See What Kind of Love

See What Kind of Love

Michael J. Langlais

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Introduction

There Is Peace in Love

Perfect Peace

See What Kind of Love

Perfect Love

Happy Are They

Where is the Kingdom

The Kingdom is Within You

The Above is the Within

Only Life

The One Life

How is Your Heart?

Supersubstantial Bread

In God

Love Is Keeping

Sent Before

Change Your Mind

Practical Religion

The Stillness Within

Crucified With Christ

Behold

Your Strength

On Fear

Happy Exchange

On Giving and Receiving

Sell All

Be Still (Notes on a Pandemic)

The Spirit of Love

Now

The Resistance

Right Judgment

If You Hear His Voice

God Is Still Calling

Perpetual Pentecost

The Classroom of the Spirit

Seize the Present Moment

The Light in You

Are You Serious?

Like and Dislike

Tell Me What I Want to Hear

On Cheap and Costly Grace

Let It Be

Peaceful Acceptance

Today’s Trouble

Judging by Appearance

Just Look but Don’t Touch

Just Look but Don’t Touch

To Watch and Pray

Clearing the Inner Ground

Practicing the Presence

Perpetual Resistance

Less of Me More of God

Appendix: On Metanoia  in Practicing the Presence

Copyright © 2021  Michael L. Langlais

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, by photography, or any other means, by broadcast or transmission, by translation into any kind of language, nor by recording electronically or otherwise, without permission in writing from the author.

Original cover artwork, Starlight Roses, by Rebecca Langlais

Design by Sue Stein

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to all my teachers who, over the many years of my spiritual journey, have provided light upon the path. I also wish to say thank you to the members of my congregation at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for whom the messages making up this book were originally delivered. If you should ever meet one of them, you will know they are a disciple of the Living Jesus by the love they have for others.

Special heartfelt thanks to my spouse, Mary. She helped me believe that putting my scattered writings into book form was possible. Her continual support, encouragement and reassurance helped me to believe in myself as an author with something worthwhile to say. Companions now for nearly fifty years, her kind and cheerful disposition and unconditional love have provided a peaceful and nurturing home wherever we have travelled together over these many years. More than she knows, Mary is my constant source of strength and meaning in life, for she is the embodiment of love, and love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Her love is my greatest treasure in life, greater even than faith and hope.

I am pleased to be able to share with you a little sampling of the artwork of our daughter, Rebecca Langlais. Her piece entitled Starlight and Roses, part of a larger abstract work, graces the cover of this book. Much of her artwork beautifies our home and has brought us much enjoyment and spiritual edification over the years. Thank you, Becca! https://etsy.me/2HaDWlq

Many thanks to my friend and spiritual brother Dan Bridge for the many hours of edifying conversation, and for sharing his deep understanding of spiritual things. Dan helped me to see my work through another set of eyes. His contribution to this project reminds me of the proverbial saying, As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17).

My heartfelt thanks to Sue Stein (suesteinauthor.com) for her expert formatting and design skills. Without her thought-full and adept handling of my manuscript the book you hold in your hands would never have taken proper shape. Sue is a true professional in every sense of the word. Thank you, Sue, for helping this project bear fruit.

To Our Children

Michael D. Langlais, Daniel L. Langlais,

Rachel L. Franchilli, Rebecca E. Langlais,

Matthew J. Langlais.

For their unconditional love and

for making Mary and me better people

as we learned along the way

how to raise and nurture

such beautiful human beings.

INTRODUCTION

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we

should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason

why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

—1 John 3:1

The kingdom of God is within you.

—Luke 17:21

The book you hold in your hands is no more than a collection of fragments. It is not a theological or philosophical treatise, a metaphysical journal, or volume of sermons. It is, rather, a gathering of the remains or emblems of spiritual experiences received in meditation on the word of the Living Jesus. So there are no doctrines or creeds or confessions to be found herein, but the trace of an arc of light leading inward to the gate of the kingdom of God. This memorial of the inner journey was one result of a deep probing of the hidden spiritual meaning of some texts of Holy Scripture according to the pattern of inquiry given in the texts themselves, and according to the pattern revealed through the apostle Paul: "My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:4-7). It is this secret and hidden wisdom of which Paul speaks that is the true subject of these symbols, and the fragments that are given here, by the very nature of the subject, can only be partial and suggestive pointers to the dimension of Spirit that underlies them.

As you will soon discover, the language and message of these writings are not in the plausible form of accepted discourse of either philosophy or theology, as these disciplines are practiced in professional and academic circles. Neither are they much of an expression of literary elegance or poetic persuasion. What they are however, to whatever degree, is a demonstration of the spiritual power of an interior realization of the divine presence. These writings, however inadequate in literary form, are the outward expression of an inner reality that is perfect and complete. It is only my own formal want of literary style, and flawed expression, that limits their effectiveness. And yet they retain something of the movement of Spirit that gave them birth. They are pointers to the ineffable, signs on the way to the inner realm of Spirit, breadcrumbs on the path toward self-realization and fulfillment in the One. They are in no way an invitation to rest your faith in the wisdom of men, or the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, all of which is passing away. Rather, these texts will be for some an opening, a doorway, or the removal of an aporia that will not only invite, but allow, entry into the secret and hidden wisdom of God, divinely decreed before the ages, and awaiting your approach to the inner garden of the heart

In concert with the book preceding this one, The Secret Garden of the Heart: Inklings of the New Christianity, this one too is a harbinger of a new form of the Christ revelation now beginning to dawn. This new form is the present expression of ancient and perennial truth at the heart of all the world’s religions. The esoteric nature of all the world’s religions, shorn of their temporal forms, is one. The outer forms that divide are falling away. The inner spiritual teaching of the Living Jesus is coming to the fore. The Spirit of Truth is arising. Truly, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him (John 4:23). Did not the Master say, When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me, and, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come" (John 15:26, 16:13). This was not a single event happening in a long ago past age, this is the perpetual Pentecost taking place here and now. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear are going into the kingdom now.

There Is Peace in Love

Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me,

even so I am sending you.

—John 20:21

Jesus spoke these words during His post-resurrection appearances to the disciples. Three times, John records, the word peace is spoken by the Master (εἰρήνη: eirēnē). It is a beautiful word, the root of which is the primary verb εἴρω: eírō, to join). To have peace is to somehow be joined to the Living Jesus, the Christ of God. One of the outcomes of peace is to obtain a tranquil state of mind and heart. But truly this is secondary to the primary meaning, join. What does it mean to be joined to Christ?

To state the obvious, it does not mean any kind of physical joining. Neither does it mean to be united in doctrine or teaching, although that is another secondary meaning. To be joined (eírō) with the Living Lord means to be onein Spirit.

Now, the realm of the Real is the realm of the Spirit. The outer world is passing away. It had a beginning and will have an end. Therefore, because only the Eternal is Real—the beginningless and endless realm of the Divine—the only reality is the inner realm of Spirit. To be one with the Living Jesus is to partake in the divine qualities of the Eternal Life that is God. So how does one receive the grace of being one in Spirit with the Lord?

The answer is in the realization that the Spirit of the Lord is a present reality within your own soul. St Paul leads us there when he says in 1 Corinthians 3:16 (cf. John 2:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22):  "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" Here is the key to understanding what it means to be one in the Spirit with the Living Christ. The Master said that the Kingdom of God is within you, and where the Kingdom is, there also is the King! So you must go within, into the Holy of Holies, where you will find the altar of the heart prepared for the Real Presence of Christ. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Make some time each day to sit in a quiet place, and turn your attention within. In the Inner Sanctum of your being, what the Psalmist calls "the secret place of the Most High (Psalm 91:1), wait in the stillness and listen. Have some favorite passage of God’s word in your mind and ponder it while you sit quietly and wait for the Lord. He has promised to come to you: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20); I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18); that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (John 17:21-23). I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

This is the secret of the Peace of which Jesus spoke, Peace be with you. It is that peace that surpasses the human mind’s ability to comprehend and understand. Peace is the state of being joined as one in the Spirit with the Living Jesus. It is the finding of your true eternal self (Soul), the realization of intimate union and communion with God. Just quiet your anxious mind, go within, and in the stillness, listen for the Lord. Patiently wait and listen. You need not ask Him for anything. He will come and satisfy every true need. Beloved, go into the Secret Garden often, and you will find rest for your soul. May it be so, for each and every one of us!

Perfect Peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

—Isaiah 26:3

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. In our text from Isaiah this word is repeated twice in succession. The doubling of the word implies that it is perfect, whole, complete.

Perfect and complete shalom depends upon the grace of God working in us. Our text says God will provide and keep us in perfect peace. Apart from God the best we can do for ourselves is to obtain temporary and imperfect peace. The world offers only brief and incomplete moments of peace. It is a peace that does not last. It is peace we cannot keep. It is far from perfect. Why?

When our mind is occupied with worldly things—the worries of life, fear of sickness and disease, preoccupation with the accumulation of wealth and material things, anxiety over a lack or insufficiency of the things we need, obsession with entertainment and spectacle as a means of escape, and a host of other worries, cares, and felt needs—there can be no peace. The mind is focused on those things that cannot give peace. The mind is constantly filled with distraction and fleeting satisfaction. The mind is restless, yearning, and troubled much of the time. And we wonder why we do not have peace!

If you wish to enjoy perfect peace, whole and complete, you must listen carefully to the word of God and heed its instruction. The scripture tells us that only they have perfect peace whose mind is stayed on God. The Hebrew word is sä·mak’, and it means to lean upon, to take hold of, to establish. That is, the mind must one-pointedly fix its attention upon and establish itself in God. We must put our total reliance upon God: not the idea of God, not a teaching about God, and not upon what God can do for us. No. We must place our sole attention and reliance upon God Himself. Nothing other than sole dependence upon Godself will do. This is an act of spiritual trust, and it is founded upon love for God before all else.

This kind of dedicated reliance upon God requires the special grace of surrender. You must realize your complete inability to help yourself in your striving for perfect peace. The Master said: "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). Jesus Himself relied totally upon His heavenly Father: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise (John 5:19). The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works" (John 14:10). How much more, then, must we realize that we cannot do anything without the Spirit of the Father and the Son working in and through us?

So empty your mind of all the worldly thoughts, anxieties, and fears that inhabit (possess!) it. Then go empty before the Lord. Your mind will become stayed on God when, in surrender of your will to His will, you fill your mind with heavenly Truth out of the Word of God. First empty your mind and heart of all worldly thoughts, desires, expectations, distractions, or complaints; then go before the Living God emptied and cleansed, with nothing grasped in your hands, holding on to nothing that you think you must have for your personal welfare or happiness; nothing that you fear losing; nothing that you have stored up for the day of the locusts (Joel 1:1-4). Yes, go empty to the Lord of all earthly care, all human fear and anxiety, all carnal thoughts and with a pure mind and heart be filled with grace and peace!

Then, day in and day out, imbue your mind with Truth from the Word of God. The Word is Truth and Light and will fill you with wisdom and understanding. Focus your mind on spiritual things. Dwell often in the silence within. Be still and listen for the Lord’s guiding. Be often in the divine Presence. Be patient and rest in Him. Be in the world but not of it. And always, always, keep your mind stayed on God. Then you will experience God’s shalom shalom—His perfect Peace, complete, full, whole, and never-failing! May it be so, for each and every one of us!

See What Kind of Love

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

—1 John 3:1

The love of which John speaks is unknown in the world. It does not originate here nor have any place here. This is because the world does not know God. The worldling thinks he knows love but his love is not love but something else. It is love in name only. It is a pale imitation. It is self-love. So what kind of love is the love of the Father? How can we know it?

It is revealed through John that the love of the Father must be seen. It requires vision. But how can one see love? What is this seeing? The Greek word is ὁράω (horaō) It simply means to see. But we know that there is a seeing that is truly blindness. We know that there is a hearing that is truly deafness: "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not (Jeremiah 5:21); For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed (Matthew 13:15); Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?" (Mark 8:18). The eyes of the worldly are blind to the things of the Spirit. The ears of the world are deaf to the Word of God. How can we see the love of the Father? How can we hear His Word?

Since the Father is Spirit (John 4:24), His love is spiritual, and so we must see the love of the Father with the eyes of the soul. Jesus tells us what the eyes of the soul are and how spiritual vision operates when he says, "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness" (Luke 11:34). These revealed truths concerning the nature of spiritual vision, when combined with Jesus’s words about the direction of spiritual vision, give us the complete picture. Did