Spiritual Dynamics: The Complete Book

 

Spiritual Dynamics

The Metaphysical Realities Explained

~The Author’s Foreword

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Please Read This First 

You don’t have to do so, of course.  But if you don’t, you go directly to jail.

And, you do not collect $200 for passing “Go.”

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            ~0.1 Metaphysical:   Now there’s a word for you.  In the Greek language where “Meta” originated, one of its primary meanings was simply “beyond.”  Thus, the term is used here to denote that larger reality which exists beyond the physical dimension.

So, there is this physical dimension of life, which our physical senses and our intellect pretty well equip us to explore and even to grasp – most of the time, well, at least, some of the time.  And then, there is that more ethereal metaphysical dimension of life which is not nearly so easy.  Nevertheless – here we go!

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So, it would seem that in the mind of modern mankind, the question has become, does God really matter in this now “hyper-modernizing” world?  With science, technology, and material pursuits so very ascendant, should we even care anymore about the divine purpose or the abstract concepts of that metaphysical (or spiritual) realm?  At the present, enormous level of life’s complexity and stress, do those things really still hold any practical relevance?

In truth, God and His purposes are all that ever do remain consistently relevant. This is true because of one invariable certainty. It is this. The conditions of the present are always short-lived.

Always, for better or worse, time sweeps the human condition irresistibly forward, on to some new present condition.  And, as it does so, only two things ever remain unmoved and impervious to this force of passing moments.  You guessed it.  It’s God and His agenda. All else is eventually swept away by that swift and relentless currant of time. 

So, indeed, the divine issues are the only issues which ever really do continue to matter. Thus, the truly smart move is to focus on what will endure to confront us tomorrow, and even in the tomorrow after that.

And so I write, at God’s behest “me thinks,” for any who do still retain their higher wits in this ever more tin-hearted world.  I write for any who still hear the divine call upon their heart above the screeching friction of shifting social structures. And, I write for those who, even at this late hour in human history, are willing to take in life’s bigger view.

My humble hope is to be truly helpful to those who are still tenaciously seeking answers to those supremely important questions (which far too many have now simply stopped asking).  And finally, I am inspired by those who are still enamored with that mysterious personal pilgrimage which restores our soul, our intimate friendship with our Creator, the goodness of our personal here-and-now, and the quality of our forever.

At the time of this writing, I have, myself, enjoyed that renewing journey for almost half a century.  And, across the course of that long path, I have discovered that it all simply comes to one thing. Indeed, it is about a durable and mutually fulfilling friendship – for both man and God. This is the real “end game” of all accurate Christian theology.

And, even after all the elements of my own journey – the formal study of high-sounding theologies, the real life struggles, the failures, the successes, the praying, the soul searching, the agonizing, the times of great joy, the mistakes, the apologizing, the surprises, the drama, the relationships (good and bad), the revelations, the impacts of aging, the technological advancements, and the just-in-the-nick-of-time rescues – I can find no better way to sum it all up than this. The magnificent work of Christ, in its ultimate purpose, is really only about enabling a spectacular League of Two between ourselves and our loving Creator.

It seems so obvious now, looking at it from this end. My redemption – as is everyone’s – was always only about awakening within me, through Christ, this trans-formative friendship. And the Living Christ has been, and is, even now, constantly deepening this amiable divine companionship.

He is ever expanding this comfortable oneness of heart with my Creator. And, this Christ-brokered heart-agreement has, indeed, over the years, become the strong matrix of our consistent friendship. 

So, my uncomplicated purpose for this writing is to provide a thorough, A-Z exposure of the beautiful workings of this life-transforming God encounter. My hope is to simply achieve a real clarity in the mind of the reader concerning the nature of this renewing odyssey of the heart.

Sadly though, most any religious writing can become fertile ground for unintended contentions. And, I fear these writings may not escape that sadness.  When the old timers and the religious insiders, for example, don’t recognize their seemingly canonized words and phrases, the language by which they learned, they are probably not going to be happy about that. And so, almost certainly, many of them will simply reject these writings out of hand, assuming them to be some new and illegitimate thing.

Neither will others be approving, who have tightly wrapped themselves in a pick-and-choose, patchwork kind of theological security blanket.  And, this often remains true even if greater coherence and clarity might be in the offing.  So doubtless, in the end, many of these, too, will almost certainly choose to simply remain “safely” adhered to their cobbled together religious clichés.

And, for many other reasons, more than a few may reject these ideas as far inferior to their own more familiar religious tenets.  Nevertheless, for all of these protests, the truth which Sir William exposed so many years ago remains true. Merely casting the “rose” into the fresh light of a more vibrant language has absolutely no impact on its immutable qualities.   And, so it is with this attempt to merely display, in the brighter light of contemporary language and references, the basic realities of the metaphysical dimension of our existence – and especially with regard to God’s redemptive agenda.  

The idea in this writing is certainly not to reinvent or pervert the workings of the divine rescue plan.  Rather, it is simply to freshly frame it - in order to better communicate its opportunity to these present times.

If you remodel your kitchen, it is still the kitchen.  It still does what kitchens do.  It simply has new colors, textures, and appliances which more easily interface with the contemporary eye. That is the essential intent for this writing. 

Like that new kitchen, this is simply a fresh conception of that original redemptive message – the redemption we have always known to employ the enjoined power of the Living Christ to enable the believer’s true and consistent heart-oneness with God.  And surely, to attentive ears, these troubled times cry out for an enhanced comprehensibility to facilitate an enlarged awareness of our message. 

And certainly, even a keen awareness does not guarantee the desired response.  But a lack of awareness definitely does guarantee a lack of response.  So, while carefully guarding its integrity, we simply must occasionally embrace an updated concept of our message.

 Obviously then, to explore the merit of that freshness, it necessarily falls to the reader to be willing to lower, at least somewhat, the defenses you may have established to protect your religious status quo – or the lack thereof.  Most all of us harbor those security measures at some level, either to keep our existing perspective on God safe from corruption or, in the reverse, to keep God at arm’s length, altogether.  But, by their very nature, these defenses get in the way of new levels of discovery.

And certainly, caution has some obvious value here, at least in that former case.  Yet, perhaps it could be confidently moderated by simply remembering that, in fact, you, as the reader, are always completely in charge of the “buy-in.”  You, alone, decide what you will believe and what you will reject. So, there is really no need, at least at first, to fend off every less familiar exposure which may, after all, actually hold some real value. A truly “fresh-eyes” approach just necessarily requires a willingness to venture beyond the zone of the familiar.

And finally, very obviously, the world is in a huge hurry these days.  We seem to want to get to everywhere quickly, so we can’t stay anywhere very long.  Hence, “surfing” has gone from being a seaside pastime, to a world-wide way of life.  

But, in fact, some things still do deserve, and necessarily require, a reasonable amount of time and mental focus.  And, uh oh, woe is me, since I must, here, be the guy who reminds the reader that the subject matter of this writing, the metaphysical reality, is one of those things. 

 So, in the vernacular of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame – full impulse - maybe.  But warp-speed?  That just simply won’t do here.   Therefore, it is my simple hope that every reader will give themselves permission to just relax and explore the issues of this writing with some curiosity and patience. 

  Oh, and by the way, that going directly to jail thing that I mentioned earlier – just kidding.  But, that “no $200” thing – oh, that part was very true. Now, let’s go have a great time looking into some really interesting and important life-stuff.   –LB

 

Chapter 1: An Introduction

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             ~1.1 It’s Not Just a Moment, It’s a Process:   I suspect you’ve heard differently – maybe forever.  So have I.  But, in fact, God’s plan to elevate the human condition through Christ involves a beautifully sophisticated, life-long process – not merely one tear filled conversion moment.  Certainly that moment when we first embrace the Lordship of Christ is a pivotal one.  But it should be understood, not as a terminal point, but as the gateway to a wonderful redemptive process. 

In what follows, you’ll see that life-changing renewal presented in the clearest terms. And this knowledge is, indeed, invaluable as it can produce a priceless result.  It can yield a vital and vibrant personal friendship with Almighty God – and from that friendship, an entirely new and liberated you. 

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            ~1.2 On Friendships:  But there are friendships, and then, there are friendships. Obviously, some friendships are all that you would hope for them to be. But, there are also friendships which are hardly worth it.  I’ve had a few of those.  And, perhaps you can relate as well.

For example, some friendships are very high maintenance with very little pay back. Others are so shallow as to be meaningless, or almost so.  Still others are so pretentious that they actually become disconnected from reality. Obviously, all of these are just bad relational deals.  I’ve made a few of those.  And, I suspect you’ve… Well, ‘nuf said.

But, ultimately, God simply doesn’t go for this sort of relational deal.  That’s not to say that He won’t be quite patient in waiting for us to grow beyond these less noble offerings.  Certainly, He is patient with us in that regard.  Yet in the end, He will not accept such emptiness.  In the final analysis, He will only be approving of high quality, deeply meaningful, and mutually fulfilling relationships. 

Jesus makes this clear as, on one occasion, He predicted the ultimate outcome for those who would engage in such shallowness.  He indicated that, at the last, his response to such pretenders would be this. “I never knew you.  Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” 

That word “knew” becomes very important in this pronouncement.  In the original Greek language, that word for “knew” is “genosco.” It means, a deep and intimate knowing.  So, the problem Jesus was raising was the absence of a real depth and quality of relationship.  Thus, He makes it quite clear here that, ultimately, God simply doesn’t traffic in shallow.

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            ~1.3 What the Larger World Is Missing:   When thinking in terms of the divine friendship, a simple fact escapes the uninitiated world, at least in real terms.  It is the fact that Christ truly is a living Savior.  Thus, He is a very vibrant and interactive Savior.  And, because He is so very alive, His character essence is fully available to humanity.  The simple reality which so wonderfully cheers some of us, and scares others of us half to death, is that the Living Christ is literally able to live in a symbiotic way within the character essence of devout believers.

And, in the privilege of this character integration, the devout believer is then afforded an invisible, but constant and very impactful, daily divine companionship with Christ.  And, through this personal integration with the Living Christ, we are enriched in a thousand ways every day – far beyond just the most immediate need of the redemption of our soul.

It means, for instance, we will never wake up alone, consigned to only our own puny inner resources with which to manage life or, when necessary, to face it down.  Instead, this intimate character integration with the Living Christ provides a truly enabling synergy.  And, this life changing connection is exponentially more formidable than a life lived merely under our own steam.

And, this deeply rooted friendship also means that we are not forsaken to humanity’s chronic inner darkness – whether that darkness takes the form of some latent and unexplained anger, or an ugly appetite, a blazing character flaw, or some unresolved guilt or insecurity, etc.  This high quality, interactive friendship with the Almighty means – it’s all solvable. 

And, then there is that divine inner voice.  Perhaps the most spectacular element of the divine friendship is that voice. What could possibly compare to actually being able to converse with Almighty God on a moment to moment basis – and without even the necessity of audible words.

To hear in our heart the divine whispers which expose powerful and even life-altering insights does, indeed, change the very fabric of our existence. To know the joy of being able to ask for and actually receive divine direction is very personally affirming.  Ok, and sometimes it’s a little scary – but only a little, really.

To experience God’s comfort in our devastation, His encouragement in the face of our discouragement – such interventions are incomparable. Certainly, this ability to get an answer, to discover God’s wisdom, or to hear His inspiration or correction changes everything.

The world needs a Savior of the soul; and, Christ is absolutely that. But the Savior also brings to our day this entirely new level of God awareness.  And, in this closeness, Christ becomes our confidante, our advice giver, our direction provider, our encourager, our helper, our therapist.  He becomes our rescuer, our teacher, our mentor, our loving confronter, our enlightener, our counselor, and our defender.  And, in all of these roles, and many more, He remains, our unfailing and truest Friend.

And certainly, this noble divine friendship carries with it the same requirements that any such high level relationship would.  Indeed, every important relationship involves such things as honesty, forthrightness, loyalty, and trust. But, in the context of a truly valuable friendship, all such quality ingredients seem much less a requirement and much more merely the goodness of it all.

And again, that’s what the uninitiated don’t really get. They simply miss the naturally occurring joy which springs from such an energized divine friendship.  But, in fact, the sheer beauty of this every day synergy stands in diametric opposition to the larger world’s mistaken idea of life in Christ.  It is no Spartan lifestyle.  And, it is the furthest thing from being merely a long list of do’s and don’ts. 

Thus, the redemptive process remains, first and finally, merely the process of a good friendship - doing what a good friendship always does. It elevates, and enriches, and enlarges, and changes our existence for the better.  The writer of Proverbs put it this way.  “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”  

 So is it when Christ becomes, not merely the Savior of our soul, but our intimate daily companion.  Truly, at that point, we have made the leap which God always intended and eagerly anticipated. We have transitioned from mere religion to vibrant relationship.

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            ~ 1.4 The Redemptive Drama:  So, indeed, the process by which God creates these very personalized friendships with us is a thoroughly renewing one, as we shall confirm. And, the Redemptive Drama spawned by this process has, without question, become a sprawling one.  Thus, at this late historical hour, it involves virtually endless subplots stemming from each new life which Christ has touched and is touching. And certainly, there are many, many players filling the various scenes of the redemptive storyline. 

Nevertheless, reduced to its basic elements, the story line actually becomes very easy to follow. And, the main players, at least in general terms, can be reduced to only a few. 

So, let’s now explore this redemptive drama as you might do with any other dramatic play - by simply looking at its Program.  As in that usual case, employing this Program type of view of the redemptive drama, will allow us to discover, in a succinct and orderly way, the identity and roles of the main players.  And, we will also be able to more easily grasp the basic plot of this epic story of God’s love for mankind.  

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Chapter 2: God, the Father

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            ~2.1 First, the Relational Process in General:   We could hardly talk about a meaningful friendship with God without first having a brief discussion of some generalities regarding the idea of relationship. So, let’s just dive in right here.

The process of friendship-building is discovery.  And, the goal of discovery is appreciation. And, the effect of appreciation is to achieve some level of heart-binding, thus establishing a relationship.

So, it all starts with the idea of probing for the positive possibilities.  For example, how many young ladies have found themselves sitting under those chilled Friday night lights of a high school football game focused on one special player on the field?  And, as she observes him in what is perhaps his most flattering environment, she starts to admire what she sees.  She discovers that he is a true star on the field.  And besides, he has really nice hair – well, as nice as helmet-hair can actually be.

And, what of the proud parents who sit under those same lights to watch that same young man, their quarterback son, direct his team with skill and poise through the changing situations of the game.  And, as they watch, they too gain a new appreciation for their son which goes something like this.  “He truly is growing up!”

These, and countless other such scenarios, are just the very gratifying process of positive relational discovery. It’s how we start relationships. It’s how we sustain and deepen relationships. And, it’s how we keep them updated and energized. 

But obviously, this probing also carries with it an intrinsic risk. Certainly, it can also result in a negative outcome.  It can result in rejection born of a lack of appreciation.  But this is the risk we take in pursuit of relational success.  And sometimes, we even help this negative outcome.  Sometimes, this side of the coin comes up because of our own mistakes.

For example, how many “disappointees,” male and female, a few months into their marriage, have found themselves sitting across from a friend or counselor in a state of bewilderment?  So, there she slumps, expressing deep disappointment at the revelation of some very troubling, post-wedding behavior on the part of her mate. 

And, such unseasonal disappointments are typically not that difficult to trace back to their root causes.  For instance, couples sometimes rush to become deeply involved, before they have had a chance to become broadly involved.  So now, in the stark light of a broader reality, she comes to this new realization. “Actually, now that I think about it, pretty much all he ever really had going for him was his football prowess – well, and nice hair.”  Obviously, even with the good hair thrown in, that’s a pretty narrow ledge upon which to base an important relationship.

And, it doesn’t really matter if we’re talking boy-girl, parent-child, or God-man.  The truly important relationships are all the same in this regard.  Strong appreciation based in a broad awareness of a larger context is essential to a solid relationship.  So, to minimize this important essential is, at best, to consign a relationship to exaggerated turmoil, and possibly doom it altogether.

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            ~2.2 The Character and Role of God, the Father:     So, let’s now explore the character and role of God the Father with these general relational underpinnings in mind.  Obviously then, to prevent that “narrow ledge” mistake in the divine relationship, the idea here, too, is to develop a truly broad awareness of who God is – and to allow Him a reciprocal privilege regarding ourselves.  And, the simple reality is that this involves experiencing a broad array of life’s ups and downs together. 

It is just not possible to grasp more than the mere basics of God’s identity and purposes unless you are willing to broadly experience life with Him in very real terms.  A thorough and accurate God awareness only ever comes through this very up-close interaction.  God, held at arm’s length, simply will not produce an intimate and durable friendship – any more than would a wife or husband held at arm’s length.

So, what does God’s friendship look like in this every day, up-close sort of way?  Well, like any friendship, it goes through different iterations. But certainly, it is fair to say that, after the honeymoon period following our conversion to Christ, struggles are to be expected.  And, things can be quite awkward and clumsy at first.

Later, this will not be true. The whole point of this friendship building process is that we should ultimately experience a valuable and deeply meaningful relationship.  But, the practical reality is that this is the end product not the initial one.  First comes the turmoil of “the trenches.” And, this mental and emotional bedlam is often loosely analogous to that which is typically experienced in the teenage years of our physical development.

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            ~2.3 The Early Stage Friendship:   To speak of a friendship with God, even in general terms, does, indeed, assume that there has already occurred an authentic “conversion moment.”  This is that moment defined by a specific conscious decision to humbly bow all that you are before the Lordship of Christ.  And this true embrace of His Lordship is necessarily characterize by the willingness to thoroughly and consistently embrace His values, His truth, and his daily leadership for one’s life.

Even Artificial Intelligence knows that the term “Lordship” describes one who is invested with supreme power.  Granted, the modern Church, often seems to see Christ more as their circumstantial bellhop than their Lord.  Nevertheless, the real circumstance of the true conversion moment is this.  In that moment when you choose to make Christ the Lord of your life, by that same decision, you make yourself His humble servant.

It is this very personalized relational commitment which constitutes the true nature of Redemptive Faith.  And, indeed, this profound humility before Christ is what constitutes a true and honest conversion moment.

In truth, there is simply no possibility of befriending God the Father, without first being honestly willing to bow before the Lordship of the Living Christ in this all-in kind of way.  Jesus said it very succinctly, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me. 

So, this acute personal humility is always the only acceptable beginning point in our pursuit of a vital friendship with God.  It is this kind of faith-response which then opens the door to that early stage relationship where God truly becomes a rearing Father to us – carefully attending to the developmental needs of His children.  So, it is in this way that this early stage of relational discovery is initiated.  And it is a stage which can very accurately be described as a thoroughly transformative confrontation of love.  

Think about it.  As time goes along, our physical parents are required by their love to confront and amend the childishness of their child while his or her heart is still moldable. The enlightened parent does this in view of a time when this parent/ child relationship will morph into an entirely different kind of relationship. It is supposed to eventually become a fulfilling adult friendship which will be primarily defined by their shared values as the indispensable basis of this later friendship.

You have probably already noticed that in the cultivation of this parent/child relationship, it is the child who is required to do most of the changing and adjusting. You’re quick. You’re very quick. Well, welcome also to “God Friendship - 101.” 

So, as in that parent/ child relationship, so also in the God/ man relationship, the onus is on humanity to embrace this “agreeability” of heart.  And that is never clearer than in this early-stage relationship with the Heavenly Father. 

However, this transformative encounter with God is not nearly as off-putting as many assume it to be. It is always, after all, a loving process. And, it is couched in patience, and time, and careful explanations, and the joy, on our part, of gaining new and extremely valuable life-stuff.  And, as should always be the case with our own children, the process also incorporates the necessary latitude for our own trial-and-error confirmations of what we are discovering.

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            ~2.4 The Rubber Reality:   Now, let’s go back a few paragraphs and begin again at that conversion moment in order to take a more detailed view of the nature of God’s fatherly role during our early stage relationship with Him.  So, the new believer, having been pursued by the Divine Spirit, finally bows before the Lordship of Christ in those three essential ways which were previously mentioned, by embracing His values, His truth, and His daily leadership.  And, at this point, there occurs a significant change.

Whereas, before, God was pursuing us, now the tables turn and we start to pursue God. We begin to be newly fascinated with who He is and what He is up to.  We start to be curious about His views on life and his divine way of doing things.  We are moved to understand this new thing which has happened to us.  And, we are moved to discover the God behind it all.

So, we suddenly find ourselves chasing Him instead of the other way around – just as it should be. God, Himself, said through the prophet, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” 

Thus now, suddenly, the “Divine Hunter” becomes the hunted.  (Sorry, that was just a literary itch I needed to scratch.)  But, superfluous sentences aside, this eager pursuit of God then leads us smack dab into this very intense time of relational discovery.  It is a time which is not quite like any which will follow it.  The learning curve is at its steepest as we enter into an entirely new reality which is generated by our new found faith.  It is a reality which might be aptly described as a “Rubber Reality.”

Very simply, this more elastic, faith-generated reality is intended to facilitate the parental molding process – but in an amped up kind of way.  It is our Heavenly Parent’s means to challenge us, and stretch us, and stimulate us to explore both His character essence and our own. 

So, this stretchable reality becomes God’s very sophisticated remedy for our ingrained naiveté’ during this early stage relationship.  And, it serves the very simple divine objective of ultimately imprinting the divine character essence upon our own.  And again, this is an objective not at all dissimilar to what occurs in the physical child-rearing process.

So, in the nitty-gritty of real terms, it all plays out like this.  Before we embrace the Lordship of Christ, the only reality we know is that more concrete reality born of our own self-determination. In that self-directed reality where we are entirely in charge of our life, we typically feel that we are generally in good command of life’s circumstances (yeah, right).  Thus, we not only feel competent, but entirely entitled to formulate authoritative interpretations and make definitive decisions regarding life’s various situations.

Ah, but not so once we encounter Christ and this faith-based Rubber Reality which then follows.  This is true because, by divine design, in this more elastic reality, we are usually playing a serious game of catch-up with the facts.  So, as we become immersed in this faith reality, we often find ourselves searching for God’s interpretation of, and purpose in, a given life situation. 

It is a reality in which we are often left wondering, for a while at least, what in the world God is up to, or where He might be taking us. It is a reality where all facts, interpretations, conclusions, and decisions remain debatable while we search for what is truly God’s view of things and what should be our proper response to that view. Thus, this Rubber Reality is, for a while, a much more uncertain and less confident existence.

In both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible, we see this Rubber Reality of faith in operation.  Again and again, we can notice God bringing His people into what would once have seemed to be a very concrete situation.  But then, suddenly, He morphs it into a very elastic situation. 

For example, we can notice how God rubberized a fairly concrete reality when the nation of Israel became trapped between the military legions of Egypt and the Red Sea during their historic Exodus Journey.  The concrete reality was this, Oh no, we’re trapped! What possible remedy can there be? We have no choice but to surrender to the harshness of our Egyptian pursuers! 

But God changed the concreteness of those facts into this more elastic version.   Oh no, you’re not trapped. Because, I will part the sea. And then, you can spend some time pondering the how, the why, and most importantly, the Who of it all. (Ref. Exodus 13: 1-15) 

And, on and on this Rubber Reality goes from the manna which fell from Heaven, to the falling walls of Jericho, to the miracles connected to the prophets of old. God massages the normal into the paranormal to stimulate us to more accurately understand His character and His ways – as well as our own. 

And certainly, in these New Testament times, this divine tactic continues. From the miracles of Jesus and the apostles, to the Resurrection, itself, our God-awareness is broadened and made more acute by those exposures.  And, at the same time, the foolish arrogance of our previously self-determined approach to life is also exposed – usually to our great (but quite healing) embarrassment.

And, well beyond the realm of miracles, God often immerses the faithful in the elastic realities of more everyday situations. From a counter-intuitive biblical principle like turning the other cheek or tithing, to a delayed answer to prayer, to a moral inversion where the guilty escape while the good suffer - God uses these counter intuitive situations to confront our status quo and our cliché’ ideas of who He is and how He will act and react. 

So always, this Rubber Reality asks us to move beyond those more childish awareness levels.  It asks us to more thoroughly and accurately understand our new life in the Living Christ, to more readily embrace its possibilities, and to more intimately encounter the God behind it all.

Obviously, when compared to that old, more concrete reality, which was defined by our own self-determination as we called all the interpretive shots – the Rubber Reality (where God pretty much makes those calls) is a more difficult place to navigate - at least early on.  But, this faith-generated reality is also exponentially richer in the dividends of relational discovery. 

Thus, this Rubber Reality facilitates relational strength, depth, and maturity through this enlarging and more accurate God awareness. Plus, it also enables a more accurate self-awareness.  So, this faith reality stands in stark contrast to that easier to manage but infinitely less beneficial reality of the self-directed life. 

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~2.5 A Foundational Necessity:   What we are describing here as the Rubber Reality is what the Church has understood from the beginning to be merely a divinely orchestrated Humbling Process.  And, this let’s-first-get-you-fully-down-off-your-high-horse process has always been among the foundational necessities required to achieve a vibrant friendship with God.  Its purpose is, and has always been, to bring us to a completely comfortable state of profound personal humility before Him – which is just another way to describe the appropriate level of respect due to our Heavenly Father and Almighty Creator. 

The truth is, no relationship, including the God/man relationship, ever flourishes where there is discord and disagreement.  And, the uncomplicated truth is that God is about the business of cultivating, through the redemptive process based in Christ, not just a passable, but an absolutely spectacular relational atmosphere. 

And, this early time of humiliation is just part of that divine cultivation.  And, if this early period of abrading away our subconscious arrogance in pursuit of that wonderfully harmonious later outcome is a bit challenging (and it is that) then the idea becomes to just to draw on God’s grace through Christ to stay the course until His purposes in all of this are achieved. 

And, if we do, by the sufficiency of His grace, stick it out – then, look out world!  We are then positioned to rise from the ashes of our previous arrogance to a deeply fulfilling newness of heart and life in the Living Christ.  Indeed, we do arrive at the “Promise Land,” of relationship with God.  Perhaps, however, in these New Testament times it is probably more accurately termed the “Promised Life” – what Jesus referred to as abundant life.

We then start to experience the whole point of this Rubber Reality as we begin to taste the priceless blessing of a true and growing heart-oneness with God.  Jesus said, as he prayed for his disciples on one occasion, “...that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us...” 

And, in fact, our pathway through the Rubber Reality may meander from one life lesson to another. And, it may take us through various facets of personal growth. Yet, there is always this one constant to this journey of personal development in Christ.   It is the direction of its flow.   It ever moves us toward this enlarging harmony of heart with God.

A similar harmony is easily seen in couples who have continued to grow together over the period of a long and healthy marriage. Eventually, these wonderfully special relationships reach a point where the partners can easily anticipate each other, because they have become so merged in heart.

And, consider this extension to that last scriptural excerpt above.  Jesus continues, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us...” 

Heart-oneness, two character essences made one by the shared divine values.   This is the uncomplicated quest of our friendship with God.  Everything that Christ has done, and is doing, is about effecting this eclipsing harmony between the character essence (heart) of God and that of the believer.

 

***

            ~2.6 So, Who Is God, the Father:  Obviously, to define the entire dimension of our Creator defies both human intellect and empirical means.  But, there are some important attributes that we can and do observe even in this early friendship encounter that we have been describing. 

For example, we are able to understand that He is The Almighty God.  Thus, it becomes clear that both He and His will are immutable.  So, neither He nor His will can be blocked or blotted out.  Thus, it does not actually matter whether individuals recognize or refuse to recognize Him.  He, nevertheless, is.  And, He will, without restraint of any kind, accomplish His purposes.  And always, without exception, His purposes are defined by unadulterated goodness – as is His character.

Always, all of His actions are but the exhibition of consummate goodness.  And, if we fail to comprehend that constancy, it is merely the fault of our own low perspective, not the lack of its reality.  Good parents often do what wayward children perceive to be undesirable – only because the child does not see the larger picture. 

Also, as we seek to well-define the character and role of God the Father, we can easily pick up on the fact that the Governing Creator is not so easy and unsophisticated as some would presently imagine Him to be.  Certainly, He is willing to be quite patient in the pursuit of a high quality relationship with us.  But, in the final analysis, He will never settle for less than that.  Ultimately, as mentioned earlier, His requirement is always going to be this mutually fulfilling relationship which is founded in the common embrace of the divine values and truth.

And there is that.  It is not hard to understand this additional truth about the Heavenly Father.  As any good parent would, He does, indeed, desire to see His own values replicated in the character essence of His children.  But, contrary to the ill-conceived caricature, in fact, He has no preference for oppression in order to achieve this end. 

Rather, the Cross of Christ abundantly demonstrates God’s preference for the motive of inspiration over that of oppression.  The idea is that He prefers humanity to be drawn to a heart-oneness with Him by the sheer appreciation of the virtue which they discover in His heart.  And, in fact, it is this desire to effect an amiable replication of His own core essence within His human children which has largely designed the redemptive process – as we shall see.

So, this is the basic nature of the Heavenly Father that we discover through Christ.  His roll is at once both familiar and yet quite distinct.  It is made familiar by the noblest examples of our physical fathers.  But, it is also made quite distinct by the powerful steroid of His divineness.  Nevertheless, He is, at the base of it all, still the clear epitome of a loving Father.  And, as with any such father, He is simply to be highly respected, deeply loved, and greatly admired for who He is generally – and who He is to us, personally.

 

Chapter 3: God, the Son

***

            ~3.1 But First, the Trinity:   Before we begin to talk about Christ, who is God the Son, perhaps we should first talk about an issue which is an inextricable background element within that discussion.  This preliminary discussion regards the nature of the Divine Trinity.  Since we are, here, introducing the second personality of that Trinity, this would seem to be the proper time to at least begin looking into that issue.

 The term “Trinity” does not actually appear in the Bible.  But what the term denotes is well illustrated and described there.  And, Christian theologians have certainly widely used the term in their attempts to name and describe the incorporation of the semi-distinct personalities of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  (Ref. Deut. 6:4 / Mk. 12:29 / Eph. 4: 4-5)

The enigma surrounding the idea of the Divine Trinity arises because the Bible makes clear that God is but one God.  So, the question becomes, “How can this paradox be explained?”

In later sections, we will delve into the very intimate details of the unique operational means of the Divine Trinity.  But hey, I really like the shallow end of the pool.  It just feels safer at first, don’t you think? 

So, how about we just begin with some very basic ideas and illustrations.  And, to begin with, let’s first look to you – yep, you – because you are also a trinity of sorts.

In the genesis of mankind, God said, “Let us make man in our image.” And, He did.  Among other ways in which He made us to be like Himself, He also made us to be our own itty bitty trilogy.  And, He did it in this way.  He made us to be an intellectual being.  He made us to be an emotional being.  And, he made us able to be a blended expression of the two.  So really, we should be able to relate to the Divine Trinity pretty easily.

Indeed, it is possible for human beings to express themselves in a purely intellectual way.  It is also possible for us to express ourselves in a purely emotional way.  But most of the time we express ourselves as a blend of the two. 

Thus, we are these three expressions of the same being.  And, even though, in a given moment, we may choose one mode of expression over the other two, nevertheless, that expression remains entirely one with our corporate identity. 

But there is that.  As human beings we have to make a choice.  We must choose to act in only one of those three modes of our personality at the time.  For example, we cannot express ourselves in a blended way and a purely intellectual way at the same time.  Or, we cannot express ourselves in a purely emotional way and a purely intellectual way at the same time.  

God, on the other hand, can act in all three expressions of the Divine Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit at the same time and yet remain entirely incorporated.  And, as mentioned earlier, it is precisely this more complex operational nature of the Divine Trinity which often gives us pause.

It’s likely that we only struggle with this complexity in the Divine Trinity because we tend to think in terms of the human limitations.  But don’t forget, we’re kind of an itty bitty trinity. 

God, on the other hand, is an all-powerful Spirit.  So, being entirely free of corporeal limitations, and resulting from His much more sophisticated nature, God is simply capable of more complexity than is afforded by our more limited physical nature.  No news there, right?  (Ref. John 4:14 / Isaiah 55:9)

But be that as it may, when it comes to this greater complexity of the Divine Trinity, a relatively good illustration of the involved “mechanics” exists in the world of computers.  Think about this. 

Often, we set up very powerful, large capacity computers called mainframe computers.  These computers then have multiple outlying terminals connected to them.   A mainframe computer is defined and singularly identified by its central store of data, software, and the unique computing architecture into which those outlying terminals are all tied.

So, essentially, those outlying terminals then all become the different “faces” of that one mainframe computer.  And yet, those outlying terminals are all capable of doing different things at different locations, at the same time.  But no matter what they’re doing, these terminals are still merely an expression of the mainframe.  This is true because all of them only ever draw from the shared content and capabilities of that more primary mainframe computer.   

Similarly, in the case of the Divine Trinity, that singular central source is the divine character essence.  It is that divine heart or core essence, which is shared at all times by all three persons of the Divine Trinity, no matter what different things each may be doing at any given moment. 

Thus, this “complex oneness” of God is simply the expression of His various faces, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each pursuing their unique role at the same time, while still continually sharing that single divine character essence during the process.  And, like that central data which defines the mainframe computer, this single divine character essence, containing that godly value system at its core, also defines the essential divine identity. (Ref. John 14:7-11) 

So, to put a point on this illustration, it follows then, that we human beings are merely simple PC’s, while God is a powerful mainframe computer with multiple terminals.  OK, now that I think about it, this may be just too fine a point to put on the whole matter.  

But, you get the idea.  It is the shared central content of that one divine heart (character essence) which enables all three persons of the Trinity to operate separately and yet ever remain completely singular in their essential identity. (Ref. John 17:17-23)

***

            ~3.2 Now, the Role of God the Son:  So, as we begin to look into the role of Christ in the redemptive drama, the first thing to understand is simply that He is, indeed, that Second Person of the Divine Trinity. Thus, He is every bit God.  He is of the very same character essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. 

The second thing to understand is that an authentic encounter with this divine Savior is then, necessarily, going to be dramatically impactful.  It is a thoroughly life-changing thing to personally embrace the Lordship of Christ and experience all that this awakens, including a vibrant respect for God’s authority and a deep appreciation of all that God is. 

But certainly, the best way to grasp the scope of Christ’s role in our redemptive renewal is to begin at the beginning.  So, let’s first look briefly at some key events and issues rooted in the distant history of our species. Let’s catch the history train and go all the way back to the Garden of Eden and re-examine what really happened to mankind there.

This trip to the past won’t take long.  And, it will explain much about the present, why we do what we do and why we are the way we are. And, it will give great insight into the role of Christ as our Savior.

The early existence of Adam and Eve was nothing less than precisely what we have been talking about in this writing – a wonderfully animated friendship with their Creator. It was a beautifully uncomplicated, though, by no means unsophisticated, daily walk with Him. It was an easy, unforced companionship which was truly fulfilling to both God and man.  But certainly, there was, indeed, a serious responsibility involved in that friendship. It was the responsibility of choice.

When God created Adam and Eve, it was with the capacity for personal autonomy. And, this afforded them a true sovereignty over their own life and destiny. And that sovereignty even extended to the opportunity, at any time, to choose self-determination over God’s guidance.

Thus, in effect, Adam and Eve became truly independent influences in the Universe.  From the very beginning, they were capable of making independent choices and taking independent actions which affected their own and the larger circumstance around them in the most real ways – if they chose to do so.

***

            ~3.3 The Great Lie:  Obviously, Adam and Eve were the first of our species to face the questions surrounding these ideas of self-sovereignty and personal influence and the veracity and supremacy of the divine truth.  These were the real issues which lay just beneath the surface of that first temptation. 

Thus, with these words, Satan introduced all of these daunting questions into the innocent existence of Adam and Eve. He said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it [i.e. the forbidden fruit – i.e, their own subjective view of life] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  [Brackets Added]

So essentially, Satan’s encouragement to the first couple was just to offhandedly dismiss the threat of any consequence, reject God’s correct and authoritative interpretations of reality (His truth), and begin to assert their personal influence in a very self-serving way.  Thus, The Great Lie was born. 

And, this prime tenet of evil is the same subversive line which the Darkness still continues to employ to undermine the souls of each new generation.  In essence, it was and is simply this:  “You, and not God, are your own best hope for personal fulfillment.” 

The underlying inference here is that there is a greater certainty of experiencing fulfillment in life if we direct our own life instead of investing God with that prerogative by trusting Him and his interpretations of reality.  

So, this is the delusion which has become humanity’s chronic downfall. It is this glittering emptiness which continues to mesmerize and entice us to this very day – the temptation to entrust ourselves to ourselves at the great expense of God’s intimate friendship and blessing. 

And, the first couple did, indeed, buy in.  They ignored God’s protective warnings and decided to act on this false promise which Satan held out to them. But, as we now know, the outcome was not exactly as promised (big surprise).

In the end, Adam and Eve were actually completely duped. Instead of becoming elevated by their choice for self-determination, they were destroyed by it – just as God had warned that they would be.

***

            ~3.4 The Outflows of Eden:   The knowledge which Adam and Eve actually gained from that forbidden fruit was not a broad-based objective knowledge, involving unchanging principles as does scientific knowledge or divine truth. Rather, just the reverse occurred. The knowledge which they gained was a completely subjective knowledge.  It was merely one perspective on good and evil – a perspective which was entirely based in the individual’s point of view.

And, this toxic psychological change which they were tricked into experiencing instantly ruined their relationship with God.  And, in very real terms, it deeply stressed their relationship with each other.  It did so in that each of them now also held a self-centered and often divergent view of life’s various circumstances. 

So, resulting from this chronic psychological infection with the motive of self-determination, good and evil became simply what seems good or evil to me, the individual, based in my own subjective interpretations of life’s circumstances.  And, we should note here that the issue of good and evil go far beyond merely the strictly moral issues. Indeed, good and evil are basic ingredients within all of our life choices. Our sense of good and evil actually informs all of our thoughts and actions.

Thus, we see Adam and Eve’s choice for self-determination beginning to exert itself immediately as they decide to drape themselves in fig leaves.  Suddenly, they now view their nakedness as an evil thing as they begin to diverge from the views and interpretations of their Creator. (Ref. Gen.3:7)

And, because this individualized perspective on reality was passed to the rest of humanity through the psyche of the first couple, every subsequent generation has been affected in the same way. And, this interpersonal competition of views has been wrecking our relationship to God and to each other, ever since.  

And, even when we try to resist it, this latent self-interest remains a stubborn and ever present pressure.  It is always urging us to use our influence to bend reality to our own preferences, to our own perception of good and evil – often at the great expense of others.  

Indeed, it is this subjective view of life’s circumstances which destroys marriages. It makes nations go to war. It makes children rebel against the good advice of good parents. It is this constant and underlying personalized view of life which threatens all of our corporate endeavors and which has estranged us from God. (Ref. James 4:1-3) 

Thus, this individualized “designer view” of life’s various situations actually keeps us constantly involved in varied levels of turmoil on every stage of human activity. Deep within our subconscious, it always prescribes some level of conflict and competition with each other and with God. (Ref. Rom. 8:7)

So, resulting from Eden, it has come to be that, from the moment of our birth, this drive to be self-determined – to live life according to our own unamended interpretations of good and evil – pressures us to assert our life-views over all others if possible,  And that includes God’s.  

But all of this is not to say that human beings cannot agree with each other (or with God), even for a moment. Obviously, that is not true. Nor is this a contention that our every act is selfish, or that humanity is not at all capable of rising to a level of true charity and selflessness. That is also, obviously, not true.

But, the inescapable reality is this. While we have our high and noble moments, we are always under pressure from this Satan-implanted, self-based idea of good and evil. And, not unlike gravity, it is a constant background force which acts on us in every circumstance, though certainly, with varying degrees of impact depending on many factors. 

But, bottom line, this deeply subjective perspective on reality, this personally concocted truth is a psychological “curved mirror.”  And, it badly skews and distorts our understanding of life’s various circumstances. And, if we are able to sometimes get beyond its deceptions, it is with no small effort; and only on a very limited basis. 

And, while it is obvious that mankind is intellectually capable of great accomplishment; yet, it is equally obvious that we are also constantly defeated by this embedded selfishness which ultimately imperils our every momentary and corporate success. Thus, the real stuff of Satan’s grand idea of self-determination is shown to actually be – just emptiness.

Nevertheless, in each subsequent generation, we are left with this important take-away. Good and evil are the most elemental issues of life. And, the question of, “Who gets to decide what is the correct interpretation of reality with regard to those issues?” is, indeed, the central point of contention between God and man.  And, the all-important answer to that question actually answers another of similar import:  “Who do we really trust to guide our lives – ourselves or God?”

Knowing the importance of these questions, the basic intent of Satan’s treachery in the Garden of Eden was simply to establish a kind of equilibrium of truth in the mind of mankind.  The idea was to tempt every individual to believe that his or her interpretations of reality were every bit equal in value to God’s.  The underlying implication was that one’s own interpretations of reality, owing to the fact that it is his own, would naturally provide him a more secure, direct, and less impeded path to a fulfilled life.  This is the deceptive idea at the very core of Satan’s ever touted self-determined approach to life.  

And, this is always Satan’s essential pitch to the naïve and the unsuspecting.  And, when Adam and Eve bought into this delusion of the equality of all life-interpretations their primary allegiance to God – the belief in the authority and supremacy of divine truth - was severed.  And, in turn, their amiable relationship with Him was destructed, their souls were put in imminent danger, and pervasive chaos was introduced into mankind’s world.

***

            ~3.5 Jesus Christ, Man’s Perfect Answer:   So, this arrogant, self-concentric life-approach then keeps us separated from God, defeating our friendship with Him, and ultimately, imperiling the survival of our soul.  Now, enter Jesus Christ, the Restorer of the authority and supremacy God’s authentic truth in the heart of humanity. 

The New Testament describes Jesus as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” and “the Light of the world.”  These simple ideas give great definition to the role of Christ as the Friendship Builder in God’s redemptive plan. 

They convey to us that He is the “Way” back to God’s loving embrace. He is the restorer of the “Light” – the authentic and authoritative divine truth, the truly correct interpretation of reality.  They remind us that Christ is our “Life” – the true means to enduring personal fulfillment. Very simply, all of these ideas indicate that it is the role of Christ to extricate us from the delusions born of the self-sufficient life-approach. (Ref. John 8:32)

It is His mission to bring us back to a heart-felt agreement with God’s interpretation of reality. And this Christ-restored heart-agreement with God, then enables our true and durable friendship.

***

~3.6 A Lesser Magnification:   So now, let’s dial the details back a bit. The idea is to let at least some of the more intricate details temporarily fade out of view to get a less complicated overview of Christ’s role.  For example, using this lesser magnification, we can then quickly notice that redemption is really about only two primary things. It is first about Reconciliation, restoring a true and vibrant friendship with God.  And, it is about Renewal, thoroughly and durably fixing what broke our relationship with God in the first place. (Ref. Eph. 4:20-24)

***

~3.7 Reconciliation:   So first, here comes the Reconciliation Aspect of God’s redemptive plan.  This relational healing occurs at the moment we decide to truly turn from our self-determined approach to life to humbly embrace the Lordship of Christ.  And note, this decision primarily happens in one’s conscious mind.

It is there, on that upper level of our consciousness, where we first decide to reinvest ourselves in the serious pursuit of God’s friendship.  It is there that we determine, through Christ, to thoroughly embrace His values, His truth, and His daily guidance.   

And this truly redemptive expression of faith then brings to bear the absolution of Christ’s death on the Cross to our lives, personally.  It is this profoundly humble and truly genuine embrace of the Lordship of Christ which secures our forgiveness and initiates our amiable reconciliation to God.  And, as a part of this reconciliation, something else also happens – something wonderful.  At the point of this authentic reconciliation to God, we are assigned a personal righteousness in God’s eyes. 

This assigned or “imputed” righteousness has absolutely no basis in our behavioral reality. It is gained through no actual merit of our own.  Rather it is simply obtained as a part of the forgiveness which Christ purchased for us through His death on the Cross. 

It is true that, eventually, the Living Christ does also bring a Reality Based Righteousness to the life of the believer. But, for now, in this conversion moment, imputed righteousness is simply the wonderful first benefit of our reconciliation to God through the Dying Christ. (Ref. Psm. 32:2 // Eph. 2: 13-18)

However, reconciliation is not the end point of our redemption through Christ.  Rather, it is but the beginning point.  Now comes the Renewal Aspect of our redemption.

***

~3.8 Renewal:   So, here is what the Cross of Christ does not directly fix.  It does not directly provide a fix for that root cause of our brokenness which Satan has implanted deep within our core being on the subconscious level.   

The simple reality is that even that wondrous Cross does not eliminate that gnawing subconscious motive which, down deep, still pressures us, even on the backside of our embrace of Christ’s Lordship, toward that self-determined life-approach.  Like some stubbornly resistant virus, that “essential sin instinct” to remain self-determined still lingers on that subconscious level.  Still, it ever attempts to defeat our new found faith in Christ which has now come to life on that conscious level of our mind. (Ref. Romans, Chapter 7) 

But if the Cross does not repair this residual subconscious malady, then, what does?  The answer is this.  The Resurrection does!  The renewal of our subconscious person is not a function of the Dying Christ and His Cross.  Rather our subconscious renewal is a function of the Living Christ and His Resurrection.

The Resurrection of Christ is much more than just an assurance to believers of their own eventual resurrection.  Rather, it also affords us the real means to experience a thorough personal renewal – in the here-and-now. 

Through the Living Christ, the believer is afforded a renewal, far beyond what his or her own resources could ever provide.  It is a renewal which can rid us of the unchallenged rule of that subconscious instinct for self-determination.  It is a renewal which undivides our heart by establishing the faith value as completely ascendant on both levels of our consciousness – the conscious and the subconscious level. (Ref. Rom.8: 1-11)   

All of this and much more is accomplished through a very personal and very literal merger of the believer’s character essence with that of the Living Christ.  This is what the Church has come to commonly refer to as The Spiritual Baptism.  And, a summary of the logical progression toward this metaphysical merger with Christ is as follows.

The purpose of the Resurrection was (and is) to provide us with a Living Savior. The reason for the necessity of a Living Savior is to make possible the sharing of His renewing character essence with devout believers. The purpose of this character essence integration is to enable the strength and nobility of Christ’s character essence to initiate a renewing “overwrite” of our own.  And, the purpose of this core value renewal is to facilitate that true, and profoundly fulfilling heart-oneness with God as the durable basis for an enduring friendship.  (Ref. Col. 1: 27 / Eph. 4: 1-13)

This subconscious transformation is necessary to the thorough renewal of the believer because it is in that subconscious region of our make-up where our most basic self resides. It is the subconscious which is the real seat of our character essence with our value system at its very center.  Thus, it is in the depths of our subconscious where that “Me Perspective” (the value of self-determination) actually resides.

So, in short, redemption must necessarily involve both levels of our consciousness if we are to be, not only forgiven and reconciled to God, but truly renewed in heart and life. And certainly, God is aware of this wider scope of our need.  Reconciliation has no point, if you do not durably fix what broke the relationship in the first place.  Else, it will simply destruct the relationship again.

Thus, God’s graceful mind designed a perfectly suited redemptive plan.  It is a plan which is entirely centered in both the Dying and the Living Christ, to thoroughly answer the whole of mankind’s brokenness.  It renews both his conscious and his subconscious being.  And, owing to this profound inner renewal, the believer’s life-style reality is also ultimately transformed.  Thus, this truly is a redemptive process which ultimately brings one into the wondrous harmony of a beautifully enriching daily friendship with our Creator. 

***

            ~3.9 Succinctly Connecting the Dots:   The Apostle, Paul, wrote in the New Testament, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”  The thorough renewal of our entire consciousness – this is exactly what the Living Christ does for us.  And obviously, this changes everything.  

As we have seen, mankind has been deeply and chronically affected in his mind and heart by Satan’s deception in the Garden.  And, through that first couple, Satan was able to chronically infect the whole of the human species with what might accurately be called that “Essential Sin Instinct.” This is that powerful inner drive for self-determination, expressing itself in both the conscious and subconscious make-up of the human psyche. 
            Thus, Christ, as our Savior, must necessarily deal with that essential sin motive on both levels of the human consciousness.  Certainly, this binary renewal is indispensable if man is to be durably reconciled to God and genuinely renewed in his character essence, and in turn, in his lifestyle realities.

And, the two major redemptive events which enable Christ’s thorough reclamation of mankind are the Crucifixion (Christ’s death on the Cross) and the Resurrection, (His own restored life). Thus, when the redemptive work of Christ is finished, the faithful believer is left with two wonderful and enduring benefits flowing out of these two pivotal events. First, there comes Forgiveness, bringing a wonderful new Reconciliation to God.  And second, there comes a thorough personal renewal on both the conscious and subconscious level of his being.

So, very obviously, Jesus is, indeed, the Star in Act II (the New Testament) in the redemptive drama. He is the one, perfect Savior who, alone, can reconcile mankind to God by entirely renewing our capacity for an enduring and mutually fulfilling friendship with Him. In coming chapters, we will delve more deeply into the How of all that Christ does for the believer.  And, we will discover in more detail His completely unique role as the one true Broker of God’s graceful redemptive offer to mankind. 

***

           So hey, it only gets better from here!

 

Chapter 4: God, the Holy Spirit

***

 

The Holy Spirit has several very important aspects to His role as a player in the redemptive drama. So, let’s now consider those which are more prominently exposed in the New Testament.

***

             ~4.1 The Holy Spirit, Conveyor of the Living Christ:   The New Testament records these words of Jesus regarding the Holy Spirit, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And, I will pray the Father; and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you...” 

Jesus, here, begins to introduce to us His perfect Surrogate, the Holy Spirit, who brings the Savior to mankind in an omnipresent way.  But, these passages also raise the question of how this relationship between Christ and the Holy Spirit works – exactly.  And the wording of the above passage certainly does tend to stimulate that discussion.

Jesus begins by saying that He is going to send “another Helper,” to His disciples. He then makes it clear that He is speaking of the Holy Spirit when He identifies the Helper as “the Spirit of Truth.” But then, He concludes by saying, “I will come to you,” seemingly indicating that He will be the Helper. Thus, the obvious question becomes:  So, what gives here?

This seeming anomaly is easily explained if we simply look again to the nature of the Divine Trinity.  Recall that in Chapter 3 we spoke of the single shared character essence among the three persons of the Divine Trinity. And, we noted that this shared essence provided them with what might be accurately called a “Complex Oneness.” And that complex oneness is the ability to remain ever one in essence, even while they are expressing themselves in an individual way.

 Well, here, we are now exposed to an additional benefit of that complex oneness in the nature of God.  It is this. The persons of the Divine Trinity are not only able to be their distinct selves in any given moment, but, they are also able, at the same time, to perfectly represent each other as a very precise and accurate surrogate.  And again, this is actually effortless for them, due to that single shared divine character essence. 

This reality clearly emerges from a conversation which Jesus had with his disciple, Philip, as part of his discourse on the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Bible records this request of Philip to Jesus during the conversation: “Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’” 

“Jesus then said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?’” 

What Jesus was actually indicating to Philip was that He, Jesus, was one in character essence with the Father. Thus, He could accurately say, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” 

In general terms, our character essence is just that distinct inner architecture which makes us who we are as a unique individual.  And that defining architecture would certainly include our value system, which is at the core of our identity. And the same would be true of the divine character essence.

So, what these followers of Christ failed to recognize during this exchange was that they had been observing the character essence of the Father through the Son, all along. They did not understand that Christ, in His daily activities, was constantly and perfectly expressing the character essence of the Father in the form of values, thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions. Thus, Christ’s point: that through that exhibition He had already clearly demonstrated for them the identity (the character essence) of God the Father.

And, Jesus then continued speaking to Philip, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” 

And, this idea of a surrogate representation remains the same when it comes to the identity of the Living Christ being conveyed by the Holy Spirit. The character essence of Christ is also perfectly conveyed to the believer through the Holy Spirit by that same singularity of essence which allows Christ to convey the Father.

Thus, Jesus could accurately say about the coming Holy Spirit, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” That statement was accurate because His character essence would, indeed, be precisely conveyed to believers in an omnipresent way by the Holy Spirit through that essential oneness of the Divine Trinity. 

As Christ’s perfect doppelganger, then, the Holy Spirit becomes the believer’s ever present connection to the Living Christ.  He literally provides all initiated believers (those who have experienced the metaphysical merger) with constant and simultaneous access to the character essence of the Living Christ.  Thus, it is in this way that the Divine Spirit becomes the facilitator of that renewing metaphysical merger between Christ and the devout believer. 

***

            ~4.2 The Holy Spirit, Facilitator of an Empowered Renewal:   So, the Holy Spirit changes everything by serving as the broad means of integration between the believer and the Living Christ. And, through this merger with His character essence, devout believers are able to know this Christ-empowered newness of heart and life. Thus, Jesus would say to those early disciples (and to us), “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” 

  The promise of which Jesus speaks here is recorded in the Old Testament where God said through the prophet, Joel, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh...” With this promise, God was forecasting a time when He would make the Divine Spirit, universally available to mankind on a personalized basis.

So, Jesus was simply letting His disciples know that the time for the fulfillment of that promise was at hand.  And, He was encouraging them to wait for this divine empowerment in Jerusalem.

We now know that the promise of this broad availability of the Divine Spirit was, indeed, fulfilled shortly after Jesus gave these instructions. This fulfillment came in spectacular fashion as the Holy Spirit first appeared to and dramatically impacted a group of Christ’s disciples who were gathered in an upstairs room in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, a Jewish holiday. And, with that event, a whole new era and a whole new dimension of the God/man relationship came into being. (Ref. Acts 2:1-4)

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            ~4.2a And, About That Power:   To be sure, there is a dimension of power afforded to the devout believer who shares in the Christ-essence. But, this power is a very defined and targeted enablement which works specifically in the interest of human renewal. It simply enables us to become a thoroughly character-renewed human being, so we can know an elevated life experience and a meaningful and enduring relationship with the God who created us for that simple purpose.

So, we should note, at this point, that this oneness with the character essence of Christ, and the power which flows from that connection, as wondrous as it is, does not make us divine. Nor does it erase our humanity or our personal identity.  But it does do very well what it is primarily intended to do, i.e. to renew our fallen nature.

The fact is, God originally created the human creature that He loved and with whom he wanted to share life. So, He is not now trying to re-make us into little gods, or absorb us into His God-nature, through Christ.  He is simply restoring and enriching the beautiful human nature which He chose for us in the first place.  And, in this proper use, this character integration, which devout believers are now allowed to experience with the Living Christ, is, indeed, a wonderfully awesome force.

And, we should also make one additional point about this empowerment by the Living Christ. This divine enrichment expresses itself in many ways.  Certainly, this divine aid can come as a straight-forward, thoroughly enabling power.  But, it can also express itself in the form of graceful insights, new perspectives, whispered encouragements, etc.  Indeed, Christ has many ways to empower the elevation of the believer. 

So, it would be a mistake to conceive of this Christ-enablement as always and only coming in that singular form of raw divine power which, in turn, would make life’s challenges always effortless for the believer.  Again, it does sometimes reveal itself in this way.  But vastly more often, this empowerment also involves some level of intellectual, emotional, and/or material investment on the part of the believer.  

No doubt this is so because the sharing of life’s challenges with Christ truly catalyzes and deepens the renewal of our character – as well as the development of our divine friendship.  And, that deep and durable friendship is the real end game, after all.

***

            ~4.2b The Ultimate Target:  Nevertheless, in whatever way it reveals itself, this divine enablement of the believer by the Living Christ is the twist in God’s redemptive plan which no one really saw coming before it first arrived in that upper room in the first century. But, as it turns out, this prophetically foretold, Spirit facilitated, Christ-enablement is actually the redemptive “Target Event” of these New Testament times.  (Ref. Col. 1:25-27 // Ezk. 36: 25-27) 

Indeed, this is the wondrous, completing element of God’s redemptive plan which fulfills the ultimate divine intention – this intention. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” And, a major aspect of the role of the Holy Spirit continues to be, to this very day, to facilitate this empowering Christ connection and the human renewal which flows out of it.

***

            ~4.3 The Holy Spirit, Restorer of Truth:   Jesus said this of the Holy Spirit, “… However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth...”  So, the Divine Spirit becomes a “Truth Guide” for the believer every day, just as Jesus indicated.

We discussed, earlier, how through the treachery of that first temptation, mankind was tricked into embracing his own alternative and very subjective interpretation of reality – his own version of truth. And, by this devastating divergence of heart, man became estranged from God. 

However, the Holy Spirit has now become the powerful and completely effective remedy for that ingrained confusion which was introduced so long ago.  Now, finally, in these New Testament times, the Divine Spirit, by serving as our conduit to the character essence of the Living Christ, enables believers to once again know God’s correct and authoritative interpretation of reality.

So, the Holy Spirit becomes the believer’s source of real clarity.  And, He furnishes us with not only an awareness of the Godly perspective on life, but a Christ-empowered ability to fully embrace it, as we shall more broadly confirm in the following sections. 

***

            ~4.4 The Holy Spirit, Facilitator of a Whole New Way of Life:   This metaphysical merger with Christ is, indeed, inestimable in its value to the believer’s quality of life.  And, one of the most immediate impacts of the merger is to that brand of faith which actually saves the soul – that type of faith which might be accurately referred to as “Redemptive Faith.”

***

            ~4.4a But First, the Concepts of Influence and Control:   To really understand the concept of Redemptive Faith we must first and briefly delve into the concepts of Influence and Control.  So, let’s start this discussion with a real “poser” (that’s southern-speak for a deeply philosophical brain teaser.)  And, that very lofty question is this.  Which is better - to be a big fish in a little pond, or a little fish in a big pond?

Most people quickly choose the Big fish - little pond scenario. But, why?  People typically gravitate toward this option because they instinctively understand that they would have more control over their immediate reality in a big fish - little pond situation. And, in fact, this need for influence, or circumstantial control, is a universal motive which moves all of us on the most basic level. 

So, let’s examine this need for influence and control more closely. This examination will show us the central place of this motive in man’s existence, in our relationship to each other, and in our relationship to God. And, we will be able to note the central standing of these issues in God’s redemptive work. 

***

            ~4.4b The Real Money:   Really, for fallen mankind, it all starts and ends with this idea of control. Whether you are black, white, yellow, or brown it doesn’t matter.  Whether you are a Type A or B personality, a prince or a pauper, your daily life, your eternal destiny, and certainly your relationship with God are all very impacted by this question, “Who is in control?” 

The idea is, of course, who holds the ability to govern and volitionally manipulate reality.  And, this question is ever in play throughout the course of our life, in big circumstances and small.

Because this issue of control is so primary to our existence, it actually creates what might accurately be described as the “universal currency.” This is the real “money” after which we all seek - whether wittingly or unwittingly.  And, this universal currency is simply what we’ve come to call – Influence.

Influence, by definition, is the power or capacity to produce a desired result. In simpler terms, influence is the power to effect your own will (to exercise control) within a given situation. 
In still more encompassing terms, influence might be said to be our total personal power to bend circumstance to suit our wishes. So, our influence can be seen as the sum total of our ability to express our self within and upon our reality. 

Influence - Who has it? How much do we have? What will and can we do with it? And, what can it do for us? And, while most of us don’t often look at life merely in terms of influence and control, God absolutely thinks about life in these terms. And Satan certainly thinks in these terms. These are, in fact, among the prime issues of life, whether we have a keen awareness of them or not. 

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            ~4.4c Power in Many Forms:    Influence comes in many forms. For example, money, knowledge, military might, social position, or political clout are all just forms of influence.  So, as we employ these various means to manage and control life, they all simply coalesce under the one heading of a very personalized (you guessed it) - Influence. 

And, as the earlier analogy of “universal currency” indicates, we can simply use it’s similarities to real money to better grasp the realities surrounding the idea of influence. This is true because the actions, appetites, and motives connected to influence generally mimic those which are connected to money. And, that is understandable, since again, money is perhaps the most liquid form of influence. 

So, like money, influence is all about how much we have. It is about how we can use it to express ourselves and further our own ends.  Influence is about where we might strategically invest it to gain more. It is about having more than the next guy. It is about always having enough to get what we want - just like money.
            Indeed, influence is the real driver and medium of exchange in both the physical and metaphysical dimensions of life. So, deep in the human psyche, we all covet this “wealth.” We want this raw personal power which allows us to impose our will upon our reality - and sometimes, upon the reality of others. And we use many tactics to be able to achieve those ends.

For example, many of us busy ourselves, sometimes entirely, in the aggressive pursuit of material wealth. But, again, what we are really pursuing is the power to better control our life circumstance through the use of that wealth.  

Sometimes, as mentioned, we also invest our influence to gain more influence later. So, we invest our energies in education, for example.

Sometimes we align our influence with others to quickly enlarge it.   And so, perhaps we involve ourselves in politics or labor unions. 

 But, all of these tactics, are really just expressions of the same, deep seated desire.  It is the desire to facilitate our own will and well-being.   

***

            ~4.4d Now, the Point – The Nature and Dimension of Redemptive Faith:   We have previously delved into those thoughts surrounding the ideas of influence and control in order be able to now show the unique nature and defining dimension of Redemptive Faith.  And, there are, in fact, different kinds of faith. 

For example, faith can express itself as a tenacious belief in an future outcome. So, faith, in this case, becomes a strong inner confidence.   

Faith can also express itself as a real investment of effort.  Thus, we may faithfully undertake and continue to pursue a worthy cause or project, sometimes, even in the face of great hardship.  So, this is a faith which devotedly perseveres to achieve some end result.

Redemptive faith, the faith which actually saves the soul, is also a quite unique kind of faith.  So, to really understand what constitutes redemptive faith, we will now draw upon our previous thoughts on influence and control. 

The things which make redemptive faith distinctive are two – its Nature and its Dimension.  And, the ideas of influence and control are both necessarily involved in clearly exposing these two distinctives.

The actual Nature of redemptive faith can be accurately understood to be simply this – a profound humility of influence before Christ.  In real terms, then, it plays out this way. 

As noted previously, from the very beginning, mankind has had the ability to become self-sovereign (self-determined) and make independent choices which could affect our own and the larger reality around us.  And, Adam and Eve made the decision to exercise that prerogative and, in turn, infected the whole of the species with that same driving desire to be self-determined.

Thus now, from the time we’re born, we individually embrace and employ a self-determined life approach.  We do this by wielding our personal influence (our personal capacity to bend circumstance to suit ourselves).  Again, as mentioned, our general intent is simply to gain an ever greater control over our reality in the interest of securing our own wishes and well-being. 

But the truly redemptive faith involved in our embrace of the Lordship of Christ is the heart-felt desire to quite willingly place our personal influence under the control of Christ.  Thereby, we are entrusting Him with control over our lives, and thus, too, with our well-being.  So, it is this voluntary surrender of our personal influence to Christ (in effect, the surrender of control) which constitutes the basic nature of redemptive faith. 

But it is the Dimension of this surrender which then completes the definition of a truly redemptive faith.  And, that dimension is ever an “all-in” specification.  That is, redemptive faith is always an all-encompassing intention regarding giving over control of our life to Christ.  Redemptive faith simply does not exist as a partial intention of surrender.

It is only a full bore, comprehensive intention to thoroughly surrender ones influence to Christ which actually initiate a viable conversion from our previous self-determined life to a Christ-guided one.  Indeed, from the very beginning God’s people have always been admonished, “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  So, an all-in sellout to Christ as Lord is the only real and defining substance of that redemptive faith which actually saves the soul and reinitiates a new beginning to our friendship with God.

***

            ~4.5 Early Impacts – First, Faith:    We began the immediately previous discussions a few sections back under the Subtitle, “~4.4 The Holy Spirit: Facilitator of a Whole New Way of Life.”  Now, with these previous thoughts on redemptive faith in mind, we’re ready to actually expose, in some detail, that “Whole New Way of Life” which is afforded to the devout believer by the Divine Spirit as He connects us to the character essence of Christ.  And, indeed, the first and very dramatic impact is to the believer’s faith. 

            It’s really very simple.  As our core person becomes integrated with the enriching character essence of Christ, our own more vulnerable faith (influential humility), which is primarily based only in our human character essence, is immediately strengthened by the more vibrant faith value of Christ.  This is the first effect of Christ’s value system beginning to overwrite that of the believer in a renewing way. 

In the New Testament, the apostle, Paul, referred in this way to this transition from merely our own weaker faith to share in the much more vibrant faith of Christ. He says, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” 

And, in another place the apostle said this, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith…” 

So, among the foundational corrections made to our own character essence through this Spirit-facilitated merger with Christ is the strengthening of our faith (our influential humility before God). Thus the strong vitality of Christ’s faith value immediately begins to bolster our own as we connect to His character essence.

And, out of this more consistent faith attitude of humility is born, not only a consistently faith-expressive lifestyle, but also a new and increasing level of peace in our relationship with God. And how could that not come to pass as we begin to experience an enlarging harmony with the divine heart due to our deepening humility (our Christ-strengthened faith) before Him?

***

            ~4.6 Now, Grace:   Another restorative impact of the merger of our character essence with that of Christ involves the idea of Grace. Obviously, grace is also a very important concept in redemption. However, in more recent times, largely due to pop-preaching, grace has gotten a “bum rap.”  This is true in that grace has come to be widely, but erroneously, understood to mean merely, “God’s unmerited favor.” 

This is actually more the definition of mercy (a product of grace) than it is grace.  But, in fact, “Mercy” and “Grace” do not equally interchange as terms. 

So, to accurately understand the meaning of Grace, and thus, its full scope in the redemptive work, let’s just look at the dictionaries’ recognized definition of the word.  And, we should probably point out here that the Bible does not have its own special meanings for the words which it contains. In fact, just the reverse is true. In any reputable translation of the Bible, every effort goes toward the accurate rendering into the commonly held usage. 

So, to understand the Bible correctly, and therefore to understand God correctly, we should hold to those accurate common meanings as well. Off-handed catch phrases and the clichés of pop-preaching are not really the stuff of durable truth.  So, let’s, here, consult the books that are. 

Webster's Dictionary defines Grace as, “Seemingly effortless beauty, ease and charm of movement, proportion, or form; a charming quality or characteristic.” Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary defines it as, “Any excellent characteristic, quality, or endowment.” 

The Greek word which is translated as grace every time, save one, in the New Testament is “Charis.” Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, a widely and highly regarded work, gives this definition for that word. “That which affords joy, pleasure, delight.” 

Strong’s Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, also a very highly regarded work, gives this meaning for “Charis”.  “Graciousness (as gratifying) of manner or act.” 

Obviously, these dictionaries give us a much broader definition of grace than is involved in the popular but very limited idea of “unmerited favor.” And, the broad, composite idea that they provide is really a very simple one. These respected lexicons describe grace, in short, as simply an “innate goodness” (innate meaning, occurring naturally).

So, this broader idea of Grace as simply a characteristic goodness in one’s nature is, indeed, a much larger idea than that of mere mercy or unmerited favor. And, this distinction becomes very important to an accurate understanding of that transformative process which brings us to a vital friendship with God and that “whole new way of life” that we mentioned earlier.  It is this larger idea of grace as a naturally occurring goodness which actually allows us to mine all of the richness which the New Testament offers to believers through the accurate concept of grace. 

And, if we are truly astute, we will not ponder this larger concept of grace for long before we start to wonder about, not only our capacity, but also God’s capacity for this naturally occurring goodness. In other words, we will start to ask questions like, “Where does God’s grace come from?” or “What is the underlying mechanism which causes this naturally occurring goodness to be in the character essence of God.

So, let’s explore, for a brief time, the implications of this larger idea of grace. And, while we’re at it, let’s just go ahead and connect those ancillary “dots” – those questions which we just raised regarding God’s gracefulness, which are also very germane to this issue of grace.

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            ~4.7 A Deep-Dive:   To really view the full wonder of the redemptive blessings which surround the idea of grace, we will need to do a quick deep-dive here. My promise to the reader is that, in only a few pages from now, we will come back up again for air.  But, for now, we must go to these deeper depths of thought to glimpse these glistening redemptive treasures which are embedded in this larger and more accurate idea of grace.

***

~4.7a Values Are the Key:   So, now we’re entering the intricate depths of the Spiritual transformation of the devout believer, beginning with this.  When we are joined to the character of Christ by the Divine Spirit, we experience a whole new level of God awareness.

And, as we have already noted, this sudden, new sensitivity can be explained by one occurrence: the inflow of a new set of values, the divine values of the Living Christ.   And, this influx goes far beyond just the impact to our faith value that we discussed previously.  In fact, we are connected to the whole of Christ’s value system. And, the whole of ours is profoundly affected.  So, on our way to that grace discussion, let’s talk a bit more about values.

***

~4.7b Values Are Life’s Filter System:   To now be more specific, a value is simply a very deeply and dearly held idea, belief, life tenet, principle, etc. And a value system is all of our values taken together. And, these values are so basic to our character essence that they actually become mostly instinctive in their impact on our thoughts and actions.

And, these very visceral values (or inner motives) serve as our first line of perception.  They are the interpretive context through which we filter all of life. Thus, our value system serves as a very intuitive autopilot to guide our actions and our reactions to life’s various circumstances.

As a result, it’s our values which determine our likes and dislikes. They determine what is important and what is not. They determine what we understand to be right or wrong. And, it is our value system which always decides the most basic issues of all: the issues of good and evil.

So, understanding all of this about values, it’s easy to see how it is simply the goodness of God’s values which produce the gracefulness (the naturally occurring goodness) in His own character essence. And, it then becomes easy to see how, as we start to share the value system of Christ, the same is done for us. 

***

            ~4.7c The Spectacular Outflow of a Christ-based Grace:   At this point, we dare not fail to also take note of another life-changing benefit of our merger with Christ.  Flowing out of this new-found, Christ-based grace (spawned by His now shared values in the integrated believer’s heart) comes a hugely positive change in the way God’s people are personally governed and guided in their day-to-day responses to God and to life’s various and changing circumstances.

 It all plays out like this.  As Christ’s divine values become internalized within our own character essence our graceful responses to life’s various circumstances become much more intuitive.  They simply flow naturally from those divine values which have now truly become ours through Christ.

So, this now naturally occurring goodness (grace) within us, begins to provide the believer with a whole new and much more natural form of personal government. The apostle, Paul confirms the transition to this new “Grace-based heart-government” by his clear statement in Romans.  There he says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” 

With this and many other such statements, the Bible affirms that, in these New Testament times, our symbiotic connection to the Living Christ has enabled devout believers to move beyond that always troubling awkwardness of externalized rules. Rather, the Living Christ has now brought to the devout believer, this fully internalized, naturally occurring (graceful) awareness of true goodness.  And this naturalization of our governing mechanism is a much more comfortable means of personal discipline.  (Ref. Rom.16: 20 & 24 // 1Cor. 1:4 / 15:10 / 16:23 // 2 Cor. 1:12 / 9:8 / 13:14 // Gal. 6:18 // Col. 3:16 / 4:6 // 1 The. 5:28 // 2Tim. 2:1 // Phm.1:25 // Heb. 12:28 / 13:9 // 2 Pet. 3:18 // Rev. 22:21)

It’s very simple really.  When you actually own the rules, the rules no longer own you.  And, a well governed life becomes much easier. We then naturally choose and do good because we actually feel, within our own heart, that it is, indeed, good to do.  Thus, through our connection to the grace-distilling values of the Living Christ, embracing good becomes easy-peazy, and evil is clearly exposed and easily abhorred. (Ref. Ezekiel 36: 26-27)

And, why can’t good be easy and evil be hard.  We certainly experience the reverse of that condition before we encounter the Living Christ in this symbiotic way.  And, in fact, the apostle confirms that now, through our Spirit-facilitated merger with Christ, the tables have, indeed, turned.  He says this. “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.  But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

And, with this very fundamental change from an externally based governance to an internal one comes a wonderful new simplicity to the believer’s daily existence and to his relationship with God. Now, instead of an awkward, and constant, and stressful rule management process, the Christ-enabled believer simply responds from his or her own Christ-provided instinctive goodness.

Obviously, this naturalized goodness is a far superior means of heart government and life management. Now, the believer is able to properly respond to a given life circumstance in the simplicity of his own Christ based instincts. And, he is able to respond to God in the same way. Such is the wonder and ease of this new heart-government which is entirely enabled and sustained by the graceful character essence of the Living Christ now existent within the initiated believer.

***

            ~4.7d About Those Druthers:   But, how could this high degree of spontaneity in Christ not take us far astray in our perspectives, and thus ultimately, in our behavior. What keeps our powerful want-to, for example, from overriding our real need-to?  What keeps our druthers, from derailing our duty?

To be sure, it is very important to understand that this new grace guided life does not make us a law unto ourselves. Rather, it attunes us to God’s highest law – His own good heart. So, what keeps those outlandish tangents from occurring?

Well, that’s the whole point, really.  Grace does.  This is precisely the thing that it is designed to do.  So, either this Christ-enabled spontaneous goodness of heart is real, or it is not.  Either it does well govern our lives, or it does not.  Either it does bring to us a viable, naturally occurring goodness which well informs our heart and our behavior, or it does not. 

 But, in fact, the Bible teaches that it does absolutely do these things, as in this passage.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Thus, the failure of some to experience this higher plain of awareness and behavior changes nothing.  It is, nevertheless, always there for the having, through our merger with the Living Christ. And, in fact, this was a part of God’s plan all along as the biblical writer indicates.  (Ezek. 36:26-27)

The sad reality is that, from the beginning, some among us have always very deftly managed to ignore, and squander, and deny, and suppress, and pervert this magnificent opportunity for elevation which the Living Christ offers to the devoted heart.  And seemingly, in this life, that will always be the case. 

 But, because some are deceived, and/or deceive themselves, does not mean that this genuine and quite amazing transformation of the human experience cannot possibly exist for anyone. In fact, in reality, this entirely new and elevated means of personal governance, exists for everyone who is willing to faithfully pursue it through that Spirit-facilitated merger with the Living Christ.

***

            ~4.7e Restored Values, Restored Truth:   And still, even beyond the inestimable value of this new grace-enabled heart government, we are also able to experience, in Christ, yet another invaluable benefit. Indeed, it is the restoration of authentic truth, i.e. a Christ-interpreted reality.

 As we begin to share in Christ’s interpretive context (His value system) and filter the issues of our life through it, we are brought back to a truthful perspective (the divine perspective) on life’s circumstances. Thus, that precious thing which we lost in the Garden of Eden, that correct and authoritative divine perspective on life, is fully restored to the devout believer in the Living Christ.

 So, our connection to this new Christ-based value system is, indeed, the “goose,” (the source) which constantly produces those daily “golden eggs” of faith, grace, and truth.   Daily, then, the Christ-integrated believer enjoys a formidable and consistent faith-expressiveness.  And, each day his or her life is instinctively guided and governed by a completely comfortable and quite intuitive Christ sustained goodness.  And, it all constantly occurs in the context of authentic, divine truth.    

***

             ~4.7f In Infant Form:    And certainly, we should note that all of this, the value system of Christ and the faith, grace, and truth which it produces, initially come to us in primordial (or infant) form. There is actually a helpful analogy in this regard between the physical birth and the metaphysical rebirth. 

Notice that in the physical birth, at the very moment of conception, the stage becomes set for an entirely new expression of personality to enter the Universe. And that expression is largely defined by the encoded DNA message contained within that new life.

 And, that defining genetic message is there from the very beginning of our existence as a person. But, also note this. It only ever fully expresses itself with time.

 So, too, is the process of this new metaphysical birth in Christ.  Indeed, it is important to understand that we receive the Christ essence, including His values, in a quite potent, but still infant form. And, God then uses time and the circumstances of life experience as maturing agents to bring full expression to this “Christ Code,” (this new value system) within us.

***

            ~4.7g And What of Setbacks and Struggles:  And, we should also note that, just as there are environmental impacts, challenges, and setbacks, etc., in the physical process of growing to maturity, so also are these in the metaphysical process. Nevertheless, these struggles do not disable or disavow the viability of the metaphysical transformation.  In fact, they are actually an integral and important part of it.

Thus, with time, this new Christ-based character DNA (value system) within the initiated believer eventually finds its full expression in the form of his or her mature, Christ-enriched character essence.  And, remaining at the center of that new character essence is that Christ-based, grace-producing value system which simply continues to produce all of those wondrous benefits mentioned previously in the believer’s daily life.

The Apostle, Paul, describes this Spirit-facilitated, Christ-enabled growth process and the eventual maturity which results from it, in these words. “And He [Jesus] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect [mature] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ  [Brackets added]

***

~4.7h The Faith / Grace Advantage:   Before we close, for now, our discussion of the Role of the Holy Spirit, we should also point out something else. To be clear, we should note that even sharing in the faith and grace of Christ does not make good choices and actions a completely automatic response, even for the most devout believer.

Never – neither in this physical life, nor in the life to come – is the human being relieved of his or her moral capacity or responsibility to always volitionally choose good over evil. This capacity and this responsibility are intrinsic and indispensable elements of the human essence. God created us with this moral dimension, and our reclamation in Christ in no way erases that dimension or diminishes its necessity or importance. 
            So, if our enriched faith and grace in Christ, does not make good choices and actions an absolute given, then what do these things do? Well, the short answer is this. Our Christ enhanced faith and grace simply change our attractions.

It works like this. The sinful motive (or value) of self-determination, the motive to merely please one’s self, once seemed so irresistibly attractive.  But now, revitalized in Christ, our new Christ-based value system recognizes and exposes that essential sin motive of self-determination for what it truly is: ugly and evil. And similarly, our Christ renewed values also expose our faith and grace based motives for what they are: truly good.

So, our now engrafted divine values, by giving us a new and more accurate awareness of what is truly good and truly evil, has shifted the weight of attraction.  Thus, moved by this new awareness of and attraction to true goodness, those better motives become more than a match for those old selfish motives which were once so irresistible.

 So, while good choices and actions are not absolutely automatic for the believer, yet, in the Living Christ, such decisions are no longer overwhelming either. Instead, they have been made completely manageable and consistently doable, as the faith and grace of Christ now operate within us on the most primary governing level of our heart.

So, when faced with the choice to humbly trust God’s perspective or gratify some opposing selfish perspective, it becomes, not automatic, but certainly weighted toward easy to choose correctly. The reason being, true goodness now holds a natural attraction for us – made so by the grace producing value system of Christ operating within us. 

Paul framed his description of this new Christ-based affinity for true goodness this way. “For by grace [God’s] you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” [Bracket added]

Now, to enjoy, one more time, the wonder which these words describe, let’s take a moment to paraphrase them by plugging in the concepts which we have just been discussing. In that case, the verses could be read like this.

Through His naturally occurring goodness, God devised a way to restore you to a durable and mutually meaningful relationship with Him through your faith which has now been vastly enriched by that of the Living Christ.  So, do not be boastful. For, indeed, the revitalized faith which now operates in you is not born of your efforts.  Rather, it is the gift of God – given to you through your character merger with the Living Christ. This is God’s means to re-create you and equip you for the truly good works which He intended, all along, that you should do.

***

~4.7i Not Just a Growth Process:   Now, there remains but one final issue.  And then, you’ll be free to head back to the surface from this deep-dive into the workings of God’s authentic redemptive process.  And certainly, at that point, you can take a breath and float on your back for a while as you ponder all of the wondrous stuff we’ve just covered.

But before you do that, let’s briefly consider this one more thing.  Obviously, as previously noted, the time-involved aspect of our growth in Christ is, indeed, important and intrinsic to our metaphysical maturity. However, it is a mistake to think of one’s completion in the Living Christ as only that – a simple growth process.  As noted earlier, our Spiritual merger with Christ certainly initiates this time-involved facet of our renewal process. But, to be clear, it is not, and never can be – only that.

Our genuine newness and eventual maturity in Christ never result from merely the longevity of a religious walk.  Becoming a “new creature in Christ” is always rooted in an actual character merger with Christ, not merely in growing older, wiser, and more sophisticated in our religious involvements.

Jesus said it this way, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” 

So, absent a personal merger with the character essence of the Living Christ (an actual connection to the vitality of the “Vine,” [the Living Christ] ) the believer is left without any real possibility of reaching a “God-approvable” state of completion. 

To be sure, intense human effort can, in some measure, make us wiser and enable us to live somewhat more consistently than if we did not try at all. But, such effort, in any measure, cannot literally connect us to the real character essence of Christ.

 Thus, it cannot connect us to His empowering faith, or to His renewing grace, or to His truth distilling value system. So, mere religious learning and longevity, in and of itself, can never bring us to a truly intimate heart-oneness with God.

 Only a literal, Spirit-facilitated merger with the character essence of the Living Christ can achieve those indispensable things. Human effort alone simply has not the capacity to repair our deep brokenness. That can only happen through our real connection to the vitality of the Living Christ which brings His shared character essence to life within us. 

***

OK, you can head back up and catch your breath now.  The “Deep Dive” is over – for now.

 

 

  Chapter 5: Satan and the Dark Economy

***

Not every drama has an antagonist, but the redemptive drama surly does. 

And, he is the most villainous of all villains.

***

            ~5.1 The Correct World View:   Long ago, in a perfect place, a voice was heard making promises. It was a smooth voice, as articulate as a scholar and as affable as a pleasant friend. Essentially, it promised this, I can show you a better way forward which will change everything. All you have to do is ignore your fears and believe in your own potential.

You can then cast off the divine restrictions and begin to decide good and evil for yourself. At that point, your life will truly become your own. And, you can pursue personal gratification in whatever way seems good to you. 

But, as they always are, Satan’s seductive promises to the first couple in the Garden of Eden were entirely deceptive. Indeed, everything did change. But those changes were in no way positive as promised.

Instead, mankind’s blissful existence in paradise was immediately lost. And, we became entirely broken – and brokenhearted.  Death became an invariable part of the human existence.  And, a truly tactile access to our benevolent Creator became a thing of the past.  (Ref. Gen. 3:)

And, no doubt, at the end of it all, Satan could be heard sarcastically gloating.  See, the old serpent probably quipped, everything has changed – just as I promised. And, for the very first time, mankind tasted the deep bitterness of what it means to be a very great fool.

Since the sorrow of that early moment, God has revealed to faithful minds that the correct world view is one which includes two life dimensions – the Physical Dimension and the Metaphysical Dimension. The physical dimension (this physical life) is the smaller component.  And, the metaphysical (or spiritual) dimension is the infinitely larger one. 

Obviously, this smaller plane of life is relatively easy for us to navigate, but that larger –  not so much.  And, the reason is fairly obvious.  It is because the physical senses, which we are able to use so handily to maneuver within the physical dimension, are hugely inadequate regarding the metaphysical dimension.  

So, to help us understand that more ethereal metaphysical realm we are really left with only those insights within the divine revelations of the Bible and the truthful whispers of the Divine Spirit.  But certainly, these precious resources, though only two, are entirely adequate.  They fully enable us to mine that wealth of knowledge which lies within that larger dimension if we so choose.  For example, by these means, we have already understood that the metaphysical realm, while it entirely envelopes the physical, also remains completely intimate with it.  

Thus, the metaphysical reality operates unseen, all around us every day. And, the dynamic impacts of that larger reality are constantly occurring in this smaller one.  Although, due to their often subtle nature, we may sometimes remain oblivious to their occurrences. (Ref. John 16:13 / Eph. 6:12 / 2 Thess. 2:16-17 / 1 Peter 5:8)

 But one of those impacts makes itself very clearly felt every single day in this physical venue.  It is the constant and pervasive conflict between good and evil.  Indeed, this conflict, which is shared by both Heaven and Earth, is among the most prominent indicators of that intimate integration between the physical and the metaphysical dimensions.  

And, this conflict also stands among the most prominent features of the redemptive landscape.  So much so, that most any discussion of the larger human condition is quite highly informed by this struggle, largely owing to the cosmic stature of its two “Prime Movers” – God and Satan.

So now, for a time, let’s look into this conflict.  Doing so will enable us to better grasp the larger context of God’s friendship.  But, it will also enable us to better understand the nature and behavior of the enemies of that friendship, those being, Satan and the dark horde, both demon and human, which he leads.

***

            ~5.2 Wireframing the Conflict:  So, this is the way of things. There are these two diametrically opposed primary influences, God and Satan. And, they are driven by two entirely different value systems which produce entirely different interpretations of reality. And each of us is influentially identified by the values to which we subscribe and actually employ to determine truth – whether they are God’s values or those Satan-prompted, self-determined values.

Over time, we have come to label these two differing metaphysical economies, which stem from the differing views of God and Satan, as simply, the Light and the Darkness, respectively.  The simple meaning of the word, “Light,” as it is figuratively used in the Bible, refers to the divine values and/or the truth they distill, or an awareness of the same. Thus, the figurative idea of the “Darkness” then becomes the absence of those things.

***

 

            ~5.3 The Roles Within the Conflict:   So, as mentioned, there are two Primary Influences in this conflict. The first, of course, is God. His influence always expresses virtue, including truth, love, nobility, and order.  Always, God’s influence is exerted to stimulate true goodness.

The second primary influence in this conflict is Satan’s. His influence is always evil including all that is dark, deceptive, destructive, and chaotic. This satanic influence is never straightforward, or honest, or truthful - though it always attempts to deceptively present itself in all of those ways.

So, God and Satan are the main voices in this great conflict which, in turn, massively defines the redemptive drama.  And, within that redemptive plotline, both are competing to be accepted by man as the authentic truth-giver, the correct and authoritative interpreter of reality.  And this, then, exposes the role of humanity.  We are simply the Subscribers to one or the other of those more primary voices.  And, we are all already enrolled on one side or the other.

In fact, none of us can abstain from the necessities which this cosmic conflict has thrust upon us. We must, and we do, all choose to embrace the light of God’s authentic truth or the darkness of Satan’s delusions. And, we do so either as a matter of volition or simply by our neglect of the whole affair – which puts us squarely in Satan’s camp.

Thus, the influence of every human being is already committed to either God or Satan, based in the values, truth, and daily leadership to which we subscribe, either actively or passively.  If that is to God’s leadership through Christ, then we walk among the faithful.  But, if we subscribe to the self-directed life approach, simply pursuing life as we please, then we have embraced Satan’s values (chiefly characterized by self-determination), and his delusional “truth” and subliminal leadership.  So, in this case, our influence goes among those who ultimately serve the Darkness.  And, while it may seem that these subscribers are exerting their influence purely in a self-serving way, ultimately, this is never really the case.  They are also serving the Darkness.

Thus, when you think about it, in both of these scenarios, what we are actually doing is giving over control of our influence to the one whose values we embrace and to whose interpretations of reality we both subscribe and respond.  Thus, it is in this very concrete way that we make ourselves either the influential offspring of God or that of Satan.

***

~5.4 The Children:  And, this idea of our being the influential child of one or the other of these prime movers is easily confirmed in the Bible.  Jesus exposed this reality in a conversation with some men who were opposing His teachings on one occasion when He said, “‘I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’” 

“They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’”

“Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now, you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’” 

“Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father – God.’”

“‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 

“‘Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

“‘But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.’” 

***

~5.5 So Again, the Importance of Values:   These words from Jesus do, indeed, bring us back to the central place of values. Essentially, Jesus was letting these people know why they could not recognize or understand God’s truth. He was pointing out that they had what we might accurately describe as a “cognitive shell,” a kind of intellectual resistance created by their rejection of the divine values.

Thus, they were deafened to God’s interpretations of reality by their Satan-inspired values which were based in the idea of self-determination, and thus, self-interest.  And, Jesus points out here that, as a result, they had become the children (the influential offspring) of Satan.

And again, it is true.  Our influential identities are always established according to which of those prime value systems we embrace and employ to interpret and respond to reality.

So, if through Christ, we embrace God’s values, and thus, His correct interpretation of reality (truth), we become a product (a child) of His influence. On the other hand, when we decide to self-interpret life, we have, by that decision, embraced the prime tenet of Satan’s value system (self-determination) – and thus, we make ourselves the offspring of his influence.

So, to be sure, the economy of the Darkness is populated by the unseen demons of that Darkness.  But this economy is also peopled by these children of the Darkness who have been duped by Satan’s treacherous pitch for self-sufficiency.

And this willful choice for personal sovereignty, is always embraced through the same, decision.  It is the decision to make one’s own self-developed value system the highest interpretive authority regarding life’s choices, decisions, and directions etc.  

This was Satan’s devastating “Eden Prescription” for Adam and Eve, and through them, for all of mankind. Yet, this independent approach to life remains nothing more than it was in the Garden of Eden. It is still only a deceitful misdirection, based in a lying satanic whisper, which causes the gullible to entrust themselves to themselves instead of to the loving and dependably good care of God.

And, it is this devilish delusion of self-sufficiency which Christ’s redemptive love continues to target. His intention is to draw to Himself, through faith, those who have been victimized by this life approach, and set them free from its deceptive and destructive attraction.

***

            ~5.6 So, It Is a War About Influence After All:  When viewed in its simplest terms, this conflict between God and Satan is, indeed, entirely about the issue of influence. Remembering that influence is always about the power to shape reality to your own specifications, it becomes obvious that this is exactly what God and Satan are competing to do in this world and beyond. 

God would establish a physical reality that is shaped by His benevolent and correct interpretation of good and evil (His authentic truth) – leading to the eternal elevation of His beloved mankind. But, Satan would have this physical reality which is spun according to his sinister specification of universal self-sovereignty – leading to rampant discord, chaos, and man’s eternal failure. Thus, both are simply intending to exert their influence upon this physical dimension of reality to shape it to their own designs.

And, the surrounding basic facts are these. God is the almighty and all-knowing Creator who has brought all things into being. Thus, He is the only legitimate ruler over His Creation. And, in reality, He, as the all-knowing and all-powerful Creator, is the only being who is actually equipped for and capable of filling this complex governing role. And, He has clearly demonstrated His intention to do so in a way which brings true and enduring goodness to the whole of His Creation.

But in stark contrast to God’s intention for order and blessing through the establishment of the faith value in man’s heart, Satan’s usurping intention is to achieve his own supremacy over this world. He would do this through that chaotic, self-determined life-approach.  And, he is completely careless of the cost of that approach in terms of human suffering.

***

            ~5.7 The Basic Backstory:   So, the larger story of this cosmic conflict becomes a fairly simple one to follow.  Satan’s first move was simply to reject God’s authority and assert the right of self-determination for himself and those fallen angels who followed him. 

Then, in the Garden of Eden, he swept mankind up into this conflict by deceiving the first couple into embracing this same dark life-approach. And, this strategic deception to gain man’s philosophical (and thus, influential) alliance in the idea of self-determination, then, as now, had a very simple purpose.  It was, and is, to defeat God’s influence in the heart of man.  

This then, leaves only the deceptive whispers of Satan in one’s mind to deceive and delude – thereby actually giving him control over the individual.  So, as in the garden, the first delusion is always that the individual is choosing his own path and controlling his own destiny.  And, the greater delusion is that he is free to do so with impunity.  But the truth is – not hardly.

Thus, from the moment of that first temptation in Eden, man’s God-given freedom to make independent choices, originally intended to merely facilitate a truly meaningful relational conversation between God and man, has been perverted by Satan.  That relational trust has been turned into an arrogant and seditious battle cry for the so called, individual right of complete self-determination.  And, from the time of that Garden episode, Satan has continued to constantly cultivate in the heart of mankind, this rebellion against God’s love and His benevolent truth and authority.

***

            ~5.8 The Take-aways:   So, this insurrection of the Darkness is, at its core, one which adamantly opposes God’s interpretative authority over His creation and His creatures.  And, Satan’s simple goal is to dupe as many human beings as possible into joining him in that opposition through the embrace of the self-centered lifestyle.  And, in that interest, again, his seditious whispers are always, essentially, the same.  This is your life. Therefore, you should be the one to decide what’s good for you and what is not. You, and not God, are your own best hope for personal fulfillment.

So, it becomes fairly obvious that, when the facts are all in, this conflict between the Light and the Darkness, is, indeed, a conflict revolving around influence.  And, for humanity, that reality begs a very simple and a very individualized question. 

Being the now rank and file players in this dramatic conflict, it simply becomes incumbent on each of us to finally decide with whom we will invest our own influential weight.  Will we, in faith, willingly confide our personal influence to God through our embrace of the Lordship of Christ?  Or, will we choose to remain self-determined and delusionally self-sovereign, thereby serving Satan’s seditious cause?

And, about this decision, it really should be made in the light of full disclosure.  And, in that light, this self-sufficient approach becomes not nearly so attractive – even discounting the eventual destruction of one’s soul.  Even if we only take into account this present physical dimension, that self-sovereign life-approach is easily shown to be one which is ultimately very unfulfilling – actually producing an outcome that is, in one important sense, very lonely and quite burdensome.

It is true, at least in the short term, that Satan’s self-determined approach does leave one seemingly free to make his own decisions and chart his own course in this life.  And, indeed, everything does appear to be up to you.  But, the devastating hook is that everything is also – on you. This is true because the decision for self-sovereignty necessarily excludes from one’s life, God’s loving presence, helpful support, and needed interventions. 

And, this constant, all-on-you exposure is a very depleting thing.  It produces an unrelenting background pressure which, ultimately, just enslaves us to the demands of our own self-preservation and leads to its own brand of PTSD.  I call it A-PTSD - Accumulative Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  And, indeed, it is a real result of being always singularly exposed to life’s threat matrix.

And then, add to this the higher level of exposure to that divisive interpersonal competition which is naturally generated by the satanic, “me-concentric” life-approach. Then, the outlook for those who choose that self-determined approach becomes even more dismal.   

From the general public, to co-workers, to friends, even to one’s spouse – the self-determined person is ever destined to encounter this higher level of interpersonal abrasion.  Sometimes it’s milder, sometimes it’s more extreme – but it is pervasive, making the days of the self-determined much more sorrowful than they have to be.  Thus, this lonely “inner onemanship” of the self-concentric life-approach keeps an individual always starkly exposed.

So, the more accurate reality of Satan’s delusional “Lone Ranger” approach to life works out to be this.  Hey, do as you please.  It’s your right and your best hope for a truly gratifying life. That’s the spoken part. 

But this is the unspoken part.  But your back is still “your” back.  So, you cover it the best way you can.  And this is, in fact the larger picture, because, the choice of self-determination naturally declines all access to the loving and helpful resources of God. So, this is the part which is always carefully concealed by the Darkness.  Nevertheless, concealed or not, the operative term in “Lone Ranger” continues to be, “Lone.”

***

               ~5.9 The State of a World at War:   So, this is the larger life-picture. And, these are the issues surrounding Satan and the economy of the Darkness which he heads. And, this is the nature of that far-flung conflagration which he has initiated – both in the physical and the metaphysical dimensions of life.

But, be all of that as it may, The Great Lie of self-determination remains just that – the great lie. And, this attractive subterfuge of Satan is as deceitful, empty, and devastating to the human soul and the quality of this present physical life as it has ever been.

Nevertheless, the battle lines are drawn. And, the minions of Satan’s dark economy presently march in a thousand chaotic directions through this life in opposition to God’s benevolent truth. They murder babies in their mother’s womb. They would legitimize the practice of homosexuality as normal behavior. 

They use and attempt to legitimize the use of mind-numbing, soul-killing drugs. They produce media filth. They have often unwittingly served the Darkness by devising and commending to the world, false religions which serve only to confuse others and obscure God’s authentic truth.

They embrace every kind of intellectual, philosophical, and moral perversion – calling it all, “good,” and “the products of the higher conscience and superior consciousness.” Thus, they embrace and propagate every vulgar and ugly thing on the earth.

They employ brutality and oppression, political and otherwise, to ever facilitate the control of the Darkness over humanity. So, from Mohammad’s ISIS, to Hitler’s Fascism, to Marx’s Communism, to the dark minded leaders of America’s Socialist movement, the deluded ranks of Satan’s children make every effort to advance his militant grip upon humanity.

And, expressing an even more subtle opposition to the faith approach to life, are those children of Satan’s cause who go much more responsibly about their days. They do charitable things. They are conscientious in business. They give back.

They attend to religion. They carefully contribute to the general well-being of those around them and their society. And yet, for all of their self-determined “goodness,” still they refuse to humble their influence before their loving Creator through their embrace of the Lordship of Christ in real terms.

Indeed, perhaps these, with their self-righteous blind spot, most dramatically bring us back to the bedrock idea, which so clearly differentiates between the children of the Light and the children of the Darkness.  It is this.  If a Christ-empowered redemptive faith (a true and encompassing humility of influence before God) is the only bringer of God’s approval, then the reverse is also true. The motive of self-determination is ever the essential sin motive which keeps us from a relationship with Him – regardless of how it presents on the face of it.

So obviously, even in this late hour of redemptive history, that smooth and affable voice still whispers from the Darkness, Come on, entrust yourself to yourself. You really are your own best hope for a fulfilled life. And, the gullible do, indeed, still succumb, in huge numbers, to this great lie – despite all evidence to the contrary.

Nevertheless, the Living Christ ever awaits the moment of their individual desperation and the clarity of mind which that desperation can engender.  And, He does so with this powerful promise at the ready: “And, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

Chapter 6: You, and That Other You

***

 

            ~6.1 The Most Difficult Players of All:   So now, in our review of the characters involved in the redemptive drama, we come to, perhaps, the most difficult to understand players of all – you, and that other you.  We describe this endeavor as more difficult simply because the proposition becomes one of self-awareness – with human beings, always a tricky process. 

Nevertheless, becoming accurately self-aware is important to successful living in general. And, an accurate self-awareness is especially important in one’s friendship with God. 

God is many things, but He is nothing if not a realist when it comes to relationship.  As mentioned previously, He is simply not a relational game player.  Again, He pretty much insists on friendships which are of a high quality, mutually fulfilling nature and rooted in truth.  And, as noted, He will be patient with us while we get there.  And certainly, a big part of that getting there, is an accurate self-awareness.

So, who are you?  No, I mean really.  And, who is that other you we keep hearing about? Well, let’s find out. 

***

            ~6.2 A Confluence of Many Voices:   When it comes to guidance along the lines of self-awareness, there is certainly no shortage of commentary out there – including this one, I suppose. Indeed, there are many who are willing to help you get to know you better.  And, some of those helpers are truly beneficial, while others – well, not so much.

For example, if you are talking to a humanist, or an atheist, or a godless liberal elitist, they may be tolerant of your view of who you are. However, in the final analysis, their godlessness forces them to ultimately define all human beings as merely specks of carbon dust hurtling across the Universe toward their fairly imminent end in oblivion. 

Obviously, this dismal perspective on the human identity has some drawbacks. But, indeed, it does leave one entirely in charge of his or her present existence, at least for a while. And, being completely in charge seems to be what these types care most about.

But certainly, we are left with this difficulty. It would seem that whoever we are, according to such teachers, we will not be that for long. Seemingly, the best we can hope for regarding the survival of our personal identity is only the prospect of a few impact tracks left behind on the pathway of history. 

Otherwise, it would seem our personal identity is scheduled to become completely extinct at about the same time the first critical organ in our physical body fails. So, in such godless views, our identity becomes much more about a momentary contribution than a transcendent personal worth.

But, this is just one view. There are, indeed, many others. For example, if you were to simply go out onto the street and ask Joe Blow Workerbee, “Who am I?”  He would probable explain your identity in entirely different terms. He would almost certainly identify you in terms of your material dimensions.

It would seem that this is also how Mr. Workerbee sees himself.  So, not surprisingly, he also typically identifies the species in terms of the daily gathering.

In Joe’s very pragmatic view, we are all essentially just creatures of the daily grind. So, he tends to identify himself, and others, in the more up close and concrete terms of job quality, earning and buying power, and material accumulations.

 And, regarding whoever we may be beyond the realm of this “Material Man,” – well, let’s just say, Joe is much more a man of the moment, than of the metaphysical. So, Joe’s view primarily, if not entirely, identifies human beings in terms of their material existence.

 And then, finally, if you talk about who you are with such people as pastors, priests, rabbis, etc., these religious types will usually describe you as a valued product of God’s creative flair. These folks tend to identify mankind as a noble creature, who is inextricably connected to higher and more sophisticated divine intentions. 

Obviously, I fit nicely into this group. I am proposing and promoting this very thing, even now, with this writing. But, the problem is this. Some of “us guys” who embrace and disseminate these loftier divine intentions actually know whereof we speak. And, some of us simply don’t have a clue.

Thus, the reality is, some in this group are, indeed, promoting an accurate self-awareness which really does enable people to successfully experience life and God’s friendship in a very fulfilling way. While others are only additional constructors of Satan’s ever expanding house of religious mirrors in this world.  And, indeed, by helping to hide it among a thousand distortions, these clueless boys and girls, serve more to obscure the truth of who we are than to expose it. 

So, very obviously, when it comes to an accurate and truly useful self-awareness, there is more than a little confusion out there. But, within what is “out there” a true reflection of who we are – both individually and as a species, actually does exist.  It’s in the Bible (like you didn’t see that coming). So, let’s now checkout those ancient writings to discover the true you – and expose the real identity of that other you.

***

            ~6.3 The Roman Insight:    When it comes to a truly insightful description of the human species in general, as well as the inner make-up of the individual, there is no better source than The Book of Romans in the Bible.  That book was created by a pivotal letter which the Apostle, Paul, wrote to the church at Rome in the first century.  Nevertheless we are still afforded by that letter, not only a rich surface view of ourselves, but also a rare and precious view of ourselves at the “cellular” level. 

So, through the insights of this divinely inspired letter, we can very accurately observe the obvious aspects of who we are. And, we can also see the much more deeply concealed composition of this very complex creature that is Us – both as an individual and as a species.

From previous paragraphs, we have already understood a great deal about ourselves from the book of Genesis. For example, we have understood that we were created by God in His essential image. And yet, at the same time, we were also given a very personalized and completely unique character essence of our own.

And, we’ve also previously noted that each of us has a true autonomy of influence. We are, indeed, able to independently generate thoughts, apply our own interpretations to life’s circumstances, and take consequential actions. Thus, we are an important influence in the Universe.

And, as God designed us to be, we are an intelligent and broadly conscious being with a sophisticated moral capacity. And, we have a real power to impact reality.

But, as we have also seen, there is a darker facet to the human identity.  Sadly, for all of our God-given capacities and potential, we have also been negatively impacted by our environment.  Specifically, as noted, we have been swept up into that cosmic conflict between the Light and the Darkness.  As a result, all of mankind has also become very broken in some important ways.

In previous chapters, we have noted the simple to understand, and yet truly sophisticated, nature of God’s authentic redemptive plan which is entirely centered in Christ. We have made mention that our redemption through Christ is not just about forgiveness through the Dying Christ. It is also about the immediate renewal of our character essence through the Living Christ – and flowing out of that, the renewal of our day-to-day life and influence. 

We’ve previously noted that this binary nature of the redemptive process, consisting of forgiveness and renewal, is anchored in the two major events of Christ’s redemptive ministry: the Cross (His death) and the Resurrection (His resumption of life). And, we have already noted that it is the Dying Christ of the Cross which furnishes our forgiveness. But, it is the Living Christ of the Resurrection which furnishes to us a divinely empowered renewal of our character essence.

And, we have already talked about how both the conscious and the sub-conscious minds are necessarily involved in this two layered redemptive process (Umm, sounds delicious doesn’t it?). And in those discussions we noted that the Cross primarily touches us on the conscious level of our mind, but the Resurrection is first about the needs based within our sub-conscious mind.

 Remember also that we discussed that Essential Sin Motive of self-determination and how humanity has been profoundly affected by this now deeply ingrained value.  And, we talked about how this essential sin value resides on both the conscious and subconscious level of the human mind. And finally, we pointed out that, for that reason, redemption must involve both of these consciousness levels.

As we now briefly look to the book of Romans with all of this in mind, we will see a very orderly and coherent application of these ideas expressed in terms of the typical daily human reality. And through this expression, we will discover the most foundational details of our identity as a human being. And we will also be able to note the absolutely practical genius of God’s redemptive plan which provides the devout believer with a completely new identity (character essence) in the Living Christ.

***

~6.4 The Roman Dilemma:   So, here is what we are about to come face to face with in this letter to the Romans. It is what might be called “The Roman Dilemma.”  This is a circumstance which briefly comes to the daily reality of the new believer following their embrace of the Lordship of Christ. 

Essentially, what is being initially described in this place in Romans is a disagreement within the believer, himself. It is a conflict between the new, influentially humble man of faith (who is based in the believer’s conscious mind) and his still very self-determined “Evil Twin” (the other you, who yet lives in the believer’s subconscious mind).

 But, be advised, while we will approach this dilemma from the standpoint of a believer, you will also observe that this narrative speaks volumes to all of humanity – believer and non-believer alike. It shows all of us a great deal about why we are the way we are. It shows us a lot about why we do what we do. And, it truly exposes us for the creature we have become and the creature that we can become in Christ.

***

~6.5 Our Evil Alter Ego:   So, the disconcerting reality which the new believer soon discovers is that, even after conversion, there remains this subconscious alter ego within us which opposes everything to do with our new found faith.  And, this other you, this subconscious you, has absolutely no intention of humbling himself or herself before Christ. He or she actually couldn’t be less interested.

The Apostle, Paul, describes the hostile mind-set of this rebellious subconscious person in this way, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” So, there remains this subliminal hostility on the subconscious level of the believer, even after a sincere decision to embrace the Lordship of Christ on the conscious level of his mind. (Ref. Romans 8:7)

The apostle also describes the daily outflows of this disagreement between our conscious and our subconscious mind. He says “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” 

So, the apostle captures the very essence of the “Roman Dilemma” here. It is the frustration of seeing and desiring to walk the high road of godly purpose and demeanor, but being unable to actually do so. 

Paul, goes on to explain further. “Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it [the conscious man], but sin [the subconscious, still self-determined, man] that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward [conscious] man. But I see another law in my members [the subconscious man] warring against the law of my [conscious] mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” [my subconscious mind].  [Brackets added]

It’s no wonder Paul would desperately cry out in the face of this demoralizing dilemma in behalf of all the faithful.  Thus, he writes, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” 

But then, the apostle alludes to the answer to that question as he sums up the situation. He says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the [conscious] mind I, myself, serve the law of God, but with the flesh [those subconscious, still very self-centered appetites] the law of sin.” [Brackets added]

***

~6.6 The Carnal Condition:   What the apostle is describing here is what might be called, “The Big In-between.”  It is a condition that the believer encounters after a conscious embrace of the Lordship of Christ but before her character essence becomes connected to that of the Living Christ through that Spirit-facilitated merger.

We have come to call this in-between condition the “Carnal State” or “Carnal Christianity.” The word “Carnal,” has to do with humanity’s base nature.  It is one of several terms which the Bible uses in connection with this time of the divided heart within the believer when his subconscious mind remains in disagreement with his conscious mind. 

The Apostle, Paul, would refer to the first century Corinthian church as being still “carnal,” for their refusal to move forward to that more mature state of living their lives enjoined to the energizing character essence of Christ.  He wrote this in his first letter to that church. “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”

Other terms in the Bible associated with this “divided heart” state of the believer include “the flesh” (which refers to the body of selfish appetites that drive this still subconsciously self-determined person), “the old man,” “the natural man,” and “the carnal mind.” All of these biblical terms have to do with this ingrained and continuing subconscious mindset of rebellion within the believer – even after one’s conscious surrender to the Lordship of Christ.    (Ref. Gal. 5:16-24, 6:8 // Rom. 6:6 // Eph. 4: 20 – 22 // Rom. 8:7)

Red Skelton, an acclaimed comedian of the last century, created a character which he sometimes used in his comedic routines called, Junior – the Mean “Widdle” Kid.  Junior was a mischievous little boy who just could not resist his more base inclinations.

 Often, in the course of Skelton’s comic skits, this little guy would anticipate some action he very well knew to be the wrong thing to do. At that point, as if thinking out loud, he would turn to the audience and say, with his childhood impediment, “If I dood it, I dit a spankin’.”  Then, after a brief pause, and with a beaming smile on his face, he would then deliciously declare, “But I dood it anyway!”

In this mischievous little boy, the comic unwittingly captured that subconscious carnal nature perfectly. And, though the comic made it seem a humorous thing, when it comes to an intimate friendship with God, this subconscious rebellion is certainly no laughing matter. It is the absolute enemy of God’s every noble purpose for mankind and a sure poison to the divine friendship.

It is this subconscious rebellion which causes sincere devotees to Christ to sometimes choose the wrong path and make bad decisions, even when we know better in our higher consciousness – just as Paul described in the Roman letter. And, it often causes us to do so, even at the risk of serious consequences – just like Junior. 

And, this remaining adversarial nature in our subconscious is not only a stress to our relationship with God.  It also regularly creates a negative impact on our human relationships.  And, the typical effect is to push us apart.   So, always, in this state of the divided heart, the believer is torn by a split loyalty. Part of her (the conscious part) very much wants to love and serve God. And yet, part of her (that subconscious alter ego) is always pulling her toward self-determination and doing her own thing. 

So, our integration with the character essence of Christ is first aimed at fixing this one intolerable reality for the believer. It is first about conquering this evil inner twin who ever opposes and attempts to defeat our conscious faith.

***

            ~6.7 A Self-evident Reality:   Typically, believers need no great persuasion that what the Apostle, Paul, is describing in Romans is an accurate representation of that in-between reality which follows one’s conversion to Christ. Oh yeah, we know this dilemma.  It is quite common to the early Christian experience.

So, just as Paul describes, with our conscious mind we have given ourselves to God. But in our subconscious mind, this carnal self visits constant havoc upon the noble intentions of our faith. So, though we can see the high road of God’s pleasure and his good will for our lives, this heinous twin in our lower consciousness keeps us from embracing those things consistently.

Thus, we fight this inner battle. Our conscious mind subscribes to God’s way, the faith-expressive life-style.  But our subconscious carnal mind refuses to go along. And so, it pulls us in the wrong direction and tempts us with endless defeating ploys.

 Well, if this is redemption, if this is the personal renewal which Christ offers to the world – who needs it, right? But this is not the renewal which Christ offers. This emotional wilderness is merely a temporary encounter with the true depths of our psychological brokenness. 

   And again, to be absolutely clear, this time of inner confliction is by no means the lifelong condition of the believer.  It only exists between the time of our conversion and the time of our merger with the character essence of Christ, which liberates us from this “wretched” condition.

***

            ~6.8 Purpose In The Suffering:   And certainly, this is a painful and disconcerting time in the life of the believer. But, this period does serve very important purposes in our redemptive journey toward newness and that resulting heart-oneness required for an enduring friendship with God. 

This inner psychological battlefield is the place where we can accurately see ourselves for who we truly are as a broken human being – and not just on the surface, but also down deep, in the normally unseen regions of our make-up.  This period, where we experience the frustration of the daily failures of our faith-aspirations, becomes a true looking glass for us. And, in turn, it becomes the place of our desperation.  And, in that desperation, we begin to intuitively cry out for that “mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His [God’s] saints.” The apostle described that mystery this way, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” [Brackets added]

So it is, then, in this very humiliated condition, that we eventually receive our deliverance.  It comes in the form of (you guessed it) that metaphysical, but nevertheless, very real and empowering merger between our character essence and that of the Living Christ.

***

            ~6.9 The First Order Of Business:   So, it’s simple, really. That incorrigible, carnal alter ego which lives in our subconscious, has absolutely no intention of ever surrendering to God in faith.  Thus, there is only one option for dealing with this subconscious trouble maker. He must be subdued by one stronger than himself. 

And, that is exactly what the Living Christ does as His character essence is enjoined to that of the believer.  This is the remedy which Paul reveals in chapter eight of Romans, where he answers his own question from chapter seven, this question. “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

In chapter 8 he answers, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [that new and empowering grace-based heart government] has made me free from the law of sin and death. [Brackets Added]

“For what the law [that awkward externalized style of government ] could not do [in and of itself] in that it was weak through the flesh [made so by the strength of those self-centered subconscious appetites], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh [He exposed it for what it was], that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us [as a reality based righteousness]  who do not walk according to the flesh [those previous selfish appetites] but according to the Spirit [in the power of the Living Christ]. [Brackets Added]

“For those who live according to the flesh [their own self-centered appetites] set their minds on the things of the flesh [their own carnal self-interests], but those who live according to the Spirit [in league with the Living Christ], the things of the Spirit [the higher and more enduringly important things]. For to be carnally minded [guided by our own small self-interests] is death, but to be spiritually minded [directed by the Spirit of Christ] is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostility] against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh [following only their own self-centered appetites] cannot please God.  [Brackets Added]

“But you are not in the flesh [driven by those selfish appetites] but in the Spirit [directed by the divine influence], if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His [Christ within is the believer’s indispensable completion]. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness [initiated and sustained by the power of the Living Christ].  [Brackets Added]

 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life [a daily vitality] to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [through His energizing influence] who dwells in you.”  [Brackets added]

So, to recall our earlier discussions, when we literally become personally integrated with the character essence of Christ, this is what happens. The divine character essence of Christ goes immediately to our subconscious mind to settle, on that level, the struggle for ascendency between the Faith Value and the Primary Sin Value of Self-determination.

As discussed earlier, He does this by overwriting our value system.  Through our merger with Christ, we receive this whole new and empowering value system – Christ’s value system (His interpretive context).  And again, the first impact of this Christ-based value system is to establish the Faith Motive (an all-encompassing influential humility before God) as completely ascendant on the most primary governing level of the believer’s character essence – his or her value system. 

So, the dethroning of that Self-determination Value and the establishment of the supremacy of the Faith Motive (Value) is accomplished in the sufficiency and vibrancy of Christ’s faith as it strengthens ours.  Thus, this Christ-based faith motive now becomes the prevailing and prime value in the believer’s subconscious – just as it is on the conscious level. 

The Apostle, Peter, describes this transforming merger between the human nature and the divine nature this way. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (Ref. Joel 2:28 / Luke 24:49 / 2 Peter 1:2-4 NKJV)

Again, this grace-producing value system overwrite, is the very essence of the metaphysical rebirth. And, as mentioned earlier, in very real terms, these Christ implanted values become our new “Character DNA,” altering how we think and who we essentially are – at our core. 

And thus, they also alter who we will become over time. But again, also remember as noted earlier, this new character DNA, this new Christ-based value system, is received in infant form.  And, God then uses time and life’s circumstances to bring full expression to this essential newness within – just as happens in our physical development. (Ref. Ephesians 4:11-15 NKJV)

***

            ~6.10 The War Is Finally Over:   When this Spirit facilitated merger with the Living Christ occurs, the tug-of-war in the believer’s core person now finally ends. Certainly, in the Christian walk, there will always be external assaults and challenges from Satan and the surrounding worldly environment.  But, that divided heart (character essence), that debilitating inner competition between the desire for self-determination and the desire to be consistently faith-expressive goes away.  Finally, the believer’s heart is now singularly and durably devoted to God, in the sustaining power of the Living Christ so that he becomes consistently faith-expressive.

 And, having this now singular heart-devotion to God is, in fact, the very definition of Holiness. And our lives remain holy lives when we live them out in this condition – as a life of undivided devotion to God.

To be sure, the believer retains other lesser devotions on the more secondary levels of his heart.  And, in fact, there are always many of those, from family, to work place responsibilities, to important life pursuits.  But, on that most primary governing level of the believer’s now undivided heart, there is only one superseding devotion.  No longer is there a devotion divided between God and self.  Now, it is only his or her loving devotion to God, sustained in the sufficiency of the Living Christ.  

And, possessing this now undivided heart, the believer is also positioned to experience something else, something wonderful. It is this.  In the very real terms of the believer’s everyday life, truly, “…old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 

***

            ~6.11 The Roman Letter Speaks:   This Roman glimpse is a piercing x-ray of humanity’s inner identity and, as mentioned earlier, it speaks volumes to the whole of our species – believers and non-believers alike.  It shows the sophisticated nature of our brokenness and the sophisticated renewal which Christ offers to truly remedy thoroughly, that brokenness.

 It is true, of course, that non-believers do not experience the struggles and humiliation of that carnal, in-between period where the heart is temporarily conflicted by a new found faith. Obviously, they would not experience this; since, for non-believers, no such faith exists. 

But, non-believers can still get caught up in a similar conflict simply through their own nobler desires.  For example, maybe, in her conscious mind a non-believer wants to stop smoking, or over eating, or she wants to give up the party lifestyle.  But her subconscious person has a strong carnal appetite for that thing the non-believer’s conscious mind wants to discard.  Thus, a virulent, nagging, stubborn, fleshly conflict awakens between the conscious and subconscious mind of the non-believer.  Likely, all of us have also experienced this sort of conflict before our faith was even in play. 

So, the basic circumstance of the non-believer is, in essence, the same as that of the believer in this case.  Her more base nature has obstructed her loftier desires.

So, the Roman letter does speak to the whole of the species to expose the depravity in that subconscious “bad guy.” This is that “carnal man” within us which ever sees God’s truth, love, and grace as suspicious things, to be feared and to be shunned in favor of absolute self-determination.  And, woe is anybody who gets his way. 

This Roman letter is painfully honest and very telling regarding humanity’s inner darkness. But, the more important implication of the letter is not the negatives which it clearly exposes. Much more important is the positive solution which it offers as a remedy for those negatives. The ultimate value of the letter is its clear pronouncement of man’s absolute renewability through God’s perfect redemptive fix:  the Living Christ, living within the believer.

***

            ~6.12 The More Compelling Question:   Jesus said it succinctly. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” He did not speak these words flippantly. They actually frame the cherished divine intent for each of us: a rich, and elevated, and deeply fulfilling life, both now and in the everlasting existence to come.

And, we now know that the context of it all is a thoroughly renewing and deeply meaningful friendship with God.  And, while, in that interest, we started this chapter by asking the question, “Who are we?”  By now, perhaps the more compelling question is this.  “Who are we willing to become?”

 

Chapter 7: The Contemporary Church

***

 

            ~7.1 Dear Reader:    Please know that I never enjoy confrontation.  I think some do.  But I just don’t.  Nevertheless, sometimes, in the line of duty, I must be somewhat confrontational.  So, up front, I admit that my approach to the subject matter which follows in this chapter will no doubt fall well below even the most charitable idea of tactfulness or finesse.  

            But, I feel these issues have to be addressed with some forcefulness of mind and tone in service to a simple idea.  That idea is this.  Truth, even when it is very challenging truth, should never be held hostage to less noble preferences.  We cannot and must not allow some emotional difficulty or social consequence to keep us from confronting an important problematic reality for what it is.  

            Tactfulness, political correctness, or momentary social or relational expedients simply cannot be allowed to cover, or shade, or spin away an honest interpretation of reality.  Thus, Jesus expressed this sentiment for the Church of every age, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

            Nevertheless, this writer would like the reader to know, in advance, that what follows was no easier for me to write than it will be for you to read.  But, indeed, reality is what it is.  And, it is better, all-around, to face it squarely than to sugar coat it with pretense.   So, face it we will, in the coming pages. 

            Now, if you’re ready, let’s get to it.  Let’s look into the role of the contemporary Church in the redemptive drama from two points of view – both as God scripted it to be, and as it is actually being widely played out today. 

***

            ~7.2 Whoa, This Thing Is Big!   Obviously, the Church, i.e. all the followers of Christ, under all of their various banners, is an absolutely huge, complex, and a very dynamic organism.  Thus, it is not usually easily generalized in a summary type of statement. 

            And, in fact, it is true.  Often, what may be a reality for one branch of the Church, at any given moment, is not necessarily so in another branch.  And, that is true all the way down to the level of local congregations, and still yet, on down to the level of individual believers within those congregations.

            And certainly, even in the worst of times, there have always been, and there will always be, faithful and devout lovers of Christ who pursue Him with all their heart.  The Church always has some who remain absolutely faithful to God, to His larger purposes, and to His purpose for their life, specifically.

            Even now, I know and rub shoulders with many such people across a wide segment of the Church. I am very aware that there are devoted laymen, church leaders, ministers, teachers, evangelists, and missionaries, etc., who daily give themselves to Christ in the most deeply devoted way.

            But, with all of those allowances made, it, nevertheless, remains also true that the Church does, indeed, sometimes, broadly share a common condition.  And, in this chapter, this is the way we are viewing the Church. We are really looking at the composite Church, the Church as a whole group. We are not really dissecting it down to its various divisions and individuals. 

            Our purpose here is to see the big picture.  We want to identify the defining larger contemporary trends, and thereby adjudge how well we, as the wholistic Church, are actually portraying our divinely assigned role in these present times.

            And, in light of the immense size and complexity of the Church, and my own inability to be truly tactile on such a huge scale, I must offer this. While I am about to say some things which are intended to be restorative to the whole of the Church, I am primarily drawing on and speaking most particularly to the contemporary American Evangelical Church.  This is the segment of the Church with which I am most familiar. But hopefully, the more extended Church will also be able to interpolate what follows in a helpful way.

            Also, as we begin to view the contemporary Church, there is one very relevant awareness that we can bring forward from the context of the historical Church.  It is this.  Seemingly, in any age which we might choose, it has been very easy for many in the larger world to boo the Church and take aim at her with their destructive “rocks” – verbal and otherwise.  And many have, indeed, relished the opportunity to do so in every age.  But, that is merely the Darkness doing what the Darkness does. 

***

            ~7.3 Ok, Here Comes Mean Ole Larry:   However, it is not the accusations of the Darkness which most trouble the present day Church.  It is the accusations of our own higher consciousness.  In our heart of hearts, we know the truth about ourselves. 

            We may, and often do, attempt to suppress that awareness.  Sometimes we attempt to distract ourselves from it with our pomp and pageantry.  Or, we try to drown it under the endless waves of our religious busy work, or hide it in the fog of our theological gobbledygook.  But, still that underlying innuendo gnaws at us.

            So, we employ still other tactics. We try to cover it with the warm and fuzzy of our worship services. Or, we try to sterilize it out of existence with our astute programming.  But this vague accusation continues to endure like a maddening song in our head that won’t go away. 

            Until finally, in an unguarded moment, this fearful insecurity slips through – if not past our lips, at least, into our conscious mind.  And, it forms up something like this.  “Are we really and truly safe in our standing before God?”

            And, in such a moment, we can then hear with substantially more impact, these heartbreaking words of indictment from Christ to this present Church.   “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

            “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” 

***

            ~7.4 The Portrait Jesus Paints:   In chapters 2 and 3 of The Book of the Revelation, Jesus addressed some very real local church congregations which existed in Asia Minor in the first century.  He did this by dictating His thoughts to the Apostle, John, in the form of notes to each of seven churches.  

            But, far beyond the scope of those local churches, he was, indeed, also speaking prophetically to the Church ages which would follow in times to come.  So, each of those local churches represented a coming Church age. And, the Lord’s sentiments to that local church was also intended to echo down through time to the Church age which that local church represented.

            The Lord’s seventh and final sentiment, quoted above, was to the Laodicean church, which I believe to be analogous to this present day Church and this present Church age. This belief is based in a simple observation.   It is the observation that the conditions mentioned in that Laodicean note bear far more than merely a passing resemblance to the present American Evangelical Church, under all of its banners.

            In this note, Jesus describes a church which widely believes itself to be doing very well.  And yet, as the note indicates, the true reality is this.  That church is actually poised on the verge of widespread rejection by Christ. 

            The obvious issue which Jesus was raising with this early local church at Laodicea was the delusional self-assurance within its ranks. And, to any objective mind, this has now also become a vastly common attribute within the present American Evangelical Church.   And, this is true under all of our denominational banners and from within the ranks of our ministry to the grassroots level among our rank and file membership.

            So, indeed, this prophetic note, warning that early church of its pervasive cluelessness, has now also found fulfillment in this present American Evangelical Church.  In fact, we, too, have broadly disconnected from that full and intimate embrace of Christ which we have been describing in previous chapters.  And, we, too, remain largely oblivious to this neglect and to the looming consequence of this deficiency.

            And certainly, there is no minimizing the seriousness of this condition nor of the consequence to which this high level of delusion leads.  Again, God is ultimately no relational game player.  And, Jesus makes that abundantly clear once more in this Laodicean note. 

            Nevertheless, we are doing exactly what is described in this cautionary note which Christ left for our benefit.  We are covering up this failure with only a self-imposed fallacy of good standing in God’s eyes.

            And, this downward spiral of interest, energy, and real investment in the true redemptive process is continuing to steepen.  But rather than confronting and addressing this increasing erosion, as Jesus advised, we have, thus far, just broadly chosen to continue to further immerse ourselves in this treacherous pretense.

***

            ~7.5 The Treacheries of Downward:   And, in order to fully accommodate this deadly misstep, we have embraced an action which should be absolutely unthinkable to the Church.  Nevertheless, a vast swath of the modern Church, cutting across all divisional lines, has chosen to make this very egregious move.  In order to sustain this illusion of well-being before God, the modern Church has widely embraced a deeply flawed revision of the original redemptive teachings – in effect, creating a counterfeit gospel.

            But note, this broad collapse of redemptive truth has not occurred in a formal way among the individualized segments of the Church.  We have not rewritten our various theology books or changed our doctrinal stances.  Indeed, they remain nicely archived.  

            No, this widespread revision to the true redemptive message has occurred in a much less formal way than all of that. We have simply broadly surrendered to the pressure of easy – in mass.

            So, the new reality at the street level is this.  Regardless of the various perspectives in our theology books, the real operational theology in the mind and heart of the rank-and-file of the modern Church, cutting across all traditional lines, has largely become this statement of faith and we’re done and safe approach.

            Indeed, this approach has now resoundingly carried the theological day at the grassroots level, especially.  And, it has done so where it really counts. Not in our theology books, but in our daily operational consciousness.

            And, it’s really no wonder that this “E-Z” form of redemption has now become such a fast-spreading infection.  How could it not become so?  It is so very appealing on the surface.  And it is so very compatible with the generally careless, “Whatever,” ethos of these times.  So, let’s now take a look at the details of “Easy” to clearly expose its devastating revisions to the authentic redemptive teachings. 

***

            ~7.6 Competing Views:  In short, there are two leading views on redemption which have actually been competing within the American Evangelical Church for several centuries now.  In simple, descriptive terms, the first view is what might be very aptly called The Non-responsibility View. The second is what might be accurately understood to be The Cooperative Responsibility View.

***

            ~7.7 Door #1, The Non-responsibility View:   The Non-responsibility approach to redemption is an approach which leaves the believer entirely (you guessed it) “Non-responsible” for anything after his or her initial statement of faith in Christ.  After this declaration of their belief in Christ as their personal Savior, there are no other binding requirements placed upon the believer regarding the maintenance of his or her relationship with God.  Good character – bad character, godly lifestyle – ungodly lifestyle, it simply doesn’t matter after that initial statement of faith.

            The logic is this.  Christ’s death on the Cross is so magnificently effective, that it absolves those who simply name Christ as their Savior of all consequence of sin – past, present, and future.  So, this absolution remains in place throughout the believer’s post statement of faith lifetime, regardless of his or her level of investment, or even the complete lack thereof, in their relationship with Christ. 

            Thus, any subsequent involvement with Christ, at whatever level of devotion, is left entirely to the discretion of the believer.  But, in any case, her lifestyle realities, for better or worse, in no way impact her basic good standing before God.  After her statement of faith, the believer simply becomes non-responsible for her further life choices and actions, going forward.

            As you might expect, the result of this approach is to vastly diminish any impetus for a thoroughly life-changing encounter with Christ, much less a deeply meaningful friendship.  And, how could it not be so when a higher level of relational investment is viewed as entirely optional and completely irrelevant to the basic well-being of the believer’s soul.

***

            ~7.8 Door #2, The Cooperative Responsibility View:   Confronting and competing with this non-responsible approach is the “Cooperative” redemptive approach.  This is the approach we have been explaining previously throughout this writing. Under this authentic plan of redemption, the forgiveness of the believer still entirely flows out of the magnificence of the Cross.  But, this is where any similarity between the two approaches ends.

            Unlike the Non-responsible Approach, under the Cooperative Approach the believer remains seriously invested in the quality of his or her relationship with God.  And, as explained, Christ eventually empowers this effort through their actual metaphysical merger with His character essence.

***

            ~7.9 A Careful Comparison, the Non-responsible vs. Authentic Teachings:   So, that’s a quick description of these two competing redemptive ideas. But, now let’s get very specific about the devastating changes which have given rise to this bogus non-responsible “gospel.” And, we will also consider the nature of the subterfuge behind those changes.

***

~7.10 The Authentic Redemptive Plan:   The Original Message of Redemption begins with the truthful reality that God always has and always will hold an expectation of consistent faith-expressiveness in those who would know His friendship. Mankind, as a whole, failed that expectation, of course, when Adam and Eve chose to become self-determined.

            God then mercifully offered a one-person-at-a-time way back through Christ. And, it was an offer which involved not only forgiveness, but also a thorough personal renewal, in the here-and-now.   And, as we have already discussed at length, Christ is the whole substance of that reclamation. So, as both the Dying and the Living Christ, the Savior is absolutely capable of enabling mankind to be forgiven, renewed, and restored to a completely comfortable and durable friendship with God.

            The New Testament writer put it this way.  “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” 

***

            ~7.11 But That Was Then:   But, that was then; and, this is now.  Now, we do, indeed, have this more recently ascendant, revised approach to redemption.  And, it does not proudly proclaim to the world the availability of a glorious, Christ-empowered newness for the believer which ultimately brings a consistent faith-expressiveness and a true heart-oneness with God.  But, instead, these revised teachings tenaciously tout the idea of the powerlessness of the believer to control the sin impulse as its foundational idea.  

***

            ~7.12 The Revised Redemptive Teachings:   And this claim of the believer’s powerlessness becomes the subterfuge aimed at substantiating that even darker idea of the believer's non-responsibility.  So, the Prime Tenet of these revised teachings becomes this.  “Because the believer is impotent, and therefore not capable of consistently rising above the sin impulse, then a just God cannot and does not require him to do so.”  Thus, starting from this fundamental error, many other revisions to the authentic redemptive teachings are made necessary to support this erroneous foundational teaching.       

            So, here is a brief summary of the cascade of errors which becomes necessary to provide that support.   It goes like this.  “Because I, even as a believer, am powerless to consistently live above the motive of Sin, then I must simply learn to live every day in a kind of peaceful co-existence with dominant sin in my life.  Thus, Grace has to mean “mercy” (unmerited favor).  And my Righteousness can be only an Imputed Righteousness (merely assigned by God with no basis in reality).  And, God’s love must be always unconditional.  And, Faith can require of me no expression in real terms beyond my initial statement of faith.  And, my works, good or bad, must become irrelevant.

            “All of this has to be so, if I am to be non-responsible before God and thereby become released from accountability for my chronic sinfulness.  Only in this way can I possibly survive the divine scrutiny of my life and of my soul.”

***

            ~7.13 Revisiting the Key Concepts of Christian Redemption:   So, these are the summarized outflows of this dark theology.  But, to really grasp the devastating impact of this erroneous approach, let’s now revisit those major redemptive concepts. And, let’s specifically look at how the ideas of Sin, Grace, Faith, Righteousness, God’s love, and the place of our Works have been grotesquely changed – all merely to support that prime tenet of the believer’s impotent non-responsibility.

***

            ~7.14 The Nature of Sin:   In order to really grasp the sin issue, we must first look more precisely at the true nature of sin.  We have generally referred to sin throughout this writing.  But, now we need to get very specific about its nature.  If we want to understand how the believer can remain responsible regarding sin and yet be able to survive the scrutiny of a holy God, and even obtain His friendship, then it becomes essential that we understand the precise nature of sin.

            A good understanding of that nature begins with this very simple idea: Sin is binary in its nature. We typically think of sin as an action. And, it can be that, as we will see.  But, it is also important to understand that sin, before it finds any expression as an action, is a powerful, internalized value (or motive).

            Thus, an act of sin is just the visible expression of this inner motive. So, we can think of the act of sin as the “visible tree.” But the sin value, which is embedded in the believer’s subconscious, is the “invisible root” of it all.  

***

            ~7.15 Also, There Is a Difference:   When we discuss sin in these terms, as a value within the heart, it is also important that we differentiate between the “Primary (or Essential) Sin Value” and the more Secondary Sin Motives. The primary sin value is the source from which those more secondary motives spring. 

            So, as noted earlier, the Primary Sin Value is essentially that motive for self-determination which exists on the deepest subconscious governing level of the human psyche. And, this primary motive then gives rise, for example, to such secondary sin impulses as lying or stealing etc.  Thus, in short, that primary sin motive of self-determination, the motive to simply do as I please, is the real “headwaters” of (and thus gives rise to) those more secondary sinful impulses and their actions, which lie down stream of it. 

***

            ~7.16 The Faces of the Sin Value:   So, you don’t really have to have the all-knowing mind of God to be able to recognize the root source of man’s problem.  It is that primary sin value of self-determination.  Obviously then, the omniscient God would have no trouble understanding that eliminating the domination of this most rudimentary value of sin (“my will be done”) is key to mankind’s restoration and to a durable friendship with his Creator.  And equally obvious is that this sin value is in direct opposition to the faith value (“God’s will be done”).

            So, within the human species this primary sin instinct is an ever present inner voice which constantly demands to have its own way.  And, sometimes it expresses itself as a bold, ugly and openly antagonistic opposition to the divine influence and purpose.  In this case it comes across something like this. “Just stay out of my way, God. I intend to do strictly as I please!”  Obviously, the primary sin attitude is easily recognized in this form.

            However, most of the time, the sin instinct does not express itself in this obviously ugly way. Instead, it is far more frequent, that the sin value simply expresses itself as a quiet, but resolute and pervasive, personal independence.  It just kind of shows up as a quiet but self-contained decision making process. 

            In this far less obnoxious form, the sin motive may actually allow us to acknowledge God for who He really is.  It may even allow us to enter into a casual encounter with Him.  But, what this more docile “inner demon” will never do, is allow us to move beyond the range of our own self-determined ways to truly entrust our self to God in the real terms of an all-in, influential humility (a truly redemptive faith).

            And, we should be careful to emphasize that this quiet, more attractive form of the primary sin value, after all, is still that.  It is still sin.  So, even when this primary sin value comes with this more “attractive” face, its ultimate effect is unchanged.  It continues to draw the same stern judgement as that more obviously ugly expression.

***

            ~7.17 Back to Powerlessness:   So, now that we have looked more specifically at the nature of sin, the pressing question does, indeed, become, “Can the believer rise above this sin impulse?” The teachings of the non-responsibility approach would answer that question with a resounding, “No way, Jose'!”

            And, in Chapter 6, You, & That Other You, we did see in that “Roman Dilemma” a perfect example of what the non-responsible approach holds to be the permanently powerless condition of the believer. But, we also saw how, in reality, this was actually only a short lived condition, entirely solved by the believer’s character merger with the Living Christ. Nevertheless, that short lived, defeated state of the believer is what the non-responsible teachings continue to tout as the believer’s final redemptive lot in this life.  

            And, the modern Church has, indeed, widely embraced this idea of the believer’s powerlessness.  However, to embrace this impotency idea inevitably brings one to an almost laughable reversal of thought.  It goes like this.  When it comes to living our life in Christ, sin must have an everyday expression, but faith need not be materially evidenced, at all. 

            This then, has become the twisted outflow of believing in the irresistible dominance of sin and the impotency of the believer.  Note also that this ridiculous reversal essentially makes no material difference between the here-and-now life-condition of a non-believer and that of a believer – save for the believer’s statement of faith.

            In truth, this teaching of the believer’s hopeless impotency is merely a defeating prescription for naïve and gullible believers.  And, its embrace comes at the great expense of their opportunity for the real newness of heart and life which the Living Christ brings to the table.  

            And, in fact, this completely flawed view is easily exposed as such throughout the New Testament by such sentiments as these.  “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  In point of fact, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh –first in his own, and now in that of the fully invested believer. 

            So, is it really any wonder that the modern Church has largely come to have such a hugely diminished vitality and impact?  This up-side-down drivel which works out to be, like sinner - like saint, simply offers no serious or substantial hope of positive change in the believer’s present circumstance – when, in fact, that hope does vibrantly exist in the Living Christ. 

***

            ~7.18 But, Still More Twists:   But, the ugly twists of these false non-responsibility teachings don’t stop with only these errors.  So, let’s continue to briefly visit those other major impacts as we proceed next to consider the damage inflicted upon the idea of Grace.  

***

            ~7.19 The Non-responsibility Impact on Grace:   When it comes to Grace, this non-responsible approach clings desperately to the idea of “Unmerited favor.” This is really more the idea of mercy.  Obviously, as discussed earlier, mercy is a vital part of redemption.  But again, Grace is not Mercy.  Nevertheless, the idea of the believer’s impotency is forced to hold on to this narrow and greatly diminished idea of grace in order to accommodate and support its upstream idea of the non-responsibility of the believer. 

            And, indeed, both of these errors are driven by the desperate need for the believer’s complete non-accountability before God.  Thus, these teachings simply cannot allow any sort of empowerment for the believer – much less allow that empowerment to be naturally occurring in Christ, and thus, very consistent.  

            Nevertheless, in the authentic redemptive message, grace remains free to be that glorious, naturally occurring goodness that it is.  And, in turn, it then becomes that new and life-altering means of heart-governance as explored and explained earlier.  But, under the non-responsible teachings, these wonderful, Living Christ-enabled benefits are entirely subtracted from the believer’s daily reality.       

           

***

            ~7.20 The Non-responsibility Impact on Faith and Works:   Now, let’s briefly consider the impact of this twisted message on the concepts of faith and works.  Like sin, faith also has a two dimensional nature.  It involves the internal dimension, the faith value or motive.  And, it involves the external dimension:  the act of faith.   

            The New Testament writer introduces us to this two dimensional nature of faith when he writes, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” 

            So, the inspired writer indicates clearly that the faith motive is not meant to be “bottled up” and held only to its inner dimension. The faith value is meant to have its completing, very real expressions in our actions – as godly obedience and God-directed good works.

            It becomes easy, in the context of the authentic redemptive view, to see how faith naturally generates an expression of itself in our actions. Certainly, if we are empowered by the faith of the Living Christ, then obviously, the natural result is going to be obedience and faith-expressive actions.  

            So, faith does begin as a heart value. But, that inner motive (a true and profound humility before God), by definition, then enables obedience to the divine urging’s to do godly things.

            This is the process which the Living Christ empowers as we are baptized into His strong and strengthening faith.  So again, in the New Testament we read, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” 

            So, that’s how things work within the authentic redemptive process.   But, it’s not how they work according to the non-responsible teachings. Once again, adherents to those teachings are forced to deny that any importance attaches to the believer’s works – whether good or bad.  This insistence is, of course, necessary to again prop up the idea of the believer’s non-responsibility. 

            Nevertheless, the authentic redemptive blue print remains unchanged. It still calls for a Christ-empowered faith which consistently expresses itself as humble obedience and good works in response to the divine behest. And, these real-life faith expressions then yield meaning, fulfillment, and affirmation to our new, Christ-empowered life.  (Ref. James 2:14-20)

***

            ~7.21 The Non-responsibility Impact on the Concept of Righteousness:   The authentic redemptive message speaks of the initial necessity of an imputed (God-assigned) righteousness, as discussed earlier. But, it also exposes the development of a later, reality-based righteousness which is produced and sustained by the empowerment of the Living Christ. So, this real righteousness expresses itself both in the believer’s heart and lifestyle as merely part of the positive impact of the enjoined character essence of the Living Christ. 

Thus, within the authentic Gospel, the idea of that Imputed Righteousness does not have to be grossly over-extended, as it does when it must prop up the false idea of the believer’s impotency. Rather, that initially assigned righteousness can simply serve as a preliminary assignment afforded by the Dying Christ, as the Living Christ then begins to produce a vibrant reality-based righteousness in the believer over time.

Nevertheless, the non-responsibility approach holds that a believer’s righteousness must be always and only a God-assigned righteousness which requires no basis in reality.  By now it’s probably obvious why this has to be so.  It is because, again, the believer, in his impotency,  has no dependable capacity for a reality-based righteousness.

So, his only option is a God-assigned righteousness if he is to be secure in the face of God’s scrutiny.  Obviously, again this approach entirely fails to factor in the believer’s enablement by the Living Christ. 

***

~7.22 The Non-responsibility Impact on God’s Love:   Because a belief in the believer’s impotent non-responsibility is now so widely embraced across the Church, so also, is the idea that God’s love is always unconditional.  But, in fact, such a simplistic view just does not explain the real God with whom we have to do.  At the very least, such a view does not explain the God who will be presiding over the Judgement at the end of all of this.

In reality, the simple truth is that God has different kinds of love.  And, as a result, sometimes His love is Unconditional, and sometimes it is Very Conditional.  

But, let’s clarify what we’re really talking about when we’re discussing these two possibilities.  The more essential issue is really God’s capacity to approve or disapprove, His capacity to accept or reject. God’s unconditional love would, of course, be completely devoid of the capacity to disapprove or reject. But God’s conditional love would certainly retain those capacities.

By now, again, you can probably see why the non-responsibility idea of redemption so heavily depends on God’s love being ever unconditional.  Obviously, as usual, it’s to enable the “impotent” believer’s unthreatened acceptance by God. 

But let’s now move beyond the delusional, and engage a view that actually explains the real God with whom we are dealing.  Let’s now explore God’s different kinds of love and their sometimes unconditional and sometimes conditional natures.

***

~7.22a God’s Love Based in His Essential Nature:    For example, consider the divine love which is simply based in God’s essential loving nature.  This essence-based love occurs spontaneously there.  And, it is this kind of very visceral love for humanity which God feels first and last.   It is ever in place in His heart no matter the real nature of our standing before Him (approved or disapproved) at any given moment. And, it is, indeed, completely unconditional.  It is just love, for love’s sake.

This kind of love is obviously very reflective of the love which we, as good parents, give to our children in their infancy.  It is a truly doting love which requires nothing on the part of the child to exist.  It just is. 

But, this is not the kind of love which entirely raises and matures our children.  No parent can raise their child employing only this kind of doting love without actually damaging the child’s character.  Thus, neither does the Heavenly Father employ this kind of love to bring His children to maturity – again, contrary to the teachings of the non-responsibility idea of redemption.

***

 ~7.22b God’s Love Based in His Position:   Ultimately, beyond God’s unconditional, essence-based love, His Position-based love comes into play.  This type of divine love necessarily draws on a much larger context, since it is defined by God’s larger responsibility as the Governing Creator.  So, this type of divine love might accurately be described as, God’s love of the larger view. 

And, the nature of this position-based love can be succinctly captured in one simple statement.  It is this.  Beyond our physical infancy and early youth, God always loves us within the context of His larger responsibility to the whole of His creation.

In other words, God’s position-based love does not merely take into account His responsibility for the well-being of His individual child.  Rather, it also takes into account the obligation He has to the well-being of the whole of His larger Creation.  And, though that essence-based love for the individual is ever there, this position-based love does become the superseding love employed to manage both of those levels of the divine responsibility – to the individual and to his larger Creation.

And, this position-based love does impose some very primary conditions.   For example, it insists that we have a good heart (character essence) which fits well into His larger Creation.  God’s self-evident intent is to insure that the absolute goodness of His Consummate Creation (Heaven) is preserved and perpetuated through humanity, and not in the least diminished by us. 

So, it is this love of the Governing Creator, which causes the Divine Parent to maintain necessary expectations for His children.  Thus, it is this position-based love which sometimes says “no” to us – for our own good and/or for the good of His enduring Creation.  

It is also this governing love which causes God to correct and even punish His children for their wrong doing.  And, it is this position-based love which refuses to allow His children to ever assume a position above the principles of divine truth which govern His Creation.

So, these primary divine expectations must be satisfied in order for this type of divine love to approve us. Thus, this type of God’s love is very much a conditional type of love.  It absolutely has the capacity to disapprove, and even reject.   

 It becomes obvious, then, that an always unconditional (always approving) love simply cannot account for a Governing Creator who sits on the throne of judgement, and who carefully guards and governs the integrity of His Consummate Creation every day.  And yet, in the Bible, God has clearly revealed Himself to be this God – and without apology. 

So, this quite conditional, position-based love brings us to an accurate image of the God which actually matches the God of the Bible, and of reality, itself.  But that delusional overextension of an always unconditional love touted by the non-responsibility approach to redemption doesn’t even come close to doing that.

***

~7.22c God’s Love, Based in Meritorious Performance:   Now, let’s look at the kind of divine love that is even more impossible to reconcile with the non-responsible belief system. It is the type of God’s love which is based in Meritorious Performance.

This type of love must always, without exception, be earned and deserved to ever actually be experienced. Indeed, in this regard, the nature of this type of love is not too dissimilar from Respect of the same type.

For example, we can insist that our children always give us the respect that is based in our position as their parent – even when we are a bad one.  But, when it comes to the respect which is based in our actual performance, we simply cannot gain that in any other way than by performing admirably.  Whether in regard to our child, a co-worker, or our team mates, one cannot truly give or gain this performance-based respect except in response to perceptible merit. 

Indeed, performance-based respect simply doesn’t exist until it is inspired by meritorious behavior. So, it is just not possible to give or get this kind of respect by some arbitrary demand. 

In this same vein, there does also exist that type of God’s love which only responds to a deserving reality. This performance brand of divine love can be easily seen throughout the New Testament. So, let’s briefly consider this type of divine love in one of those places.

To do this let’s return to what is by now a familiar passage in the Gospel of John.  Here, the apostle is quoting the words of Jesus who says this, “If you love Me, keep My commandments [the admirable performance].  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, [the expression of a merit-based gesture of love] that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth… He who has My commandments and keeps them [meritorious performance], it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him [the response of God’s merit-based love to that approved performance]. [Brackets Added]

So, this performance-based type of divine love responds only to genuine merit.  And, it is withheld for lack of the same.  Obviously, it is, then, definitely a conditional type of love.

***

~7.22d God’s Love:  Simplistic vs. Sophisticated:    So, in truth, God’s love is not so simplistic as the non-responsible teachings would have us believe.  In fact, it is actually a very sophisticated, multi-dimensional love.  And, it is this sophistication which explains the capacity of God’s love to be sometimes unconditional and sometimes quite conditional – and thus, quite capable of both approving and disapproving, of accepting and rejecting.

And, to portray God’s love in a simplistic, one-dimensional way, as being always and only unconditional, is to completely dismiss those capacities. Nevertheless, the non-responsibility idea of redemption boldly does this very thing in order to feign the legitimacy of the believer’s non-responsibility.

***

~7.22e The Childish Mistake:     Children often have trouble understanding and embracing the love which flows from their parent’s larger view of life and their more extensive responsibilities.  Nevertheless, a parent’s disciplinary love remains a truth-based love which actually looks after the child’s well-being in the context of that larger picture of life. 

Such is the nature of the child-like struggle of the non-responsibility view of redemption. It refuses to recognize this more adult reality regarding God’s love for mankind – simply to escape the weight of its conditions.

But the frustrating truth is that this fear of those divine conditions constantly disables those who embrace the non-responsible approach. But it is only able to do so because they entirely ignore the empowering contributions of the Living Christ to the redemptive process.

***

~7.23 A Serious Contributing Factor:   So, we have now seen what grotesque distortions are imposed on the major concepts of the Christian Faith by this bogus, non-responsible approach.  But, before we entirely close this discussion, we should also take note of one ancillary issue.  There is a serious Contributing Factor to the Church’s broad failure to recognize the repulsiveness of these spurious non-responsible teachings.  And that factor is a flawed learning process.  

 The largely typical learning process of the contemporary Church often exaggerates the use of secondary sources of information and minimizes the use of the more Primary Source.  So, in this day of plentiful media and easy access to ministry resources and people, we simply tend to heavily lean on those secondary resources.  Thus, we casually listen to the pastor/preacher, the seminary professor, the Sunday school teacher, or the TV and radio teachers, all of whom are secondary sources.  And, they, themselves, were likely heavily influenced by the same.  Nevertheless, we often listen and then just call it good. 

And obviously, to use these secondary sources is a quicker and easier way to take in information. And, all of this is certainly not to say that these instructors in the faith are not necessary or good.  In fact, often they are very helpful.  And, I’m attempting to be one of those, even now, with this writing. 

Also, certainly, theological discussions with others are good.  And, encouraging and thoughtful recordings and videos, etc., are wonderful gifts flowing out of these more modern times.

But, there is also an indispensable, an irreplaceable value to making the somewhat greater investment required, to experience a First-hand learning and verification process.  This first-hand source is the more primary and individualized tutelage of the Holy Spirit.

His teaching whispers on God’s Word and His providential life lessons have always been the more fundamental way of obtaining and confirming a dependable, first-hand understanding of the divine perspective.  Thus, the Holy Spirit’s very individualized, one-on-one classroom, where a significant personal investment of time, mind, and heart are the requisite, should always remain, far and away, the believer’s more employed and enjoyed source of divine truth and verification.

Either the following statement is true, or it is not.  Jesus said, about the role of the Spirit in this regard, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak...”  

So, the encouragement here is not to eliminate all second-level learning resources, but simply to first experience the Spiritual merger with the Savior, and then maximize this benefit – your enhanced access to the divine mind and heart. The uncomplicated suggestion is simply not to exaggerate the use of those secondary sources at the great expense of that more primary source – the Divine Spirit. (Ref. - John 15: 1-8 /1 Corinthians 2:16 / John 14:6 / 1 John 1: 5-7)

The Psalmist, David, put it this way. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.”

***

~7.24 Now, the Take-aways:    So, as we close this chapter, perhaps it now becomes obvious that the modern Church has, indeed, widely made a serious mistake in choosing to revise the teachings of the authentic Gospel of Christ – simply to accommodate Easy.  Certainly, this pie-in-the-sky, non-responsible approach does, indeed, entirely ignore the spectacular opportunity for newness offered to believers by the Living Christ.           Also, it takes no notice of the absolute redemptive requirement of a mutually meaningful friendship with God.  Instead, it has replaced these wonderful prospects with the absolute emptiness of a pretentiously legitimized relational apathy. 

So, the Church-embarrassing truth becomes this.  The non-responsibility approach to redemption is the farthest thing from God’s authentic redemptive process. It is merely a smooth sounding, conscience numbing alternative, which actually subverts souls instead of saving them. 

***

            ~7.25 A Better Ending:   Nevertheless, the good news is that Jesus, in that prophetic Laodicean note, offered a better ending for this present Church.  He said, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.”

This final sentiment of Christ’s note to us clearly indicates that His compassion has left space for an adjustment to the widespread apathetic trend within the present Church.  He describes a much brighter and nobler role as He admonishes us to faithfully fulfill His prescription and return to the authentic redemptive script.  And obviously, His prescribed remedies will, indeed, result in a greatly elevated performance on our part.

The Lord directs us to repent and begin again to pursue genuine truth (the gold tried in the fire) and a real righteousness (the white garments) and authentic godly enlightenment (the eye salve).   And, the Living Christ indicates here that these things are entirely available in Him when He says, “I counsel you to buy from me…” 

 In another place, the apostle, Paul, put it this way regarding the complete sufficiency of Christ when it comes to the needs of His Church in any age.  Paul wrote, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Indeed, Christ is our all sufficient resource for an enduring restoration and a thorough renewal – all in preparation for a truly durable and mutually fulfilling relationship with that Divine Trinity, which is our one true and living God.

***

           OK, so much for mean ole Larry!

 

  Chapter 8: The Common Pathway

***

~8.1 The Redemptive Continuum Summarized:   So, we’ve now viewed the roles of the main players in the redemptive drama.  And, now that we better understand who the players are, let’s allow our eye to proceed on down the program to get a thumbnail review of the redemptive drama’s basic story from the perspective of both the Overview and the Street Level View.

***

             ~8.2 First, the Overview:  We now know that the redemptive story does, indeed, span many millennia and two life-dimensions.  And, in the overview, the story is just basically about an intense love story between God and man which is played out amidst the backdrop of a long and fierce metaphysical war between the Light and the Darkness. 

The foundational issue which forms the dramatic continuum of the story is this central question:  Who gets to decide what stands for truth?  As we’ve seen, Satan contends that everyone has the right to make and live by their own interpretations of reality.  God, on the other hand, contends that He, alone, is the real source for the correct and authoritative interpretation of reality.

Thus, humanity is left facing the necessity of a very personal and a very consequential choice.  It involves a decision between embracing that “life according to me” approach, which Satan advocates, or the “life according to God through Christ” approach which God advocates. 

***

~8.3 The Basic Redemptive Needs:   In the overview we can also see a simple breakdown of the four basic needs involved in the common redemptive journey. They are these:

·        The need for Forgiveness (Ref. Hebrews 9:27)

·        The need for The Restoration (Ref. John 3:16-17) 

·        The need to be consistently Faith-expressive (Ref. Heb. 12:1-2

·        The need for Character Renewal (Ref. Eph. 4:20-24)

***

~8.4 The Basic Remedies:   The two remedies that God has provided to answer these basic needs reside entirely in Christ. They are the Cross and the Resurrection – Christ’s sacrificial death and empowering life.

Thus, through Christ’s Death on the Cross, He furnishes three things to the believer:

·        Forgiveness

·        Relational Reconciliation with God

·        Imputed Righteousness

On the other hand, flowing out of the Resurrection and the vitality of the Living Christ comes:

·        A Thorough Renewal of Heart and Life

·        A Reality Based Righteousness

***

~8.5 The Basic Phases of Christian Redemption:   Finally, when we view the common redemptive path from above, we can also notice that there are really Three Basic Phases involved. And certainly, there is some overlap between these different phases. Nevertheless, they can be easily identified as distinct by their main emphases.

For example, flowing out of our embrace of the Lordship of Christ is the First Phase. It is easily characterized as simply the Forgiveness Phase. In this phase the overarching emphasis is the believer’s forgiveness and restoration to relationship with God. (Ref. John 3:16)

The Second Phase of the commonly shared redemptive pathway is easily identified as the Renewal Phase. Its beginning place is marked by the integration of the believer’s character essence with that of Christ.  In this phase, the believer is primarily involved with the expulsion of the primary and secondary sin motives from his subconscious and the thorough renewal of his entire value system by the Living Christ. (Ref. Rom. 5:10)

Phase Three is what might be very accurately called The Fruitful  or Mature Phase  where the believer is now primarily involved in continuing the cultivation of, and giving practical expressions to, his Christ- renewed character essence. (Ref. Gal. 5:22)

***

            ~8.6 Now, the Street Level View:   So, that was the larger, less detailed overview of the common redemptive pathway. But now, let’s look at the Experiential Steps which we typically encounter as God initiates a friendship with us through Christ. This is now definitely the “Street Level View” of the common redemptive pathway. It will be a quick and much more lineal summary of what we have previously discussed.

***

~8.7 The First Encounter:   Typically, our first awareness of what God is doing to stimulate a relationship with us comes as we begin to feel a kind of drawing. This stimulation could probably generally be described as simply a growing personal awareness of the metaphysical reality.

The Holy Spirit cultivates this inner pull on our heart in various ways including intellectually, emotionally, circumstantially, and providentially.  But, however this divine “tap on the shoulder” gets through to us, it causes us to begin to pay more attention to the metaphysical dimension of life. 

  Then, if all goes well as the process continues, the “Conversion Chemistry,” that perfect circumstantial blend of conditions in our life, becomes correct. And, in the wondrous clarity of the Conversion Moment, we are able to see our own need (usually a desperate one by this point) juxtaposed against God’s offer of help in Christ.

  And, if we react properly to this personal revelation, a true humility before God erupts within us. And, out of that profound humility comes a heart-felt penitence (a very impactful sorrow) for our previous arrogance which excluded God from our life. And, in this humbling moment, we are finally able to truly embrace of the Lordship of Christ – if we choose to do so. 

 If we do, there is typically a confluence of emotions which attend this breakthrough moment. But, the real significance of the moment goes much deeper than those emotions.

The thing which truly legitimizes that conversion moment is the substance of our agreement.  That substantive agreement may be offered either consciously or intuitively (the far more common occurrence). But, in either case, it involves the serious willingness to sell out to the Lordship of Christ, which, in real terms will involve the embrace of the divine values, truth, and daily guidance from this point forward.

This sincere and encompassing commitment is the very essence of a genuine personal embrace of Christ as Lord.  And, anything less is really just game-playing.

So, this heart-felt embrace of Christ’s Lordship brings to us a true personal reconciliation with God. And, with this reconciliation comes the assignment of imputed righteousness, the first benefit of Christ’s death on the Cross, as explained earlier.

***

~8.8 And the Good Just Keeps on Coming:   But, the redemptive process is not finished here. In fact, it has only barely begun. Now, we start to move beyond the faith decision of the conscious mind, and mere forgiveness. Now, the Divine Spirit begins to urge the believer forward, toward a true newness of heart and life. 

***

~8.9 A New Beginning In Real Terms:   So, now comes the believer’s Subconscious Renewal. In this phase of the redemptive process, the believer begins to address that subconscious primary sin-instinct which still pressures him or her toward self-determined behavior – even after conversion.  This is that carnal condition which we looked at earlier in the Book of Romans.

Thus, it is normal in a healthy relationship with Christ that, shortly after his or her conversion, the believer encounters a time of serious struggle with this lingering subconscious issue. And, the Christ-enabled resolution of this problem is simply the next natural step in the redemptive process.

But, to be clear, this step is not about removing the consequences of sin.  The Cross has already taken care of that.  This phase is about dethroning, in the believer’s core subconscious person, that primary sin-value which still stubbornly attempts to rule there.  And, as noted previously, this is accomplished through the merger of our character essence with that of the Living Christ. 

***

~8.10 A Momentary Magnification of These Events:   Initially, after we embrace the Lordship of Christ, we usually experience a sense of great relief and a new enthusiasm for life.  Yet, fairly shortly, if things go correctly, we move into a confrontation with who we still are on that subconscious level of our being. Again, this is really just a confrontation with our subconscious “evil twin,” which remains still very committed to that self-determined value and the lifestyle that it generates.

So, we begin to confront this residual sin value within us. We begin to do battle with this self-concentric thing which is still under the skin and still pushes us toward waywardness, even though, in our conscious mind, we are now determined to please God with our life.

Thus, we enter into a time which can be very accurately described as a time of separation and humiliation. It is a kind of personal wilderness (not unlike that described in the book of Exodus in the Bible), where we discover our God and ourselves at new levels. And certainly, this time of discovery is, sometimes, painful and disconcerting.

But, it also, very effectively, serves God’s redemptive purposes. It serves to finally empty us of our subconscious arrogance. It is in this way that God prepares the believer for what is truly the “The Target Event” of the New Testament - our personal merger with the character essence of the Living Christ. 

Thus, at the end of this humbling process, when God determines that the time is right, it occurs – the merger between the human character essence of the believer and the Divine character essence of the Living Christ. At that point, the Living Christ, comes to literally live in the character essence of the believer through the facilitation of the Divine Spirit as described earlier. And, through this unique character merger, we become empowered by His vitality to consistently embrace God’s will and purposes for our life, as our conscious and subconscious minds come into complete agreement regarding our faith-intention.

***

~8.11 The Immediate Benefits:   The immediate benefits of this merger, as described earlier, are our connection to the faith and grace of the Living Christ. Thus, now, we start to become consistently faith-expressive through this symbiotic relationship with the Living Christ. And, in the same way, we start to govern and guide our lives by His naturally occurring goodness (grace) within, bringing an easy affinity to our relationship with God.

Finally, the believer’s days can now be lived consistently and successfully under the natural heart government of this Christ-imparted grace! It simply happens as the faith and instinctive goodness of Christ begin to express themselves within our own character essence to easily and naturally guide our daily thoughts and steps from within.

And, this life-transforming, Spirit-facilitated merger with the nature of Christ actually marks our entrance into the mature stage of Spiritual life. In essence, this is the “bar mitzvah” of the New Testament believer, our rite of passage to Spiritual maturity.

Thus, we are considered Spiritual adults at this point. Granted, we are still young Spiritual adults, with a minimal experience level and a lot of room for growth - yes, but Spiritual adults, nevertheless.

***

~8.12 An Empowered New Direction:   Now, with the faith motive being firmly established by the Living Christ throughout our being, the redemptive process becomes a strong and efficient directional current. We begin, with new vitality, furnished by the indwelling Christ, to embrace, in an ever increasing way, the divine value system. And, over time, and resulting from that growth, we also continue to confront and expel the more secondary sin motives on the more secondary levels of our heart (character essence) and life (influence). 

And, growing out of this process, the actual expressions of the sin motive begin to disappear from our lifestyle reality. Thus, as God intended, we grow more and more consistent in a godly lifestyle through Christ. We begin to show the signs of true maturity. And, somewhere along the way, still something else occurs.  A shift happens.

***

~8.13 The Fruitful Phase:   Somewhere along this Christ-empowered pathway of success, our focus starts to shift, altogether. Having found the sufficiency in Christ to deal with both the primary and secondary sin impulses, our walk with Christ begins to become more about an increasing fruitfulness in our character. And, as Christ continues this “polishing” process, the believer ever more clearly reflects His character essence – both in the believer’s core person and in his lifestyle realities.

Thus, the believer is literally always moving forward in a growing oneness of heart, a mature and completing harmony, with his Creator, his Savior, and the Divine Spirit. And on, and on, this new and deeply fulfilling friendship grows, transitioning eventually, even into eternity.

***

            ~8.14 Only Christ!   This is the great human success story that only Christ could write - first in His own blood on the Cross, and then in the rich vitality of His shared life essence flowing out of the Resurrection. This is that authentic, Christ-enabled pathway which all of the truly redeemed in Christ faithfully travel, deeply cherish, and experientially hold in common. 

Certainly, as mentioned earlier, in the life details of individual believers, the redemptive drama is immensely diverse.  But, in this essential redemptive experience, the story remains the same life-changing reality for us all. 

This is God’s Authentic Redemptive Process which brings the truly faithful fully back into His loving embrace, and, in turn, initiates the exciting future which flows out of this beautifully renewed life and relationship. And, it is all entirely the perfect work of the world’s only and very perfect Savior of the human soul – Jesus, the Dying and the Living Christ.

 

Chapter 9: The Power to Rise

***

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the face of his friend.”

***

 

~9.1 Change Does Occur:  Without question, the divine friendship does, indeed, change us - but not by oppression. Rather, in essence, the redemptive process remains, first and finally, merely the process of a good friendship - doing what a good friendship does.  Within a balanced atmosphere of love and respect, a good friendship makes us better. It empowers us. It lightens our load. It broadens our perspective. It improves our character.

Oppression is neither required nor appropriate to attend such a friendship. Rather, a truly worthy and enduring friendship is always enabled simply by a deep mutual appreciation which binds hearts together easily and naturally.

And, so it is with the divine friendship. Through Christ, we are simply able to see the true worth and beauty of the character of our Creator. And, through that accurate vision, we are able to then fall deeply in love with who we see, and then happily share in the beauty of His character essence. 

The apostle said it this way, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 

***

            ~9.2 The Ultimate Question:   So, the ultimate question regarding our personal redemption presents itself here. All previous questions surrounding redemption are very succinctly summed up in this one. Always, this is the superseding and supremely defining question for any pursuer of God.

Indeed, the answer to this question is so huge that it entirely determines the tone and quality of our relationship with God. It defines the direction of both our material and our metaphysical life. And, it determines whether or not our heart will ever be truly attuned to God’s.

Very obviously, people do respond to Christ in different ways and at different levels. But, this most profound question thoroughly challenges us and very quickly sorts out the game players from those who are sincere. It pushes us to get beyond the shallow and the momentary, to what absolutely is the more enduring redemptive purpose.  So, here is that profoundly simple but absolutely defining question.  

“Do you want to be new?”

This is a very different question from, “Do you want to be saved?” or “Do you want to go to Heaven?”  It is different than, “Do you want God to rescue you from some overwhelming circumstance?” And, it is different from, “Do you want to escape eternal punishment?”

All of these are important questions; and, they represent good reasons for responding to Christ. But, what all of these questions fail to do is furnish the broader view of the more ultimate redemptive purpose. And, that purpose is your thorough personal renewal – the whole point of being born again.

The truth is, God never intended forgiveness to become an end in itself. Forgiveness is intended to serve as a bridge to the beginning place for our transformative journey toward heart-oneness with Him.

So, God’s very purpose driven redemptive plan necessarily takes us on beyond the beginning place of the Cross and forgiveness. It also propels us forward, toward the newness which flows out of the Resurrection, and the power of the Living Christ living within us.

With these words, Jesus gives us a clear glimpse of the true direction of the redemptive flow. “…That they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us.”  Thus, that direction is always and ever toward a heart-oneness with God. But it all hinges on our answer to that defining question. 

But that question is never fully answered with mere words. It must also be answered by our true inner urging’s. It is these more visceral drives within, which really confirm our desire, not just to be forgiven, but to actually please God in who we are – both at our core, and in the extensions of our influence.

So, it comes to this. There is a vast difference between a pretentious, minimally impactful, forgiveness-only brand of redemption, and the true redemptive process in which we are actually able to rise above our brokenness and become beautifully and durably attuned to the heart of God. The true redemptive vision is one of an entirely new creature – reborn of God’s redemptive love and our delighted embrace of all that both the Dying and the Living Christ offer.

***

~9.3 Small but Huge:  Do you want to be New?   This is the small but huge question whose answer truly decides our ultimate personal destiny.

 

Chapter 10: Bonus Features

***

Hey, if they can put ‘em on a DVD…

***

~10.1 Larry’s Back Story…

I saw her coming; and I knew it was trouble. In the fifth year of our marriage, my wife, Donna, was a beautiful young woman with a very admirable personal bearing and integrity beyond her 23 years. When I saw her turning into the driveway of the place where I worked on large trucks, I instinctively knew that she had come to some personal resolution.

 Her arrival on that Saturday morning was only after a very stressful period in our marriage. It all began many weeks before when, for no particular reason, we got up on an ordinary Sunday morning and I said, “Let’s go to church today.”

The only motive that I can recall for making that statement was that I thought it would be fun. I wanted to see if I still knew anyone from when I attended the church years earlier.  In those days, I had mostly gone to the church to be with my high school friends who went there. At any rate, my wife quickly agreed, for much more noble motives than my own. So, we went.

We spent the morning in polite greeting and going through the motions (or so I thought). Church had not really been a part of our married life - primarily because I exercised no leadership in the area of spiritual things.

So, after that visit, I was done. My curiosity was satisfied, and that, was that. But, not so much for Donna.  The next Sunday, she got up and said, “Let’s go to church again!”

My reaction inside was, “What! Are you nuts, woman?! I have absolutely no interest in that - at all. And, I don’t really understand why you do.”

My reaction outside, however, was a much quieter one, “Oh, I made plans to go target shooting this morning. But, you go, if you want to.”  So, she did. She dressed our two year old daughter, Sarah, and off they went.  And, the next Sunday - same thing.  And, the Sunday after that - and the one after that, and so on for weeks. My girls went to church - without me.

Every Sunday, I made up another lame excuse. And, every Sunday that I did so, I felt guiltier. And my guilt started to take an emotional toll on our marriage.

Eventually, after each of these Sunday church excursions, I started to puff up like a big angry blow fish. Even in those days, I would never dream of physically abusing my wife, but I certainly emotionally abused her with my angry silence of disapproval.

When she would attempt to address the problem, I would not respond to her questions as to what was wrong. So, from her perspective, her husband was turning into an angry person for one or two days a week for no apparent reason.

Then, it started to become three or four days a week. And, as my guilt became heavier, it eventually became all week. And then the weeks started to string together.

I knew this behavior was horrible, but I couldn’t stop. The whole episode, spreading over many weeks, only demonstrated what a dark and confused person lived in my skin. Eventually, however, after weeks of this emotional mess, on that fateful Saturday morning, I saw her coming.

Because it was Saturday, I was the only man in the shop. I had come in to work this day to finish a job, and get the truck out to a customer who desperately needed it.

My heart was in my throat as my wife pulled in the drive way. I instinctively knew trouble was about to make an appearance.

Nevertheless, I walked out to meet her. Her eyes were red and teary, but there was also courage and resolve there too. She said, “Larry, I can’t do this anymore. I think we ought to separate.”

I remember glancing at my little Sarah. Donna was holding her.  Her innocence and helplessness seemed suddenly so magnified, which greatly enlarged the waves of remorse that now washed over me with Donna’s statement.  

I know that my actions over those many weeks did not indicate it, but emotionally, I deeply loved my wife and daughter; and I found my worth in their love for me. I have since understood that love is much more what you do, than what you feel.  But, when I heard my wife’s difficult declaration, my heart broke. 

Tears began to sting the edges of my own eyes. As I started to speak, my bottom lip was mostly uncooperative.  It was too busy with a small involuntary quiver to be bothered with talking.  But this involuntary reaction turned out to be merely the warm up act for the stupidity which was about to erupt from inside me.

 But, the words that I next spoke put that stupidity instantly on display.  Looking down to hide my own emotions, I said, in the most arrogant tone, “Well, whatever we’re going to do, let’s just get it done.” The male insanity is its own peculiar brand at times.

When I looked up, I could see the pain in my wife’s sweet face as those words impacted her. I knew she had hoped for, and certainly deserved, better.

I should have fallen on my knees and begged for her forgiveness. But, one more time, I just let my base and backward emotions rule the moment. And my wife walked away with our child, in even more pain than when she had arrived.

I watched them drive away. Then, I turned to go back into the shop. I no longer had either a reason or the ability to restrain my own tears. They were gushing as I entered the door of that massive truck shop.

But, as I walked across the building, something happened. I had what psychologists would probably call an epiphany. And, it really was that. But it was more than that, too. It was a divine confrontation. And, I clearly understood it to be such, even in that moment.

Suddenly, everything was crystal clear. It became very obvious to me that I didn’t have money problems (though, I did). I didn’t have health problems (though, I did). And I didn’t have marriage problems (though, I very obviously did). 

Suddenly the real problem became so very clear.  “I have spiritual problems!” was the perfectly clear thought which went off like a siren in my head.

So, I found myself at one of those crossroad moments where life can break either way.  But, my desperation made me to know exactly what I needed to do.

I raised my face upward toward the high rafters of that huge building; and, it was as if I were looking directly into the very face of God (though I did not actually see Him). And, with tears still rampant, I said, “Lord, from this point on, if you will tell me what you want me to do - I will do it.”

Instantly, with that humble commitment, there occurred a kind of personal release inside me. With that simple, but heart-felt, promise came a peace that literally seemed to wash over my soul. 

I needed no minister to tell me that I had just said the right thing to God. It was as if I had needed and wanted to say those words my whole life.

And, in that same instant, there was a clear confirmation within me. It absolutely affirmed, without words and without equivocation, “You are forgiven.”

This whole encounter lasted no more than fifteen or twenty seconds. But it was absolutely amazing. And, at the end of it, there was left no doubt in my mind that everything had just changed.

***

~The God of Happy Endings:  It took me a while to gather myself after this “conversion moment.”  Obviously, I was not really a religious person as a young adult. And, I had, long before this quarter minute, lost the kind of innocence which might have simply accepted such a reality of God’s presence. So, it took a while to process everything.

But after a bit, I called my wife at her mother’s house and briefly apologized.  I took full responsibility for my insanity. And, I asked for her forgiveness.

I also asked her to meet me at our home, so that I could explain what had happened.  And, she did so.  But, my explanation of what had happened was dismal.  I simply had no good vocabulary to describe it to her. But somehow, she sensed a real change in me; and, she forgave me. And, a true renewal came to our marriage. 

***

~The Journey Begins:   A great deal more also began to change after that day. And, from that very day, I remained always aware, on some level, of the unseen Jesus. He had truly become my invisible but constant and now very welcome Companion.

The conversion moment is, indeed, a personal epiphany. It is a beautiful event and the door way to many more. And following my conversion, I began to experience some wonderful times.

But again, I was certainly struggling to keep up with the interpretation of all that was happening. And eventually, through much misinterpretation on my part, I began to enter into what can only be called "the great mistake."  I started working on myself.

I could clearly see that I was, indeed, very broken. So, it seemed the obvious priority ought to be to fix me. But, what I didn't realize was that I had the right priority, but the wrong mechanic.

I have since understood that redemption, long before it is about what you do, is about who you are at your core. That has to be so, because what you do, flows directly from who you are. Thus, it is impossible to fix, in any enduring way, what you do, until you fix who you are.

Now, I understand that, and it makes perfect sense.  But I did not understand in those days that God didn’t really want me to work on me. He simply wanted me to see that I really needed fixing.

And the plan worked. I eventually reached a point where I became absolutely desperate. I could see the high road; but I could not find a way to walk it consistently. And, that failure eventually became an every day heartbreak.

Nevertheless, I did not want to be the man I had been before. That old me was a failure in all the ways that matter most. And now, as I became more exposed by the light of God’s Word and the divine “whispers,” my brokenness became truly glaring.

Thus, what had started out as a time of great personal release and a new beginning point in my life began to morph into something else. It was turning into a time of great heaviness due to these now much more visible character flaws and behavioral failures.

***

~ The Turning Point:   I was bewildered.  And, I really had no idea what God was up to until late one Friday afternoon several weeks into this lingering heaviness.

Again, I was at work; and the sun was setting. It was actually after normal business hours.  But, I was awaiting the arrival of a customer to whom I was to give an estimate on some work on his truck.

As I sat outside the shop watching the sun go down, I was, in one way, happier than I had ever been in my life. And yet, at the same time, I was also burdened, as I described. I was very aware that I was not only failing my own expectations every day, but those of the God who had given me a new start in life.

That afternoon, as I waited, I decided I would step into a forested area at the edge of  the shop property and pray. As I knelt to pray, it seemed the weight of the world was on my shoulders.

I began to pray, “Lord, you said ask...”  But, that was as far as I got. In that moment, instantly, I became immersed in the Divine Spirit for the first time. And it was a very dramatic thing.

I will not waste the reader’s time trying to describe an experience which words are wholly inadequate to describe. Suffice to say, it was a very dramatic moment of divine intervention.

And, though I did not understand what was happening at the time and could not have explained it so plainly back then, nevertheless, this was, indeed, the moment of my personal merger with the character essence of the Living Christ.  However, I was so inexperienced, and I had such little knowledge of the workings of the redemptive process, that I was at a complete loss to grasp the nature or significance of this event.  And I certainly did not know it was par for a healthy redemptive life-course. (Ref. 2 Peter 1:4)

Later that evening, I spoke to my pastor about it. I described it as well as I could. I told him that something had absolutely changed inside me. My heaviness was gone, and there was a profound feeling of contentment.

He generally encouraged and reassured me. But sadly, he really could not explain the experience, either.

But a few weeks later, I was sitting in a revival meeting, and an old silver haired evangelist named John Ragsdale began to talk about the Baptism of the Spirit. He said that it was a natural part of God’s redemptive plan for believers. And, he began to describe its purpose and something of its nature. I sat spell bound as he described my experience to a tee, not in the details, but in general terms.

Now, at least, I knew what had happened, and what to call it. I had literally been given access, through the Divine Spirit, to the character essence of the Living Jesus. I was so relieved to know that this was a normal and expected event in the Christian experience, and not some unexplainable aberration.  

But, even with this explanation, I was still pretty unaware of the bigger picture of the redemptive work. But that was soon to change.

***

~ From Outside to Inside:   So, what had been the external leadership of the Spirit after my conversion, had now become the internalized presence of Christ. It was as if, before, I was being led by the hand, but now I just seemed to know where to go – from within.  And also, after this symbiotic connection to Christ occurred, the great pressure of self-adjustment was relieved.

Now my aspirations of character and behavioral renewal became based in His inner sufficiency, not in my lack of it. So becoming a new and better person became a much more natural and comfortable process. It became more a matter of just letting His light shine in me, instead of trying to make mine shine.

And so, success did begin to come. I was different inside; and so I started to behave differently outside. And, entirely new appetites were a real part of that awakening renewal - appetites for things spiritual, and right, and truly good.

***

~I Have To Know:   And, as a part of this inner awakening, I developed a burning desire to know and understand God’s word. And, I wanted desperately to discover the big picture of what was going on in my own redemption.

I no longer saw the study of God’s word as a duty. Now, I pursued it more like an impassioned hobby, though it was certainly no game to me.  Sometimes I would get up hours before work time and go to my church and pray, and study, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I just had this deep need to know and understand, and to truly discover the God behind it all.  And, the closeness of Christ in those quiet, private hours was so very perceptible.  At least that was normally the case. 

But, one morning about 3:00 AM, the police came to the church to investigate the lights. I was very embarrassed. I stumbled all over the explanation as to why I was there at that hour. And it was fairly obvious at first that they just weren’t buying it.  But eventually, I think they just took me to be a harmless religious nut and they left. And, I was very happy to let it go at that since, for a while, I thought I was about to go from God’s house to the “big house.”

***

~God, the “Head Hunter:”   Eventually, as a part of all of this, God led me to a new job. I won’t tell you how he moved me. It’s a good story, but a long one. Nevertheless, maybe I could just say, when God wants to put you somewhere for your own good, He doesn’t bother much with getting your permission.

So, in what I remember to be only a few weeks after my personal merger with Christ, God changed my vocation and I found myself working in an auto parts store. It’s hard to imagine God as a “head hunter,” but He certainly found me a new job quick enough. No more freedom, no more big (but always misspent) commissions, and no more free ride, it was time for my baptism of fire.

I worked in that parts house for four years before it was over. But, after the first year, I was begging God every day to let me quit. Nevertheless, He steadfastly refused.

Every day I dealt with irate and cursing mechanics, impatient customers off of the street, and more phones ringing than we had people to answer. It was constant stress, constant pressure, and constant confrontation of one sort or another.

But, this was the place where I was to be educated and immersed in learning to love the unlovely. This was the place where I was to learn to embrace the power of the Spirit to manage my temper, my fleshly appetites, and my much smaller pay checks. 

This was the place of my early schooling in Christ. And this was to be the place where my personal humbling would take on a greatly lengthened dimension.

I now know that this Humbling Process is a normal and necessary part of our experience in Christ, even if it is a sometimes painful part. Since those days, I have come to understand that redemptive faith is best understood to be simply a profound and encompassing humility before God.  So obviously, getting there must necessarily involve a humbling process.

And, my humility in the face of God’s will was certainly tested in those days. Eventually, it became an everyday event that I would go down the street to a small city park to eat my lunch and cry on God’s shoulder. I would ask Him (more like beg Him) to release me from that job. Some days, I would threaten to “quit anyway,” though I knew I wasn’t about to do such a thing against His clear will and stern warnings.

Needless to say, there was real stress involved in all of this. But, I obeyed Him in the strength of a Christ-based love and faith - and our relationship and my personal growth flourished - even if my nervous system did not.

The good thing about those fiery exchanges in the park - He was there. And when I would go to more calmly pray in my private place - He was there too. When I would cry, He was there to encourage me. When I would discover some glorious, graceful answer, He was there to celebrate with me. 

He was always there to talk, to guide, to comfort, to encourage – to just share my life. He was always there, and I came to know that He always would be.

And, sure enough, across what has now become very nearly a half-century, He has always been there for me, and most importantly, with me.   And truly, it is, indeed, an addictive companionship. 

So, in those early days, I was literally walking life’s road, bumpy though it may sometimes have been, with the one true and living God. His constant presence somehow made up for everything. I was getting to know Him at a much higher level. And I was discovering how very worth knowing He really is.

In those days, I discovered new layers of my own brokenness, and I discovered His graceful remedy on every one of those layers. The temper thing was no small issue. And, loving those unlovely people who had no intention of loving me back - a unique challenge.  But, the grace of Christ was more than equal to every challenge.

It was in these days that I learned that love is much more what you do, than what you feel. And I experienced His divine implementation of that awareness in my everyday relationships. The unseen Christ, every day, was expressing Himself in me. And He was changing me, day by day.

***

~Graduation Time:   But, apparently, “divine primary school” doesn't last forever (it just seems like it). Nevertheless, eventually God decided that it was graduation time. But, it was not exactly “school is out.”   It was more like, “Let’s move to another campus.”

So, one beautiful Sunday afternoon after church and lunch, I felt an urgency in my heart. I felt a real need for personal privacy with God.

At this point, I was 30 years old, the Lord and I had been walking together for about five years. Not a long experience with God, but long enough that I could sometimes sense when something was up.

At first, I went outside and sat in my back yard, not really understanding what was going on - as usual. But the feeling, the need to somehow go aside with God grew in intensity there.

Eventually, I explained to my wife what I was feeling. I asked her to take me to the edge of town to a wooded piece of property owned by her dad. Always perceptive, she agreed.

I took some matches, as I thought I might be spending the night in those woods. And, I told my wife as much.  I told her not to worry, that I would just walk home when all of this was over (long before cell phones).

We hugged for a long moment as I got out of the car at the edge of the property. She drove away. I walked into the woods about a hundred yards or so, and sat down at the base of a large Pine tree. I didn’t really know what to do. I was just waiting, unsure of the significance of all of this.

Eventually, with the warm summer sun shining on me, I became dozy.  I kind of drifted in and out for maybe an hour or so, still just waiting. I was in that blissful state of, I’m almost asleep, but not quite. I’ve sometimes wondered what God thought as he looked at me, dozing under that tree, waiting on Him to give me some direction.

I don’t really know what he thought about that picture, but I certainly know what He did. After some time, I awakened as if an alarm had gone off. And it was just there.  It was a perfect reality in my mind. God had called me into the ministry of His Word.  I had gone to sleep (well, almost) a laymen, but I had awakened a minister.

I was not going to be a minister, I was a minister, already. I was not going to be a minister after I finished school and got a degree. God made me a minister, in my heart, that very day.

Again, I was 30 years old. My life pattern was pretty well set. We owned our own home. We were active in our local church. And we were feeling pretty stable in the community.

But now, none of that seemed to fit any more. In that short time in those woods, everything had changed. So, I got up and started walking home, occasionally bursting into laughter, just because I felt like it.

A summer storm cloud had arisen in the area by this time.  And, it was directly ahead of me and meeting me as I walked. I expected to get drenched before I got home, but I just didn’t care. I was actually a bit giddy.

However, just before the rain got to me, I looked up and there she was. It was Donna, coming to get me. She just knew to come.

We went back home.  And, after I explained to her what had happened, I called my pastor and told him. I asked him if I might preach in the PM service that very Sunday night. He agreed, though somewhat bewildered I think.

The sermon was horrible. I was petrified. And, I could hardly raise my eyes to make eye contact with the congregation because of my fear. But, I finished the sermon and started a new life as a minister, just that quickly.

The next day was Monday. I went in to work and gave them my notice.   And, shortly after, we started making preparations to move to Jackson, Mississippi where our denominational college was located. We moved there just before school started in the fall.

When I figured up how long I had worked for that parts company, it was one day over four years. But, then I realized that I had forgotten to take into account one leap year. So, on the final day of my two week resignation, I had worked for that company (been in God’s undergrad school) for exactly four years to the day. Thus, I felt that I had already earned my Bachelor’s Degree from the School of Hard Knocks.

Nevertheless, my new school, did not recognize that degree, and insisted that I start over. Eventually they awarded me a Degree in Biblical Literature and Pastoral Ministry.

At the time of this writing, my ministry has spanned almost half a century. And, in that time, I have spent almost every day practicing the art of bringing clarity to spiritual abstracts.

I have pastored 7 churches, had two jail ministries, and started one mission church, built Christian Schools in Africa, written Spiritual Guidance Books and articles and preached countless sermons.   I no longer have trouble making eye contact. And, most agree the sermons have improved (a little) from that first one.

I have raised four children, all of whom have willingly embraced the faith of their father and mother.  And, they presently love and serve Christ. And, my wife and I have now celebrated well over fifty years of a wonderful marriage.  And, it remains very vibrant and happy to this very day.

And, the Lord and I have spent every single day together, since our first encounter in that truck shop all those years ago. And in every one of those days, He has been my unfailing guide, my teacher, my rescuer, my enabler, and my most intimate confidant.  He has also been my God in every sense of the word, and yet, also my very dearest daily Friend.

And this very fulfilling companionship has really become the entire substance of my life. I am always nothing more than simply - His.

To know and consistently walk with the one true and living God in a deep and durable daily friendship - with what does one compare that? How can you fully describe the beauty and wonder of that?  Nevertheless, I have done it for all of these years. And I am joyously doing it, even now, as easily as breathing.

***

~10.2 Flipper…  

I have a grey squirrel in my back yard which endlessly entertains me.  I named him “Flipper.” I know, not too original. But I named him that because, invariably, he makes a few hops in the grass and then does a complete forward flip.  Then he repeats that same sequence all over again, no matter how far he is traveling across the yard.

On one especially cold, gray, fall day, I was watching Flipper’s antics from my backyard office window.  He is a regular patron of my pecan tree.  And, he is amazing. 

His thick grey fur is flawless and fine, and, I assume, very soft.  It certainly looks to be.  And, those moves of his – they are unbelievably agile, and almost faster than the eye can follow at times, especially when he is actually up in the tree ripping off my pecans.  His confident motions are a spellbinding poetry of frenzied action up and down and all over that tree.  It is very obvious that He is perfectly made for and perfectly comfortable with doing those high-limb tricks of his.

As I watched that little guy on that cold day, I thought what a blessing it would be if he would just let me be his up-close friend.  I would love to be able to pet him, and enjoy his companionship in my office.  It seemed to me that we could easily get to be best buds - if only he would go for it. 

It also occurred to me that I could make his little life a lot easier if we were friends.  I could shelter him in bad weather.  I could keep him warm and safe and well fed.  But, when I thought about it, I knew it would never be - for one simple reason. 

That little squirrel simply doesn’t trust me enough to let me get close.  He would rather just go it on his own, than risk a close encounter with me.  That’s too bad, for him – and for me.  It could be a really great friendship, if he just had the faith to risk it. But I guess that’s just how it has to be – with squirrels.

***

 

~10.3 The Autopilot…

When I was younger, I learned to fly general aviation type airplanes. Some of those planes had autopilots. It was an odd feeling to occasionally forget that the autopilot was on when I would start to turn toward some momentary point of interest.

When you would do such a thing, the autopilot would push back against your movements trying to hold the original heading. You could overpower it, but it did not give up.  If you wanted to deviate from what the autopilot understood to be the correct course, you either had to turn it off or constantly work against it.

Hello, grace guided life.  And, the "Turn Off" option is not really recommended.

***

 

~ 10.4 Dream Stumbles…

Loving and trusting God is simply what Christians do. Our living faith causes us to always answer with a ready heart, “At your service, Lord.” That is just the nature of faith.

But, it is true, sometimes that attitude brings conflict between our dreams and what God dreams for us. The temptation, of course, is to hang onto our aspirations while we try to somehow appease His.

Big mistake. If your dreams are in His way – cut loose your dreams and never look back. Otherwise you will stumble over them.  Cut ‘em loose, and one or both of two things will typically happen. Either God will enable you to realize better dreams in league with Him, or He will eventually bring you back, in a much more prepared way, to finally enjoy the realization of those dreams you first gave up to Him.

***

 

~10.5 God Awareness…

There is quite a difference between simply subscribing to the reality of God’s existence and having a vibrant “God Awareness.” Believing in the existence of God is a simple intellectual position. But, to have an intuitive God awareness is a much more lively and intense proposition.

The first situation is based in this simple idea: There is a God. But, the second is based in an energized inner reality which leaves one completely assured: “Ooo, there is a God in me!”

Truly, it is this Christ-furnished God-awareness, this wonderful, metaphysical “Sixth Sense,” which makes our friendship with God to be alive and vibrant.  Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." 

***

 

~10.6 God Unboxed…

Typically, our first impression of God is usually that he is “The God of the Quick Fix.”  And He certainly is that - sometimes - especially in our spiritual infancy.  We bring our life’s boo-boos to Him, and He makes them all better.

So, especially to our youthful Spiritual mind, God becomes the God “in the Box.”   That is, he fits nicely within our uncomplicated, if somewhat naive, idea of who God is and how He is supposed to behave.

And, because he is a God who exists within this tidy mental framework, we can always easily define Him by our little cliché’s: “God will always… God will never…” etc.  Thus, He becomes a very comfortable, and predictable, and manageable God. 

And that’s fine – for spiritual children.  When we’re young in the faith, we certainly need uncomplicated. 

But, if we rightly choose to pursue a more mature awareness of God, we are destined to discover a much more sophisticated God.  And, this God is much too complex to any longer fit into our childish parameters. 

This God is sometimes hard to understand, and even harder to explain.  He can be a little scary, and made all the more so by the issues He raises.

He wants to know such things as, “Will you love me all the way to the end of my purposes - even though you don’t understand them in advance?  Will you trust me to work my plan, at the expense of yours?  Will you follow me, no matter what, to your own highest good?”

This is the God of our mature awakening, whose first requirement is respect for His authority.  So, he has no qualms about asking us to wait, in the dark, on Him - and then wait some more, and some more - far beyond our assessment of “appropriate.”

This is the God who sometimes simply won’t take no for an answer.  This is the God who is sometimes completely willing to ignore our druthers in favor of achieving His higher purposes for our life.  This is the God who asks us to position our trust, not in what He does or doesn’t do, but in who He is.

And, this more sophisticated God travels in a very weighty crowd.  And, in fact, unless you are willing to pursue a true personal gravity of your own, you will find it impossible to penetrate that circle.  

He walks among people like the patient Job, who did everything right.  Yet, he was ask to endure great personal calamity.

The patriarch, Abraham, traveled with this more sophisticated God.  And, God put His finger right on the thing that Abraham cherished most in the world, his son, Isaac.  And then He said, “I want that.”

And, Moses was among His closest fellows.  To him, this God made an insistent offer of leadership, which Moses was not allowed to refuse, even though he was completely intimidated by the responsibility.

So, the simple truth is this.  This more sophisticated God who rears us beyond our Spiritual infancy is just not in the business of settling for light weights.

My twenty-two year old son, Andy, was wounded in the neck in Afghanistan and lost the use of his legs as a result.  He was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for his initial intensive medical care.  It was a traumatic and uncertain time for both of us – and the whole of our family and extended friends.

Andy and I spent many nights there talking, and crying, and hugging.  It was a very emotionally charged time.  After about a month, however, Andy was well enough to be military medevac’d on to Florida, for his extended rehab.

As we said good-bye on that last afternoon at Walter Reed, I hugged him for a long time.  I promised to meet Him in Florida; and then, I turned to leave.

I got nearly to the door of his room when I was overwhelmed by my love for my “boy.”  I turned and looked back at his thin face, as he lay on his pillow, eyes closed, obviously weary with everything.

 I said, in emotional anguish, “Ange, are you gonna’ be OK?”  He opened his big blue eyes and looked at me, pausing for a second.

Then, a broad smile flashed across his face.  He said in a weak but mischievous voice, “Now Dad - we gotta’ be big boys today.”

 Sometimes that’s all a worthy pursuit of God comes to.  We just gotta’ make up our minds to be big boys and girls.

***

 

~10.7 So Seldom Pure…

Life is so seldom purely good. It seems that evil most always finds a way to taint our moments. But sometimes not.

Sometimes there are those priceless moments and places when and where life is purely good. The following is part of my personal list.

Life was always purely good at my grandmother’s breakfast table when I was young. When I stayed overnight at her house, I would awaken in her front bedroom to the smell of coffee; and from there on, it was always the same. Down the hallway to that bright kitchen and her big ole loving hug. Paw was already at the table; and he would pour a little of the coffee that I was not supposed to have (too young) in his saucer, blow on it to cool it, and then slide it over to me with a grin.

By now, you could cut the smell of bacon with a knife as it fried in the skillet with the eggs. And the biscuits, baked from scratch, were the highlight of the menu.

Paw and I would cut ‘em in two, butter ’em heavy, and sprinkle sugar on ‘em ‘till you couldn’t see the butter anymore. I always did mine exactly like Paw did his. I always did most everything like Paw did his.

The brightness of that happy kitchen, filled with morning sunlight, is as vivid in my memory as if it were yesterday. Every time I ever sat at that breakfast table, I knew only pure goodness expressed as laughter and love.

As time moved along, and I grew older, I came to understand that such moments and places are rare. But I did manage to discover another. It was my neighborhood of a simpler time. It was called Rose Hill. And it was straight out of To Kill A Mockingbird even down to my Boo Radley neighbor.

It was about a 20's model neighborhood, so it was about 40 years old by the time I came along.  And some parts were even a bit older than that. It was laid out in neat city blocks with old growth shade trees and cracking sidewalks. It was filled with responsible working people who all knew each other, or at least knew of each other, and were very respectful as neighbors.

My school was two blocks from my house. And, on the way, I would stop, going and coming, at Ms. Gray’s small store which was about in the middle of the trip.  Always my stop was for one brand or another of pure sugar. That store was the happy event which punctuated many happy days, and even some that weren’t so happy, for that matter – like report card day.

This part of town was made out of old charm. Most all of the yards were neat, and there was constant tension between deep shade and bright sunshine. And everywhere there were big lush shrubs, and overgrown alleys and all of it screamed, “I’ve been here a while.”

I was a kid in that neighborhood, the way a kid is supposed to be a kid. Between Indian attacks and cavalry charges, my cousin, Frank, and I played a thousand games of baseball there. I had countless bike races – and wrecks. Fun came easy there, and in a wide variety of forms.

The summers on Rose Hill were hot, humid, and magical with smells of honeysuckle, and roses, and gardenias, and the frying and baking smells which escaped through open kitchen windows. And amid those aromas, I spent long summer days doing the most important nothings that ever were done - all with my two best friends, Jack and Johnny. (Now an engineer and a judge, respectively.   And, these days, they, too, reek of “I've been here a while.”)

Rose Hill died with the people who lived there in my childhood. Oh, the streets are still there, and most of the houses. But they aren’t so neat or well-maintained any more. And the yards are no longer so well kept.  But I remember my neighborhood, back in the day. And it was purely good to my childish eyes.

Obviously, as I have gotten even older, things have continued to change. But I find that it is still not impossible to ferret out those purely good moments and places.  In fact, I have actually discovered two more wonderfully distilled realities in these more mature years.

The first is the joy of sitting across the table from my wife in a favored restaurant and talking, just talking, while the big issues are made to wait in the parking lot.

We go to a restaurant to eat, of course, but what we truly relish is the seclusion in a crowd. I love the stolen afternoon over strawberry milkshakes, or the Friday evening end of week catch up conversation at the Mexican place. 

 On my day off, I love a bright morning at "Big Mac" (McDonalds) with a biscuit and coffee and her.  I also love lunch with her on a rainy day. I guess I love her - and the food and the talk just let it come out especially easy. And those moments are purely good.

And, the last purely good thing that I will mention on my list (like you couldn't see this coming) is my friendship with my invisible but ever present Jesus. He is the living ideal of pure goodness.

And, His daily presence brings an unassailable hope to me every single day of my life. I think His presence is so reassuring because I need to know that our ideals can not only survive, but even flourish in this challenging world. And Jesus is the living confirmation of that. 

 He is the one purely good reality in life that is never touched by this world's smudges, and who never goes away.  Indeed, the only thing better than purely good, is purely good - all the time.

It is true, life is seldom purely good. But sometimes - it absolutely is. So, maybe you might be tempted to start your own List of the Purely Good. 

 Go ahead. Those things are worth keeping up with.  (I know, prepositions on the end of sentences are not purely good. They’re not even kinda’ good.)

***

~10.8 The First Words…

One of my concerns when my children were growing up was that one day they would, indeed, be all grown up.  But who would they then be? Would they be people of good character? Would they be people of faith? And would their faith lead them to their own vibrant adventure with God?

Or, would their faith just be their father’s faith, warmed over? I wondered, would they encounter God on the high plane of their own new story. Or would they just “phone it in,” merely going through the motions of the faith habit that they learned in our home.   
            I don’t want my children to be on auto pilot when it comes to their relationship with the Living Christ. I want them to tussle with Him in the throes of wrestling their way to their own maturity. I want them to hunger after God and God’s highest. I want them to spend themselves on the effort of their own personal discovery process.

I want them to truly invest, and then invest some more, as growth requires it. I want them to lay it all on the line – out of a true and deep love.  In short, I want them to be people of godly intensity. And, for that matter, I wish that same intensity on the whole of the Church. That is just the right way of things.

This early concern for my children came from a simple observation. It was the sight of what I have come to call, “Second Generation Creep.”  This is that thing where children grow up in vibrant Christian homes, but still, sometimes, carry away only a kind of “Rote Religion.” Again, their experience with God just has not the intensity that mom and dad’s experience had. Instead, their faith morphs into something more shallow and mechanical.

And, it is true that this generational creep also seems to sometimes touch the Church, both at the local and the higher levels. Sometimes when we get “all grown up” as a church, we just find our rut, get in it, and hunker down.  We stop being bold and taking risks for the Kingdom.  We stop seeking freshness in our approach to God and to ministry.

Nevertheless, the words of the prime admonition remain a simple and inspiring sentiment. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

In a real sense, these words are “The First Words.” And, as we occasionally revisit them in our heart, these words, can save us. They can save us from the quagmire of an “Automated Religion” which merely takes us through the motions of faith.

When allowed to newly envelope our heart, these First Words can awaken us to fresh levels of relationship with God. They can infuse us with new devotion. They can animate us with curiosity and heightened interest. They can move us to heightened investment and a formidable faith-expressiveness.

No one ever really finds God in the fog of their ho-hum. We only ever really come to truly discover Him intimately in the stalwartness of our “All-in” – the real stuff of those First Words.

***