"This one a long time I have watched. All his life has he looked away...to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was...Hmm? What he was doing!"
Romans 8: 9 - 11 NKJV
One of the most difficult concepts of the mystery of Christ Jesus is coming to terms with just what He did for each of us. Yes, Christ willingly gave Himself to the cross that we would be free of the sins which plagued us. However, this was only the first part of what the apostle Paul termed the "Mystery among the Gentiles" {Colossions 1:27}. What was this mystery? Well, Paul related this mystery as the very truth of Christ, which is Christ Jesus IN YOU, the hope of glory. The truth of Christ is that we today who have accepted Jesus in our hearts live our lives AS JESUS. I have listened as many a pulpit pounder has assured us of the glory which will come when Christ Jesus comes again for His church. Indeed, we await this day with anticipation, but I feel that many of us have missed one of the most important events of our lives. Something which is not only liberating but joyfull. This is the realization that Christ Jesus has ALREADY come, to dwell in those who accepted Him in their hearts. In our small group, we often refer to ourselves in some small confidence AS CHRIST. Now, this is not in error, but I feel that we need to take a stronger stance in our realization of this truth of Jesus. For when we, as believers in Jesus, can look ourselves in the mirror each day and say with confidence "I AM CHRIST!" then we may have just turned the corner into living our normal life to one of living as God intended, in union with Him as His sons through His Son (Everyone get that?)
"Always with you it cannot be done, hear you nothing that I say? You must UNLEARN what you have learned!"
~Yoda~
The struggle young Luke Skywalker was having in learning the way of the Jedi was all too real. All of his life he had learned through experience and teaching just how to live as a young man. Now, at the feet of the Jedi master Yoda, he was being told that he needed to throw away all of that experience in order that he might learn how to live and behave as a Jedi knight. We have gotten a few chuckles in our discussion group over my use of this anology, but I introduced it for a very simple reason, because it relates to the life we all enter into once we accept Christ into our hearts. Just as young Luke, we must "Unlearn what we have learned." Many a pulpit pounder has and will tell us that we need to be more like Christ, that it is essential that we get our butts into church each Sunday and that we must be loyal christians in order to have our heavenly Fathers favor. We must unlearn what we have learned. In reality, we must learn to live again. For we no longer live according to the world, but as Christ who is within us. In some ways, I can envision Christ Jesus as the trusted Jedi master slowly, painstakingly guiding us into our new lives in Him. We must unlearn what we have learned. Of course, this is just an illustration, but I believe in my heart that Christ will indeed be our guide to a life in Him. This is nothing new, for this was our relationship we had with God before the fall in the garden. You might say that accepting Christ into our hearts is indeed our homecoming. Not too long ago Dennis and I spent some time on a Sunday morning to fellowship with some old friends. Far from being a Sunday bible study, our gathering was one of people who had grown weary of the conditions and requirements of the institutional church system. Now, free from the requirements of the church, more than a few at this gathering expressed just how much freedom they felt not being bound to the church "System." We are told that all good christians worship without fail every Sunday, contribute their tithes and remain loyal to their pulpit pounder leadership. Indeed, we must unlearn what we have learned.
~Scott~
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