Under the Shade
It has not rained in these few weeks of sitting under this same Carob tree, the sky cloudless, the temperature couldn’t be better, and not a thought in my mind was sheltered from the Truth. The battle between the insect of claws and stingers, have long since played out, and the outcome not recognized, for in life, the one that owns, sometimes loses. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, and ownership doesn’t necessarily mean the right to own. In this life, contained in the cosmos, stuff wasn’t made to come to pass the way each thought it should, nor should it, for if we get what we want, what challenges are left? Those of us that see ourselves through an out-of-body experience; can look inwardly with objection and honesty, will understand that reaching beyond the known, moves us forward. It’s not a matter of which scorpion won, it only matters what’s done with the results, whether we think we lose or come out on top, matters none, but what can be done with what’s left can, at times, changes a person’s life forever.
So I remain in this same place pondering on Life, and what God can use in it to teach me to live Life more abundantly.
For the things that I’d thought were good or right, seemed to have been the other way around, and that which I believed to be wrong or bad, seemed to have always taught me something that made a true inward change, again turning me around. For Jesus spoke, and spoke often, about the first being last; and the last were made to be first. This was a hard saying for me in those years preceding, and after His death, for this ideal was not taught before He was revealed, therefore, at times, when we think that all has been overcome, the Truth begins to expose itself with a completely different discloser.
He that tries saving his life; that is with his own efforts, will lose it, but those of us willing to lose our life for His sake, will then be shown the Truth in abundant living. I now see that that which I thought to be right, as in the time when I cut off the ear of the priest’ servant, was what I thought, without considering what the Lord thought, and needless to say, what the servant thought. But was quickly shown the error of my ways, but gently, when wholeness was returned back to him by Jesus, with the exact opposite of the ramblings of my mind.
My heart was steered one way, and then at the same time, my mind another direction; and all this going on within me was accepted as normal, but when the teachings of Christ were revealed and accepted, and began to be mind placed in its’ rightful position, then what was left was a cool drink from the stream, on a hot summer’s day. It had seemed that the more I relaxed, the more the Truth began to be revealed.
It is now close to dark, as only a hint of gray hung over the haze that began to form in the valley below; and the understandings discovered within the quietness of my heart, flowed as if music resonated thru my spirit, I was at peace. Like David, my cup began to run over.
I’ll admit that in my younger years, and while admitting, just some few years back, I saw the parables and doings of Jesus from the outer view, and now can say with certainty; I had missed, back then, most of the deeper Truths. Seeing the pharisee within each man, that is ourselves, is not a harsh thing, but a fact; for none of us escape the fact that the flesh of man has no lasting value. And understanding that the flesh wants to be known, is superficial, even in its core, and cannot in any wise resist to be seen, except that Christ begins to rein, and that is not just some people, but all. For laying down our lives to follow Him, is then, to take that ‘old man’, the pharisee, sitting him aside and walking away from the selfish wants, while changing the way we think, and then following Him that is the only begotten Son of God, which we also are sons. Can the pharisee enter into the kingdom of God? The answer is no. For flesh and blood cannot enter, but since the will of the flesh will never be allowed, and as long as he prevails, we cannot in this life see the true value of His Kingdom. When our flesh dies, the pharisee goes with him, and only Spirit remains, but in this life, as long as the pharisee exits, we can only have existence, but without victory. The pharisee represents the man that cannot evolve into that which God has created all to be.
Liken unto what we just spoke about; the parable of the ten virgins, is likewise of the same way of thinking, that is, changing our mind, (repenting), is one and the same, and must also be viewed from within. All these years, I was thinking it was about getting in, or, so-to-speak, missing the boat, but it too relates to the flesh that wars against the Spirit from within man.
There were ten virgins called for into a wedding, five foolish, and five wise, and even though this parable, when given to us by Jesus, has an earthly meaning, it was many years later before I began to understand the truer and deeper value of it, for the parable itself, was speaking to me, about me. It starts off as:
“The Kingdom of heaven is likening to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.” Let’s me stop for a moment and point out that ‘five’ means the five senses of man, and it is evident that all ten were in their flesh, but five of them were consumed with it, foolish, that is, the flesh; and other five understood a deeper esoteric value that goes beyond the superficial, and called wise in the way they think, or see things.
“Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out and meet him!’ Again I stop, mostly to show others the error of the way, that for more than a decade, I understood this the wrong way out, and in fact, didn’t comprehend it at all until my life slowed down enough to begin to see a far more profound significance. The oil represents a valued substance, things of the Spirit, a deeper way of thinking and viewing the things of this world. The foolish took ‘their lamps’, (a means of light), that is; a desire to have a different way of viewing life, but did not take that of which makes it glow, (the oil), rendering it useless. All ten slept, and all heard the midnight call to come to the bridegroom, and since he was delayed, for whatever of the many reasons, five took not the time or willingness for preparation.
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered saying; ‘no, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go rather to those that sell, and buy for yourselves.’” They all arose, and again, all wanted a better life, or more properly said; a deeper way of viewing life, so all ten trimmed their lamps, (the product of enlightening), but five made no progress in the development of the way they thought, so had no reference, no desire for insight. To light their lamps, just having only the lamp, which is worthless without that different way of understanding life, a deeper approach to its truer meanings; the oil, they were blind to follow in the darkness because of it.
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those that were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Afterwards, the other virgins came also, saying; Lord, Lord, open to us! But he answered and said: ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” Look here, and see that which I’d also missed. First of all the five foolish was sent back to the world in which they were so much involved with, and were told to have them, the earthly way of thinking, to correct their problem, which it can’t. And through some other means of thinking found what they thought was the invited wedding, but weren’t allowed in because of that thinking. They viewed life from its outward form, worldly way of thinking, and had no inward revelation of the richness of the Spirit, and were told that only those that understand Truth are within; and so were rejected. Not because they weren’t as special, God forbid, but because they possessed not the esoteric understanding of Truth, and entering in would be impossible, and even if they could, which they can’t, would have zero knowledge of what was going on. Lacking the Spirit of Truth was a decision which was never ventured. The door was shut, but notice here, that the bridegroom didn’t shut it, they shut it on themselves.
When Jesus gave us this parable, and all the others, each of us acted as if they were understood, when in fact, they weren’t, but retained in our hearts for the right display of meaning, or rather when we were able to grab a hold on them. In my early thirties I heard, in my mid-forties I began to develop into them, so I thought, but not until my late fifties did I truly apprehend each parable for what it truly was; a story about me.
John and Matthew spent a lot of time discussing these stories of ancient language, and often attempted to divide them in the text of what a parable really is; and at times, I would join in, and discerning little, but I still kept them stored in my heart.
So every now and again, I would ponder on the values of such stories of old, the parables, and again thought them to be for their face value, and would often see a resemblance between those people talked about, and me, but could not put it together; that it was about me, until my life slowed down enough to listen. For intellectually I heard, and received little, but when heard thru the Spirit, it all began to make sense, for then that seed that was planted, germinated, initiated into growth, until its’ sprout burst thru, that even in spite of the flesh, they grew through. For even in my mind, that is my earthly mind, had grasped this new and starling meaning of Life, and even now I see these values thru the dawning of a new day. Wonder what’s left to behold?
There were days, and several of them, that we’d go to Jesus and asked why He would speak to us in parables, and He answered and said unto us: “Because it has been given unto you to know the mysteries of heaven, but them, others, it has not been given. For whosoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see…”
Back then, the time I was listening, he said that I was hearing and seeing, but of a truth, I had little knowledge of what was being spoken, and at that time; knowing Him, I believed it to be true, with little knowledge of the teachings; and thinking Him, I was to be in error, but instead, these sayings, in spite of my thinking, were being hid in my heart, and Jesus knew it. I was being blessed, even without the understanding of being blessed, sometimes I wish that He was still here so I could thank Him, and then I realize; He is.
Again looking at the parable of the sower, once again, in these later years, I seized the deeper meaning of the true value of what was really being said. I’d like to take a look at it from a different prospective than what I once heard a man, calling himself a preacher, stand before a crowd and disseminate countless hours about. I had met this particular man several times earlier, and knew him to sell himself, or rather the Gospel, for profit, a profound clairvoyant. In one event, as walking close to his quarters, I saw and heard him rehearsing to the wind his next day sermon, shaping each word to look as if what was being preached about, was true, but in fact, when God gives, the words come as if natural from the Spirit. Anyway, I‘d like to look at this parable of the sower with the prospective of what God has been teaching me, and maybe see if I can shed a little light from a different angle.
Jesus spoke as us twelve were gathered listening, and, at the time, not fully understanding, but again storing, waiting on His later guidance. “Behold, a sower went out to sow (seed), and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choke them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
To hear this parable, and to understand it as a farmer sowing seed, has but little value, and probably, in itself, as of how to plant, was not something that Jesus was concerned about. So as I began to think on this, a new revelation initiated new growth in me. And besides, the word seed was never mentioned by Him. My idea was; if Jesus spoke about it, the words were worth listening to, for idle talk was not something He did. That meant to me, at least in my way of consideration, that since most of all that was spoken by Him was in the forwarding of the Kingdom of God, or you could say, the Kingdom of Heaven - the same thing; I would listen.
By-the-way, what I’ve seen in my study of the parables has not been rehearsed, nor do I speak to the sky, but instead, this is the very thing talked about wherever I go, and at times, sometimes often; folks understood.
Let me establish that this and the other parables were about the Kingdom that God has set into place, not necessarily for the life beyond, but as life now, as He establishes His Kingdom in each for our walk on this earth.
As previously mentioned, Jesus told us, when asked, that parables were given so those that sought the Truth and would hear, leaving all others to only hear the surface, and in the above parable He authenticates this to all by giving its’ interpretation.
“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches it away what was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the wayside. But he who received seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who receives seed on good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty.
Whether it is rocky ground, thorns, or even the wayside, I see different aspects of the same man, different emotional and physical properties that man, either of himself or through his environment, has been placed in him thru this world of attitudes and viewpoints. A part of man, which is given by God as natural, wants to hear that which He is speaking, and so hungers for His voice, but when heard, is easily overridden by the wickedness and doubts of this world.
The man whose ears and heart are of stony ground, readily hears Gods’ Word and immediately receives It with joy, but has no depth in his heart because the fears and worries, or even the opinions from others, stumbles by the never ending, unrelentless darts that are thrown by this world and its problems. Although stone is use as a foundation, and at times, these tribulations can bring about change, it is also resistant to weathering with its hardness, and some say coldness. This particular part of man has no room to set roots, therefore rises quickly, and withers just as rapidly.
The cares of this world and all that it persuades to offer is represented by the thorns; for the sacrifice the world asks for is at the expense of merited living, and will never suffice. The riches that one seeks need not be extravagant, for it the seeking that debilitates, and thus causing a belief in the world’s deceitfulness, again choking out God’s Word with its’ lies.
Although God is a jealous God, he chooses not to compete with the world that is called enmity, and does not reveal His mysteries to those that choose otherwise. Therefore, whether His seed fell on the wayside, stones, or among our thorns, Gods’ secrets will not be revealed until we turn from the old man that lives within our flesh, and then back to Him, from whence we came.
Each child, man, or woman, is created in the image of God, in His similitude, and have been given, what has been described; good ground, and therefore worthy to turn back to that right to obtain all of His formulation since creation, the right to be called the sons of God. That part of man, the part not involved in their flesh, who can hear His Word and indeed bear fruit and, produce after our own kind. We then have root in ourselves that produce fruit that remains; good ground. There are four different types of ground represented here, all of the same man; may it be you or me, that expose itself at one time or another, but the harmony of the ‘good ground’ is that place where man and God are one.
As long as man lives in his flesh, and caters to it, and allows its selfish desires to be attended too, we therefore are living under the rules of the flesh, and this will always fall under one of the categories of wayside, stony, or thorny ground. But when that which is sown falls upon our ‘good ground’, it is received with joy and understanding that remains.
Every man born; was born to walk with God, and even those that forsake Him, or even desecrate Him, have the same void, the same emptiness, the same loneliness that yearns to be one with Him, and searches, and at times unwillingly searches, for the same reconciliation with the God that created us. We are His children, and, somewhere or sometime, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ and Lord of all.
So I say, that whether it be of thorny ground, or rocky ground, or even the wayside of our lives, if we understand these different aspects of our lives, we are then positioned to find our good ground with reconciliation, and are much more able to allow his Word to fall upon that already fertile garden of our being.
A person doesn’t have to have an expanded knowledge of the things of God, nor does he have to hear from Him daily to be prepared ‘good ground’, but he does have to turn loose of this world and the smokescreen of what it pretends to offer, and have an inward yearning for the things of God; His seed.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is in our heart. Not out yonder, but here within the living man. Those that ask, seek, and knock upon His door; revelations begin to flow.