Love hates Self, or that which we call I, because it is a deadly thing and the two of them, Love and Self, cannot well stand together.
~Jakob Böhme (1575-1624)
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
~ Ephesians 1:17-23
I, oh damnable “I.” Oh surely beloved, G_d loves even that part of us that is “I.” But it is the I in us that rejects the notion of ever even surrendering to His great Love. Somehow we want to do it ourselves. And, even though we know it, we think if we just stand a little taller, so as to catch the wind of His Spirit – He will take who we are and move it in the direction that He wants us to go.
Herein is the problem dear friends. There is no more “I” in the equation. And entering that variable into the matrix of our relationship with Him breaks the model badly.
His power towards us (Grace) is immeasurable. It is not designed to augment our strengths, or cover our weaknesses. It is designed to be the sole source of form and power in our lives. Jesus did not come to give us a boost. He came to die a death that we could not hope to survive, so that we might die a death where He brings about a completely new life in Himself.
Said more simply: If we try any part of this in our own strength, we will fail. If we try to set our sails before the Wind of His Spirit, we will be broken and blown over. This has to be all about Him doing His thing in us, and through us.
We know this is true. Would that we would yield any last resistance to this truth tonight, and begin to actually move along in His immeasurable strength. Oh, that we might abandon any illusion that we “just want a little Jesus” to top off our cup, or move us along in our pitiful existence.
