it consumes all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. I am of one spirit with God, and God is love. If we do not feel appreciated for what we have done for or given to others, than we have done or given for the wrong motives. (def.) THE HEART is the truth of who we are. In order to “give freely” our action is not about what we do next but what we are next: self-centered or God -centered. That is our only choice for action-and what happens next is the result of our choice. Our state of being decides the outcome of our actions, not what we do. The ten most wanted things in life are ours-free and without effort-if we find love. I possess nothing: what can I give? Here we can see it plainly that the one who takes alms is the greater giver. What we buy for a buck or so is happiness in heaven and on earth. Acts of true love are without any virtue, for there are no degrees or conditions to love (The Human Potential Movement is in the temple of God…”changing money.) The only choice we ever get in any situation is either to be the light of the world or not. If so, the father doeth the works. We have not thought for our life, what we may eat or drink. Not I but Christ. “Left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. In joy and love I give and do not feel a thing. Perfect kindness acts without thinking of kindness. Whatever we may give it is not ours to begin with and any attachment takes more from us than anything we could sacrifice. And where is the humility if I think that I am kind. To give is our treasure. Any kindness we show for others is really soul-care, for we love them as our own soul. A reverse form of selfishness, but better called selflike. With love the recipient is not other, for we find our self in that other. The father doeth the works...NO BOAST--"It ain't nothin if it ain't free, babe. Coming from a place of over-flowing fullness and joy; the giving can’t be contained and what is given is not missed. So much so that we want to be the ones who say thank you when in this state, of One Spirit with God. It doesn’t hurt even a little and requires no effort for the Christian to give-and that is maddening to some people. What good is it? It does not seem to have as much value, or even be virtuous at all, if it does not hurt at least a little. The greatest sacrifice possible has already been made: we have given all our heart, soul, and mind to God…a hefty price it seems but, then again, we lose only that which has brought suffering to us and others of all the law and the prophets hang on these two Commandments, and that equals LOVE AS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF tRUTH. Love is all you need for God is Love. God is love. Love comes from God. The person that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in that person. Without Love…we have nothing, we are nothing. Love and Joy are the only Credentials of Truth. Love has the only true objectivity: It sees what is for the ultimate well-being of each soul with immaculate perception. Love never fails. Love is the embodiment of all knowledge and Truth, Eager to be of service to others. Love is the organizing principle of reality, and its very foundation. First put forward love and what follows is Gospel. Truth is the Gospel of the living moment. That’s it. End of story. Nothing more illuminating can be said. Love is the whole enchilada. Good night. Well, that would be it but I am certain that my editor (should I ever get one) will want some more words to fill all those empty pages. I suppose I am forced to agree. Yet I am concerned that just one more sentence is too far to wander from the simple condition of Love already stated. I will dare to write more. Perhaps it will be helpful in the only noble pursuit: to find the way to un-earth and realize this love in our everyday affairs. Remember this as you read: you are the world’s best acquaintanceship with God. Be the light of the world. Find that splendor within and let it come forth. (Jn13:35 You may be the Master Key to Salvation that the whole world desperately need.
WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO LOVE 1) Imagination/Creativity...which leads to vanity 2) Glamour, the savory enticement of this sensuous existence 3) The evidence of the physical plane 4) Not knowing the end of things 5) Sense of freedom 6) Suffering 7) Fear of death/Self-preservation 8) natural development of psychological needs, most importantly CONTROL: all are near approximations of spiritual realities. Produces a fixation on inner struggles: polarities that hold 9) Survival becomes primary concern 10) Ideals and virtues ALL OF THIS ADDS UP TO A POWERFUL ENCHANTMENT. Pain/revenge Immortality/fame Power over Unworthy. It is our creation; any change seems destructive Satisfied Familiar Mistaken loyalty: family ties-yet we are to “hate” those who stand between us and the innermost Truth. (Herd-instinct is a metaphor of at-one-ment subliminally insinuated into our consciousness Oppressive/restrictive childhood Psychological needs: belonging, acceptance, control, etc Self-improvement All that can harm us in this world is that which comprises the self; it stands in the way of love. It is our reluctance to give up our creationBr-MORE BARRIERS: 1) The tragic grandeur that comes with the creation of our own reality, meaning, and purpose: the fabled "Fall" of the human race. Being "as gods" in the distorted notion of being an individual and in control, somehow distinct from God, others, and nature. This "original sin" comes before the knowledge of good and evil, just as did in Eden. A simple law of our nature, an instinctual function of our brain. 2) Our suffering. Ego is our invention, a figment of our pain. All that we value comes by pain-weight. To lose our suffering is to literally kill the "self" we have created. The last thing every soul will surrender to find the fullness of life is their suffering. All our earthly woes have one root cause: our unresolved grief over our sense of separation from God. This is the fundamental sorrow at the source of all our suffering 3) In the section under POSSESS NOTHING is a lengthy list of concepts "corrupted" by the values of the world. Without coming to realize the true end of these things, we remain blind to our predicament. 4) The reliance on reason and logic to live instead of to die. These gifts of the mind are meant to recognize, peel away, the layers of the sincere delusion of the "self," allowing the innermost truth of who we are to be drawn forth and freely expressed. The action of Reason slowly helps to discern what is of "self" and what is of spirit. The self must die, and it is truly a mercy killing. Acquisition: the pursuit of happiness and striving for perfection. Self-preservation and the denial of death. When survival becomes a necessity, life becomes a burden. How we carry this "burden"--with pride or complaint, stoically or head bent--gives a sense of worth no matter which way we choose. None of these are helpful. All are mistaken. The only "burden" we have is our vanity. Spirit is weightless. Self-sacrifice. All sacrifices that we make, for God or others, have as their end one purpose: to realize we have nothing to lose. In Truth, all that we can lose is that which stands in the way of expressing our innermost truth. Changing the world: social reform and responsibility (the Judas-syndrome). This has to be Numero Uno of the three most insidious, let's call them, distractions to the Way of Love. And it brings up for me what I see as an excellent illustration of how easy it is to go astray while at the same time feeling the best you have ever felt about yourself. Not knowing the end of things allows for those extremely subtle, split-hair diversions that exponentially draw us away from Truth. Back in the mid-eighties, I was blessed with sobriety after fifteen years of problem drinking. Those early years felt like my first introduction to life as it was really meant to be lived. I was gradually waking up from a long sleep and nearly everyday seemed to bring yet another startling epiphany. One of the grandest "awakenings" during that period is this quotation I want to share with you as an illustration. I wish I could remember where I read it, but here it is verbatim: If you wish to change the world, first change yourself. And if you have changed yourself, you have done your best to change the world. Those words shook the very foundations of my soul, and it took a few years before I could see what I came to see as a slight yet nonetheless devastating error. For me, the subtle diversion, that misplaced step, comes in the line "change yourself." No one has done this. No one can do this. It is not up to us to change ourselves; we are to seek surrender to God and principles and allow those to work on us through our meek assent. Working on our character defects is just an unctuous rubdown for an achy ego. It is, as Henry James put it, "just rearranging our prejudices. Fundamental change comes in becoming who we already are in essence. Any self-improvements we actively pursue and install are barriers to the innermost truth of our soul. As grand, necessary, and gracious those difficult and costly "improvements" we make may appear, there is something far, far better within that only require us to let go of our busy-ness. We allow what is best to come forth. We discover Truth, our unique expression, we do not create it. In the end those attempts to change ourselves are just another venue of social reform: ways to better fit in, deal with, or succeed in society. Ego--the hub of worldliness, not the center of The Eternal--is still in control. Taking control will always take away what is best...no matter what precious good it seems to bring. Sorry for that lengthy aside. To continue Nothing happens to us and nothing happens for us; it all happens within us, at the hub of our worldliness. Cruelty and injustice is not "out there." The enemy is us, the "self" we have created. Our bondage to "self" is the only cruelty and injustice in this life. Once we are free from this sincere delusion, nothing can harm us and we are at complete liberty to lovingly serve and give to the needy. Looking for innovations in religious, political, and educational doctrine, looking "out there" for the problem, distances us from the kingdom of God within. Fear not. Be still. Turn, and become as little children. Being in control of ourselves, one of ego's primary weapons in the fight for its survival. This is insidious. It is based on the inner struggle for survival by the ego over the pull towards death by the kingdom of God within. Letting go is literally seen as suicide. And so it is, but it is a just and merciful death. Self-improvement. We are made in the image and likeness of God, partakers of the divine nature: what's to improve? Stand ye still. You do not have to fight this battle. Surrender to the kingdom of God within you. What is for 11) The many belief systems in all their endless variety. These are truly a form of righteous insanity. The freedom of belief is contrary to the truth of who we are in essence. We have no such freedom in reality. We are not simply a unique expression of God, we are a precise expression as well. Clinging to beliefs blocks this expression and burdens the soul. The test of our Truth is not standing up for what we believe but simply standing in the kingdom of God within us, allowing the unchanging and immovable Eternal witness solely for Love. Love is beyond belief. Love is the end of all belief. It alone stands for Truth, for Love is the whole purpose of Truth. Beliefs are, at best, like seeds for our transformation; each must die to draw forth out of our earthly soul the actuality of our divine potential, the flower of our being. No seed can grow if we do not let it go. It is not to trust in the seed as life but in the new life it can bring with its death. Surrender is the soil of transformation, where we drop the seed, for it alone has the necessary nutrients of change. And if the seed is good, Love will take care of the rest. But the vast majority of beliefs are not seeds. Many are no more than pre-approved judgments about the nature of life based on past experiences, the most jaded of views. This is a severe form of spiritual myopia. But in the "small" world of this mindset it seems like they are seeing the big picture, albeit a re-run. Geography takes up the largest portion of nearly every belief, a mere happenstance of birth the largest determining factor for what is thought of as Truth. Seeking to overcome loss, failure, and disillusionment instead of opening to these things and looking deeply, discerning the true source of all our earthly woes that these tools of awareness actually seek to un-earth. I will stop here for the list is nearly endless. age>