Light

And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and the people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God. John 3:19.

Jesus words above are part of a conversation he is having with Nicodemus (who interestingly enough came to Jesus during the night). Nicodemus was a Pharisee – a leader of the Jews. The Pharisees were very “law laden” in their approach to observing God, they were looking for a Messiah who would bring all the JEWS into full observance of the law but Jesus was going to redefine the law. It is safe to say that the Pharisees didn’t understand Jesus’ teaching.

Getting back to the point, while I was reading “Jesus and the undoing of Adam” I came across this concept of humans not liking “being in the light” of God. Baxter (the author) explains that God’s relationship with humans is intended to be in such a close union that “knowing the truth baptized Adam and Eve in assurance transforming their existence into abounding life.”
But then a doubt about this assurance came into being which caused them to;

“hide because God’s presence with joy, love, fullness was exposing their own bankruptcy perversion, nothingness and misery. So they hid themselves from God – and we have been hiding ever since”.

CS Lewis in his book “The Great Divorce” writes;

“Here was an enthroned and shining God, whose ageless spirit weighed upon mine like a burden of solid gold”.

Baxter goes on to say;

“this pain (from the feelings described above) altered Adam’s understanding and the way he saw himself, his world and others, but most importantly, it changed the way he saw God. Adam projected his own brokenness, as it were, onto god’s face. He tarred God’s own face with the brush of his own angst…….
….he now projected his pain, his anxiety, onto God, thereby creating a mythological deity, a legendary god…..
….he believed himself to be standing before a god who is a hair’s breadth away from anger, judgement, and utter rejection”.

This concept of hiding from God and seeing God angry, judgemental etc is something I can relate to – it does seem that this is the picture of God we so easily hold in our hearts and minds as we go about our business – as we relate to others. It makes us (like the Pharisees did) come up with up rules of engagement on how we act as to try as hard as we can to appease God – in doing so we damage ourselves and others, we start to judge others and project the angry wrath of God onto them and ourselves in the process.

In John 3: 17 Jesus states that God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world (we do that OK ourselves), but in order that the world might be saved through him.

I think that the truth that Jesus speaks of in saying, “do what is true” is knowing that although man hides from God, God hasn’t ever changed. He has the same personality and plan for us - to be washed with assurance and transforming our existence into abounding life. What an amazing freedom – and what an impact this truth will have on how we then naturally relate to others.

Ever since man started hiding, God has been following. Unfolding His plan for us – completed through God becoming a man and converting this fallen existence of darkness to Himself – to light.

This is how Baxter describes God’s wrath;

“Wrath is not the opposite of love. Wrath is the love of God in action, in opposing action;
NO – this is not acceptable! I did not create you to perish in the darkness, not you.”

Nicodemus battled with the words Jesus spoke – God brought a slow, steady wind of understanding, of new life, of light.

So as I journey on with a With-God, I pray I will hold fast to and accept God’s plan for me and humbly stand in this truth and light.

Trinity

My attention has been focused on thoughts around the trinity over the last couple of weeks – that God is the father, son and Holy Spirit as one. It’s been enjoyable revisiting this topic and it led me to read one of Baxter Kruger’s books – Jesus and the undoing of Adam (it's been on the bookshelf for about 2 years). It’s always very exciting reading his work as he sets straight what I hope are some fundamental truths about our God and turns onto it’s head our western concept of who God is. It’s been a “revision of (my) perception”. Baxter describes repentance as “the radical re-orientation of our minds” - something I need to be reminded of every day. Below are a few phases from this book, which I would like to be mindful of as I go about my with-God existence.

God always intended to become flesh. It wasn’t a second plan – the eternal plan of God which precedes creation itself.

The Father loves the son, the son loves the Father and they share all things in the love and unchained fellowship of the spirit.

Trinity means that we believe that God is a relational being, and always has been, and always will be. The doctrine of the trinity means that relationships, that fellowship, that togetherness and sharing, that self-giving and other centeredness are not after thoughts with God, but the deepest truth about the being of God. Baxter speaks of how before God created anything - the universe, earth, heaven, heavenly creatures etc- God was there and as God is love, God had to be in relationship and thus suggesting that God is Father (lover) and the Son (re-loved) and sharing all things in the Spirit - being in loving relationship. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." John 1: 1-2

For while the father, son and holy spirit remain eternally distinct, their love for one another is so pure and their fellowship is so deep that any descriptive word short of “one” betrays the sheer reality of their togetherness.

The understanding of all this implicates the type of relationship God wishes to have with us – to share in that relationship, that fellowship, that togetherness and sharing, that self-giving and other centeredness. To be brought into the one-ness of God the father and the son – and share all things in the love and unchained fellowship of the spirit. How amazing is this! It gives me a closer understanding of “God is Love” and understanding what love truly is. It gives me plenty to think about too! Just imagine how the church would be if all people could understand this utterly amazing love God has for us. It would radically re-orientate the way we relate to God, to people. Why is it that our view of God is often turned on it’s head – that the words which quickly come to mind when describing God include anger, judgment and rejection..

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose US in Christ before the foundation of the world to be HOLY and BLAMELESS before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children though Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will…Ephesians 1: 4-5.

Silk

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things from above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand side of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Colossians 3: 1-4



I became more aware of this passage after coming across it in “The Interior Castle”. The book pays particular attention to verse 3 “and your life is hidden with Christ in God” – and Teresa has painted yet another wonderful image of this hiding (and revealing) through the silk worm;

The silk worm symbolizes the soul which begins it live when, kindled by the Holy Spirit….

Then it comes to life and continues nourishing itself on this food and on devout meditation until it has attained full vigour….

….it begins to spin silk to build the house wherein it must die. By this house when, speaking of the soul, I mean Christ. This shows how much, by God’s grace, we can do, by preparing this home for ourselves, towards making Him our dwelling-place as He is the prayer of union….

Forward then, hasten over your work and build the little cocoon. Let us renounce self-love and self-will, care for nothing earthly, do penance, pray, mortify ourselves, be obedient, and perform all the other good works of which you know. Act up to your light; you have been taught your duties. Die! Die as the silkworm does when it has fulfilled the office of is creation, and you will see God and be immersed in His greatness, as the little silkworm is enveloped in its cocoon. Understand that when I say “you will see God”, I mean in the manner described, in which He manifests Himself in this kind of union.

What an amazing description! I love the symbolism found in us being little butterflies – all of a sudden, earthly things mean nothing to it – it can fly! It rejoices in a newfound freedom through an amazing transformation.

Through putting effort into nourishing our souls and seeking to what is above, God further lavishes us with the riches of His grace.

I have been following God through Jesus for half my life now and I can’t keep thinking that there is so much more God wishes to reveal to me about Himself and the of the extraordinary authority He hands us to co-rule His kingdom.

Soul

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:16-17

Another example from the Bible describing the importance of the inner being – a call for me to be strengthened in my “inner being” - with power through his Spirit. The reason for this points to us being “rooted and grounded” in love. Another strong indication that this cultivation of the inner life will help me to understand just what love is – who God is – to understand being a love with God and others.

….and that Christ may dwell IN me. The following section of text is from “The Inner Castle” which I am currently reading. The writer describes our souls like a castle full of chambers or mansions, as the soul travels into itself, towards the centre chamber, it gets closer to where God dwells and the light gets brighter (see last post)….


“Some say the soul enters into itself; others, that it rises above itself. I can say nothing about these terms, but had better speak of the subject as I understand it. You will probably grasp my meaning, although, perhaps, I may be the only person who understands it.


Let us imagine that the senses and powers of the soul have fled and joined the enemy outside. After long days and years of absence, perceiving how great has been their loss, they return to the neighborhood of the castle, but cannot manage to re-enter it, for their evil habits are hard to break off; still, they are no longer traitors, and they wander about outside.


The King, Who holds His court within it, sees their good will, and out of His great mercy desires them to return to Him. Like a good Shepherd, He plays so sweetly on His pipe, that although scarcely hearing it they recognise His call and no longer wander, but return, like lost sheep, to the mansions. So strong is this Pastor’s power over His flock, that they abandon the worldly cares which misled them and re-enter the castle.”

This image of the King calling us inwards is a wonderful one – and something worth meditating on. It gives me a sense of the “riches of His glory” and portrays that yearning God has for us to be reconciled to Him – that sweet song – ever so quiet. This passage of text also reminds me of the story of the prodigal son.

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and ,length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of god. Ephesians 3: 18-19

Castle

I have been reading an amazing book entitled The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Jesus. It was written over 400 years ago! Her book focuses on things to do with the soul and I may enter some more postings about this book as I go along. The jist of the book is this;

I began to think of the soul as a castle made of a single diamond in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions.

Theresa’s friend, the priest Fray Diego de Yepes tells of how;

(God) showed her a most beautiful crystal globe, made in the shape of a castle, and containing seven mansions, in the seventh and innermost of which was the king of Glory, in the greatest splendour, illuminating and beautifying them all. The nearer one got to the centre, the stronger was the light; outside the palace limits everything was foul, dark and infested with toads, vipers and other venomous creatures.

It’s a mystical journey to the centre of the soul – where God resides.

She speaks so splendidly of the secrets she discover about God as she nears the centre, it really makes me realize how I can never allow myself to limit the depth of my relationship with Him. She speaks of so much mystery and so much wonder.

She also makes another interesting point – referring to how the light gets stronger the nearer to the centre you get. She states that it’s only dimmer on the outside chambers because the traveller can’t see the light properly – we are oblivious to it – only seeing a dimmed down version of the light – a bit like having welding goggles on perhaps!!

There is so much to learn from this book I feel but I am going to have to read it a few times I think. She speaks of a “prayer of recollection”. I had to look this up in the dictionary to try and understand the word recollection. It reads: person’s memory or their compass. Perhaps this prayer is about the soul remembering it’s first love, it’s entanglement in and with Christ – our “true north”.