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The following are but some of my thoughts shared with Barb on her blog A Former Leader’s Journey, you read her thoughts here that I am responding to.
Barb,
What I truly find amazing about the “sin” issue is, that from our Father’s perspective it IS no longer an issue at all. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews said, “If God permits, let us lay aside the A,B,C, elementary basics, and let us move on to perfection (full maturity). The perfection I see being available to us in our fully growing up into whose we are is addressing the issue of fear within us. John shares His heart with us, “As long as we are fearful, we are not yet perfected in love.”
The perfect one is perfectly joined to us, we are one, and yet that reality of perfect love flowing like a river within our union has seemingly got a kink in its hose somewhere, as far as my unspoken fears are concerned pertaining to my day in day out life encounters, and this all ties in with the ‘sin’ issue.
Is it really the sinless One we’re are desiring to know, the one who perfectly unconditionally loves us NOW for who we are, or is it still about our behaviour, being driven to reach some unobtainable mark?
Also in John’s letter is contained one of the most frighteningly sobering and liberating revelations regarding our moving forward into perfection, in my opinion all dealing with our Abba, birth-right! “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be: We know that when He appears, we will be like (as) Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
The issue of our ‘seeing’ Him is meaningless if we are not already seeing, experiencing him right here within the nasty-now-in-now events of life where by our buttons are being pressed within us, revealing fears that get us focused once again on our behaviour, good, bad or otherwise. These very fears being exposed are for our continued deliverance, extrication, it is there in these boogie man assaults He wants to meet with us.
What is finally meeting (our final destination) Him really all about if his grace has not fully provided this side of heaven the very reality we stand in need of regarding our hidden fears? The perfection of His love is something he chose to hide for us not from us in Christ, Christ is the Life and the Way he has opened up for us, now, today!
Rich
5 comments:
Thanks Rich. It continues to confound me!
Rich, you said:
"Is it really the sinless One we’re are desiring to know, the one who perfectly unconditionally loves us NOW for who we are, or is it still about our behaviour, being driven to reach some unobtainable mark?"
But is sin merely just an issue of "behavior"? If that is all we understand it to be, then we inevitably react rather hopelessly to the idea that we are called to live lives that are free from sin. I hear many people who talk as though the primary obstacle to people coming to a meaningful relationship with Christ is this obsession with "trying to be good", and so we just need to let go of trying to correct our behavior, and just come to a place where we don't even have to think about the issue of sin in our lives anymore....
And so I do think I understand the reasoning there, when sin is regarded as merely "behavior". But what if sin isn't really about behavior? What if it goes deeper than that?
In the last few years I have come to a place where I finally understand that it isn't just my actions that can be counted as "sins" against God, but the deeper issue is the heart condition which prompted those actions in the first place. That heart condition, which essentially had the attitude of "this is my life, and I will serve myself as I see fit", was really the source of all the "behavior". It essentially boils down to a rebellious heart towards God...
So if that is a truer understanding of "sin", then it's hard to see how it would be an important issue for the remainder of our time here on earth... If we come to a proper understanding of the New Covenant, and we are no longer thinking like people under the Law, but rather understand what the Law is for, then we should be people who are consumed by matters of the heart, instead of being consumed by outward things. If we have become perfectly joined with Him, then we will begin to look at things the way the Father does, and God is always looking at the heart, and not outward appearances.
It has nothing to do with trying to be "good enough", but everything to do with surrendering our inner-most being to Him, and actually becoming like Him...
Daniel
Like A Mustard Seed,
Thanks for visiting, always good to see you.
Not sure how you might have come to the conclusion I was focused on 'behaviour'?
It's the reality of experiencing being Loved that produces in us as us not a god likeness, aka trying to be more Christ like, but a tangible expression of His personality, love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Maybe I made too much out of the excerpt I quoted at the beginning of my comment.... If so, sorry...
Daniel,
Thanks Bro, we're all growing and learning how to not do what mental gymnasts do so well, "jump to forgone conclusions."
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