We tend to strive for coherence. I hear myself and others trying to 'explain' ourselves often, ducking and diving through words and feelings to connect pieces of circumstances and soul for that cohesive whole we call 'self'.
The slightest action or reaction out of our control or foresight, makes us question again who exactly we are, makes us justify and defend... Jesus was the most coherent and disparate man that ever lived. He is regarded as holy, and yet by human terms there was no man more divisive and direct in his claims about self and his teaching. Jesus was meek and threatening (Mt12:20; Lk 12:4-5), healing and hurtful (Mt 12:15; Mt 15:26), shrewd and saving. (John 8:1-11) He lived this and explained this by saying that he did only what the Father did, in real time (John 5:19), and that he was, in fact, in the Father, and the Father in him. (John 10:37) Jesus offers you this freedom. He calls you to walk with him to and through crucifixion of self, by faith in him, and your 'togetherness', your shell and tomb, will shatter, and your spirit will soar with him, now and forevermore. 'The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.' (John 3:8)
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Remember, the door we walked through that robbed life of life, was the door of 'knowledge...' (Gen 3:5-6)
We took all that life was, and demanded it to submit to our mind, our pride, and in doing so we lost life's eternal essence. Life is so short now. Solomon writes, 'With the increase of knowledge, is the increase of sorrow.' (Eccl 1:18) The door of death, is not the same as the door back to life. We walked out the door of knowledge, but we come back to life, to eternal life, through a spirit door. Jesus said, 'I am the door. He who enters through me will be saved.' (John 10:9) Jesus also said that his words were 'spirit and life' (John 6:63), and to be born of the spirit, was 'like the wind'. (John 3:8) Do you want to blow free? Do you want more than what can be contained in your own head, and reduced to reason? Do you want what mind, body, soul and love are made of? Lift your eyes in faith to Jesus Christ, and ask to walk free today. 'He who believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.' (John 7:38) Words matter.
We know it is true, but forget. Words are like bricks that pave our path. Words we speak over ourselves, over others, over our soul. One famous proverbs says, 'The tongue has the power of life and death...' (Pr 18:21) The most important words we speak, are 'true' words that God has spoken over us. Salvation itself is bound up in this. It is as if words spoken by man touch words spoken by God, and become one. Words are our 'expressed' faith, literally. Romans 10:9 writes, 'If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.' God himself is described as 'Word'. (John 1:1) Our existence is God's spoken word, and we are 'sustained by his powerful word.' (Heb 1:3) We are told that this 'Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.' (John 1:14) God does not stop there. He has more words and truths to speak over your life in a personal way. He has a 'secret name' for you (Rev 2:17), and a hiding place for you. (Col 3:3; Eph 2:6; Ps 32:7) God has a universe of Grace for you to live and move in now, that even present realities cannot touch or defy. (Ps 91:7; 2 Cor 12:9; 2 Cor 10:3-5) Let God's word truly live in you, and build your own life in and through this living word. 'My words are spirit, and they are life.' (Jesus, John 6:63) Take one minute and consider.
Heaven is a place where every hurt is healed. Every one. Hurts done to you; and even more comforting, hurts done by you. Fear is gone. Danger is no more. People are 'like angels' and every word and deed is true. Light is from God himself, brighter than the sun. We are told there is 'no more death, mourning, sorrow or tears.' New hearts, spirits, and all things 'made new'. There is one scar in heaven, however, that remains. It remains so that yours will be forever gone. When John saw Jesus on earth, he said, 'Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' (John 1:29) This same John, caught up into heavenly vision, tells us that he sees this same lamb on the throne, 'looking as if he had been slain.' Jesus called himself our 'friend', and he called himself the 'door' to salvation. He invited us to enter through him, through faith, to eternal life. Reach out to Jesus, and let his scar heal yours, now and forevermore. 'If anyone believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.' (John 7:38) (Rev 21:1-5; Rev 22:1-5; Mt 22:30; Ez 36:26; Rev 5:6; John 15:13-15; 10:9) 'How 'bout not equating death with stopping...' (Alanis Morissette, 'Thank U')
We fear to slow, and stop. We fear it, because it can be the picture of either the serene, peaceful, or the despairing, deceased. This morning I was thinking on a famous verse in the Bible. A short verse, that I have seen on bookmarks and stickers since I was a kid. It says, 'Be still and know that I am God.' (Psalm 46:10) Imagine, for a moment, that God is speaking this to you. Right now in the midst of your life, your pressures, your fears. You have questions, but God answers, 'Be still, my child. Rest. I hold you. I see. I know.' Also, in this moment, God gently tilts our chin upward, lifts our eyes to his. He not only calls us to be still, but directs our hearts and minds towards himself, '... and know that I am God.' Today let Christ speak this line to you. Let your questions sail away from your mind, and let God's spirit and presence be the answer. Be still for a moment, and know that he is God. Getting out of bed is rough! This morning I thought it was Saturday, but no, it is Thursday. I had to reset my sights quickly, with intention, and it really did matter.
If I did not plug into Thursday, my 5 kids would not be woken up, nor my wife; and 2 employers and 5 school-kid schedules would have been in disarray. But getting up hurts every morning, every day! I have to plug in my faith every morning, every day, and it hurts, too. It grates against my mind, my reason. Often, before I even open my eyes, I recite to myself Psalm 73:25-26, and other verses like Psalm 36:9, Psalm 27:4 and Job 19:25-27. I do this because I know it is true. I have similar disciplines in my mind and heart to stay true in my marriage, honorable online, disciplined in exercise. These straight lines are hard to walk, and often take much self-talk, reminders and support from others. It amazes me and comforts me that Jesus called for faith. Jesus himself had to work to see (Mark 8:22-26), and to hear (Mark 7:37), and told us we would be the same. (Isaiah 6:9) Paul 'strained ahead' (Phil 3:12-14), and we are told to 'fight' and 'strive'. (1 Tim 6:12; Heb 4:11) The prophet 'longs' and 'yearns' to see (Isaiah 26:9), and Paul tells us to 'fix our eyes, not on what is seen...' (2 Cor 4:18) This 'narrow path', as Jesus said, is the one that is hard to walk but leads to life. The broad and easy road, the one that comes naturally to human nature, is the one that 'many take' and 'leads to death'. (Matthew 7:13-14) People's approval and rejection on the surface, are often the exact opposite under the surface.
A friend might write a reference for another friend, but he would not hire him. An employer might resist your values and fire you, but would trust no one more highly with his real treasures. Judas might betray Jesus with a kiss, but would bet his soul on that same Jesus. What heart deposit do you really leave with people? (John 2:24; 2 John 1:6; John 8:31-32; Luke 12:4-5, 8-9) I was brought up a 'missionary kid', or 'MK', as they say. I saw more of the world by the age of 9 than I've seen since, or will see again. I had already lived on 2 ships at that point, and in the countries of Iran, Belgium, the US and Turkey, and been to and through 49 countries.
Two things move me most powerfully in continuing to make the message of Jesus known. First, I do it because it honors God, and rings out a heavenly song and impact. (Eph 3:10; 2 Cor 2:15) Secondly, the message and spirit of Jesus brings life to the hurting and discouraged. I see crumbling buildings and crumbling hearts on all sides, all continents, all ages and eras. Jesus Christ is not just a message but a spirit of living hope, and resurrection power. Stop to think about it, for 1 minute. I dare you. Zone everyone out, every cent of debt and profit. Dial it all off, till you can only feel and hear your own heartbeat. Now, turn your own self off. Lift your heart to God and ask him if he is, who he is, and are you on course in this life.
'Without faith it is impossible to please God. Anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.' (Hebrews 11:6) I'm not talking about hustling. Or strategically losing battles to win the war. There is a place for this kind of shrewd dealing, but it is still just classic 'dealing', survival and competition.
There is another 'win' - the complete and powerful 'win' - that comes through complete and painful 'loss'. It seems contradictory in terms, because it is. The paradigm and the power comes through the story and the spirit of Jesus Christ. Christ found his truest purpose in losing self, so that we might be found. He asked God to save him from this pain (Mt 27:46), but saw a 'joy' up ahead that carried him through. (Heb 12:2) He poured himself out, 'became nothing' (Phil 2:6), became 'sin' (2 Cor 5:21), so that we might become 'righteousness'. His glory, his accomplishment, was to lose himself to and through us. We are told that the full mystery of God is revealed in this: ‘Christ in you.’ (Col 1:27) So his glory, his destiny, was to fade and disappear into others. So he lost, and I won. And yet deep down, through the dark corridors of pain and death, Christ also came into his consummated destiny. No one remains in loss. For this reason, Jesus teaches us, to lose ourselves to him (Mk 8:34-38), and to expend ourselves in and through others. (Phil 2:17) This is the way of Christ, and the trap door to spiritual, eternal freedom. |
AuthorPeter Walker. I hope you enjoy these reflections. Please feel free to comment!:) Archives
February 2024
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