2 Corinthians 6:8-10 … To possess the Universe (05/09/17)
“Though treated like an impostor, remain true; though unnamed, be well known; though dying, live; though punished and persecuted, remain loving; though compassionate, continue to rejoice; though poor, make many wealthy; though having nothing, possess the Universe.” ~ Paul (2 Corinthians 6:8-10)
In each of the pairings mentioned herein, Paul seems to selflessly focus on the former while actually passive-aggressively emphasizing the self-lauding of the latter. Jesus, in direct contrast, focused his ministry solely on the former in order to use those same discomforts to empower the bringing of the latter to others in need of the same … Still, this is remains one of the handful of passages from Paul’s letters that relays some deeper Truths that he actually intended to imply – namely, the Truth that The Way wants its deeds to remain well known, not the doers thereof; along with the Truth that the only way to truly Live is to “die” in self-sacrificial service to a cause greater than one’s self (whether for another person or for a cause or for an organization makes no difference).
Of course, there are many other Truths herein that Paul probably did not intend to relay and of which he probably was not at all aware – namely the following:
A) The Truth that being treated as an imposter by members of a wicked establishment (be that establishment religious or political or financial in nature) is a sign indeed that one has found Truth (see Matthew 5:10-11) …
B) The Truth that it is only possible to become truly Loving while we are being punished &/or persecuted (along with the Truth that said power comes from extending that love to the sources of the same – see Matthew 5:43-48) …
C) The Truth that the only way to know real Joy (or true rejoicing, for that matter) is to choose to have compassionate empathy with the suffering, and then to do what one can to relieve them of the same (see Matthew 25:35-40) …
D) The Truth that we are not to know Wealth from being poor, but rather are to make others wealthy thereby – by giving them what little we have, and thereby reawakening them both to how much they actually have (life is enough) and how they too can choose to live a Life of Giving instead of a “life” of needing (see Matthew 16:28) …
E) The Truth that the only way to “possess the Universe” psychologically &/or spiritually (i.e. to feel one’s innate Interconnection with everything both within and all around) is to possess nothing physically &/or materially – no money, no objects, no relationships, no circumstances (see Matthew 19:3-4) — to revel fully in those circumstances we do experience and those individuals we do encounter, and yet to do so selflessly; Loving them completely without attaching at all to the same.
Amen … Let it be so.
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