Love is the Greatest Law

In every spiritual journey, there come questions about how to live your life that is best in keeping with living a conscious and Soul infused life. Of course, humanity has pondered these questions since the dawn of time.

There are in every religion guidelines and rules that were created to help in those decisions of what is right, what is good. These guidelines often direct what is expected in a variety of situations or circumstances.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

In fact, many religion’s Holy Books contain a myriad of rules and regulations, laws that must be followed or at least considered by those who wish to live a spiritual life. However, guiding your life by laws and rules does not guarantee that you do what is right.

Some of these Laws are timeless. Some of the Laws are archaic and seem irrelevant in modern times, needing interpretation even to be understandable. It may be easier to think that all that is required of you to live a spiritual life is to “follow the rules” however, there is a higher calling. That is to let Love be your guiding law.

Although it is helpful to have guidelines for your behavior, sometimes rules can become an obstacle to living a life that brings you into ever-increasing awareness and expression of your Soul. As I write this post and meditate upon what helps or hinders us as human beings, it seems that just following laws takes you away from what living a spiritual life is all about.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAWS

When you consider these laws, I find it easiest if you divide laws into different types of laws.

Some laws are rules and guidelines for right human relationships, such as the 10 Commandments, a mix of guidance for what you should do and what you should not do.

There are also ancient laws from the Ageless Wisdom that direct you to live by principles, which are paramount, such as Harmlessness and Right Speech. These are not “Thou Shall or Thou Shalt Not” rules of conduct, but rather ways to lead your life for greater success to bring you into Right Relationship with others.

There are also in life and nature, Laws that govern life that cannot be changed or overruled. They always apply. They are impersonal but can be used to benefit your life when you understand them and grow in consciousness and live in harmony with these laws. A simple example of this would be the Law of Gravity, which can be harnessed to help you relax in meditation. It is always there. It is always true. You can count on it.

Similarly, some universal laws or principles can be harnessed for your benefit like The Law of Attraction or the principle that “Energy Follows Thought.” These can be life enhancing and life transforming but have much broader reach than just living your life by following rules. Understanding these laws can help empower your life.

Nevertheless, there is so much more than just following rules to living a joyful, happy and prosperous life. It is much easier to follow the rules and since you do not blatantly break the rules conclude that you think you have done all that you need to do. The rules, the laws, then take the place of you needing to be in right relationship with God, with your Soul, with your fellow man.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST LAW

These thoughts and considerations between the law and love are not new. St Thomas Aquinas wrote hundreds of years ago extolling the virtue of following, not a series of rules but Love as the guideline for right action and right relationships, between people and between you and God. His teachings have often been summarized into saying, “Love God and do as you please,” or in some translations, “Love God and do as you will.”

Certainly when Jesus was asked to clarify what was most important of the many laws that the Hebrews followed when he walked upon the earth he replied, “You should Love God with all your heart, your mind, and your Soul and you should love your neighbor as yourself.” I have always found this passage in the Bible most instructive for my life.

I have long strived in my spiritual journey to let Love be the guiding principle for how I live. To use Love as the determining factor in relationships with others and with my relationship with God seems a much clearer principle than a legalistic list of rules and laws. Jesus concluded, as St. Augustine later wrote, that Love was the most important guideline for your life, not Law.

To let love be the guide in your life and behavior is a higher standard. When St. Augustine wrote, “Love God and do as you will,” he concluded that if you truly loved God, what you do would honor and respect both God and others. This is also in line with many of the guidelines that are extolled in the Ageless Wisdom of Harmlessness and Right Speech as right action.

As Jesus taught, “God is Love.” When you express Love, you are aligning with the Love that God gives to you and the Love that is the nature of your Soul. It is Love that is the nature of your Soul and Love that is the basis of the “I-Thou” relationship with God that demonstrates the unconditional grace and forgiveness that so bless a spiritual life.

There are those who say that learning to Love is the whole purpose of living. What you learn when you truly love is one of the most valuable things in the universe. It is said that Love is the most powerful force in the universe and it “sets the spheres in motion.” Learning to Love, striving to Love, especially loving unconditionally gives you a truly extraordinary life.

When Love is considered as the way to conduct your life, many positive and significant factors fall into place. This is particularly the case in relationships with others and in what is experienced in your relationship with God and relationship with your Soul. Being in right relationship with God brings with it “The Peace that Passes Understanding.” Being in relationship with your Soul brings Love into your life for Love is the very nature of your Soul. Your Soul loves you completely, understands you completely and as it aligns with your personality, your mind, and your emotions bring to you a sense of well-being that is unique and powerful.

Joy is the spontaneous response to being in right relationship with your Soul. Being guided by Love, and the wisdom of your Soul opens your life to happiness and wonder.

Your Soul is the part of your spiritual anatomy, the spark of Divine Light that has created you, that is eternally One with the Divine. No matter what you do. No matter where you go. Whether you make major failures or mistakes in life or whether you are successful beyond your dreams, this unity of your Soul with God is unlimited by space or time. It is your birthright, and it is your essential nature. And Love is the nature of your Soul and the nature of God. THEY ARE INSEPARABLE.

This basic truth makes Love always the answer, no matter what the question. If you consider this, any ethical decisions you must make in life will be the right choice when you let Love be the guide. To demonstrate Love to others in light of what is truly loving is often a challenge. To make decisions in your life that demonstrate loving yourself is often a challenge. To extend that to showing your Love for God is an even higher standard. It is these considerations that are inherent in Jesus’s two great laws and St. Augustine’s moral shortcut of “Love God and do as you will.”

It is in the consideration of Love as the director of your behavior, that all the laws of any religion are fulfilled. To let Love guide you in your decisions can transform your relationships and can transform your life into a life of greater satisfaction and joy than you can imagine. So many aspects of what is so often frustrating in relationships disappear when you give Love and return Love.

Issues of forgiveness, compassion, and understanding fall naturally into place when Love is applied. If you love God with all of your heart and your Soul and you are loving to others and loving to yourself you are automatically living in agreement with the Ten Commandments, and the rules and codes of conduct created from ancient times into the present.

By doing this you honor the “Golden Rule.” Your actions follow the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom of harmlessness and right speech. Right action and right relationships are automatic when Love guides all that you do.

Let Love be your guide and it will fulfill all the laws.
– Genevieve Gerard

Love is not passive. It is an active and dynamic force for good in the world. It is strong and supported by the Will to Good. To live Love, you are bringing peace and goodwill to the world. It starts a chain of events that makes the world a better place for all.

In today’s often violent and dangerous world, it is good to consider the strength of Love and the power of Goodwill and the “Will to Good.” Love is not weak, and it can stand up for and protect with power, but never hate or negativity. Learning how to live this aspect of Love is vital to a peaceful world. Helping others to not harm themselves or others is a part of loving intelligently with will and wisdom.

LOVE AFFIRMATION

Since “energy follows thought,” it may be helpful to say and use this affirmation when you consider how to relate with another.

“I Love You.”

By Loving You I wish for you
only what is good and beneficial to you.

In all that I am and all that I do with you
I strive to honor and respect who you are.

I know we are different people with different needs.

I love me and strive to honor and respect myself
doing what is good and beneficial for me,
physically, emotionally and mentally.

I Love God and in all that I am and all that I do
I strive to express and demonstrate that Love.