Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.
~Heraclitus
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
~paul, The Least of the Apostles, in Romans 8
Oh beloved, it is true.
Often, the most difficult thing about our walk in Christ, is unlearning so much of what we thought we knew. So much of what we believed came from our perceptions of what religion was. We believed G_d was transcendent (which is true), but that His transcendence separated us from Him (which is not true). We had bought into the Platonic model of dualism.
And, all of this gets reflected and reinforced by the language we use: Sacred vs. Secular. Physical vs. Spiritual, etc. We are so drenched in this worldview, that we don’t even notice that we are in it.
What does this mean?
Everything.
Because in seeing G_d as distant and apart from us, we fall into the despair that permeates this world. We cannot see a way out. We can’t find the exit that leads us to the god of our imagination.
Said simply: We have come to believe that we are alone in the universe. Oh yes, maybe god is up there somewhere, but we are convinced that he is much too busy, or angry, or uncaring. Yet, none of this worldview could be further from the truth.
Can we see it?
The Truth is that we are not alone. The truth is that G_d is not angry with us. He does not want to punish us. G_d is not sitting on some throne, light years away, just waiting to throw a lightening bolt at you when you fail.
But here, here is where the learning begins. As we unlearn what we thought we knew to be the truth, we can come up on a crisis. We ask, “So, what does this mean for me? Fine, G_d is not far away, but if my views are wrong, where is He? And further, what does He want for me?”
This is where the gargantuan Truth of the Gospel begins to sink in. But! Could it be true? Read the passage above. What does it say? It says that not only are we not alone, but that G_d has been with us the entire time. He is working IN us to conform us to the image of His Son. The Spirit is showing us, and is guiding us through the process.
And the process? We have been adopted in the very family of G_d. We are united with Him in ways that we cannot even fathom. So much so, that it takes G_d The Holy Spirit to pray through this for us. Right now, we couldn’t even begin to comprehend the full meaning of our adoption.
However, The Spirit and His Word bring us to see just who we really are:
We are sons of The Father.
We are brothers of the Son.
We have been given authority over creation.
We are Princes and Princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We have a place being prepared for us in Our Father’s house.
We are unstoppable warriors against the darkness of the world.
We are more powerful than we can begin to imagine.
We are Loved so strongly, that the unbreakable Love-chain that binds the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together, has now captured us, and is drawing us into Their Triune Life.
So, do you feel alone? Do you feel you are just some person to whom G_d pays no attention? These feelings are a lie. Turn away from them beloved. Turn and look in His Eyes.
Oh! Can you feel the Love?!?!
The certainty that he who went through death, who restored the connection between nature and the spiritual world, changes death to win a triumph, a triumph that is; awaiting us like the warrior who is going toward a certain victory. Although I want to live and labor as long as God lets me, I consider the moment of my death as the most precious of my life.
~Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775-1854)
