Comfort for Broken Hearts

When God is pursuing you with His love He never asks those tricky and humiliating questions regarding your past such as; How did this happen? Why did you do that? Why on earth would you do such a thing? Rather, He asks those questions which sole purpose are to make you feel comfortable in His presence. They often go like this: How are you? How’s your day been? Can I help you in any way? You know that I love you? We are talking about those questions which make you feel at ease and which convey His unconditional love towards you. Unconditional love is concerned with you and your heart’s condition.


God’s main business is those inward things. He wants to heal your heart, your inner man. That is the place where those most hurting wounds are; the pain or fear or insecurity which in a way renders you as a crippling emotionally speaking. A healed and redeemed heart is the greatest miracle there is. We know from the scriptures that Jesus had a magnificent healing ministry. He often healed all those who came to Him. Those miracles as they are recorded in the gospels deal mainly with the outer man, that is, bodily ailments. We construe those incidents accordingly, and thus when we read that Jesus promised that we would do greater miracles than Him we begin to pray for those who are sick. Unfortunately, our most frequent experience is that nothing happens and we thus easily become disillusioned.


Why does the gospels seemingly merely record outer healings? Isn’t it because those miracles get our attention? They create a desire in us to deliver people from their ailments. And it is easier to depict the effects of an outer healing than an inner healing. An objective reality is much more convenient to describe than the subjective surrealism of a complex inner world. As we mature we grow from outer perception to inner perception and we begin to appreciate that in reality everything is about that inner world. Our bodies are merely our temporarily abodes which are predestined to decay as we are waiting for our final liberation. Our heart, however, is eternal. When we move from outer to inner we rapidly acknowledge that we do greater miracles than Jesus since His love in us ministers love and healing to others in a grand scale.


There is no doubt in my mind that God in His grace still delivers people from diseases and ailments. However, we also find ample evidence that good people die from for instance cancer far too early despite the fact that they are subject to intense prayer. However, it seems as the spiritual law which states that when the seed falls into the ground and die this single seed gives life to many is still very potent. Jesus was a prime example regarding the effects of this law. The literature is also full of examples which confirms that God is greater than our afflictions and can turn everything into something good for many. “The tortures occur”, CS Lewis wrote, “If they are unnecessary, then there is no God, or a bad one. If there is a good God, then these tortures are necessary for no even moderately good Being could possibly inflict or permit them if they weren’t”

Bond Servants

There are depths to the Genesis account which are quite amazing. Sometimes it seems as there are layers like a onion which the Spirit peels away as He finds edifying. Some are given to see this and others are given to see that. One fascinating aspect that I have been allowed to ponder lately is seeing Eve as a type of the human race and Adam as a type of Christ. Adam is in a odd way both a type of Christ and not a type of Christ. In one sentence he is and in the next he is not. When he is not he is merely that old Adam who seemingly messed everything up. We like to think that he is at fault. In a way he is, but from a different perspective without his disobedience we still would have been children spiritually speaking. I think his fall was inevitable in order to bring forth a succession of sons who are conscious of all aspects of life.


Let us first examine Eve as a type of the human race and Adam as a type of Christ. We notice that Eve was the first to eat of the forbidden tree. Adam was by her side all along. Due to his love towards her and that he couldn’t stand the thought of losing her he also partook of the tree. That was the only way that Jesus could save us. He had to become a man and partake in our world. More than that; he had to taste the death that were our destiny. So Adam eating of the forbidden fruit in a way foreshadows Jesus atoning death on our behalf. Jesus and the Father love us so highly that Jesus has stood by our side all along. He has been so unwilling to lose us that He was willing to taste the same fruit as we all taste; death. The sting of sin is death, and Jesus became sin for us.


Genesis 3:16 states that our desire shall be for our husband. Here we are Eve again, the woman who becomes pregnant with the children of her husband. The record further says that in pain we shall bring forth our children when our husband is that old Adam. His seed in us causes us to struggle in pain when we attempt to do right. We find that we fail miserably and the consequence is a soul wrenching condemnation. It should be quite clear thus that when we die from our husband and is free to marry another we are redeemed from that former curse, and childbearing becomes a restful expression of our new husband, which is Christ.


If we despite this continue to struggle after our marriage with Christ it merely is an indication of us being taken through the wilderness until that illusion about separation is done away with. We became one with Christ the day we accepted Him, but somehow our minds haven’t quite grasped this tremendous fact so we continue to struggle erroneously thinking that being a bond-servant of Christ is based on the same terms as when we were bond-servants under our old master. Being a bond-servant of Christ denotes an absolutely different quality of life compared to the life under that old Adam. Christ’s will is our will. His abundant life is our abundant life. His freedom is our freedom. More than that; since there is no separation we are Him in our form, each of us expressing Him in our uniqueness so that the total becomes His body in this world.


As unredeemed men and women we didn’t know that we were someone’s spouses or bond-servants. We thought we were free agents operating as independent units. It isn’t until the Spirit opens our inner eyes that we become aware of our true standing, and we for the first time begin to see how things really are. Paradoxically, that is a part of the liberation process towards maturity and inner peace. You see, God has been with you all along. He has never turned His glance away from you. He loves you so intensely that He has completely identified with your falls and failures so that you could come out, of what has seemed like a mess to you, like a whole person knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that He is fond of you, and that you are His beloved child. He has never turned His back on you. You might have thought or felt that He wasn’t there when things were dark. But, there He was all along partaking in your unique life with everything He is; Himself.

The Spirit is a Rebel

When the Spirit has led you through the wilderness and conditioned you through that experience so that you are receptive for the revelations which follow and which will cause an end to your self efforts and establish you in the union with God, He will keenly guard your new standing in Christ. Every time someone attempts to subject you to laws, that is, outer ordinances such as should, ought to, should not etc you will sense something rise within you. The sensation can most closely be likened to defiance. In the beginning we are perhaps too well behaved to let the Rebel have His way. However, as He trains us we begin to recognize this rebellious sensation as Him. As an effect we adamantly refuse to let anyone rob from us our freedom in Christ regardless of who that tries to impose their moralistic outlook upon us. The Spirit is the Spirit of truth and freedom, and He lives within every believer making sure that we become rebels as well, insurrectionists that shake the religious world.

Nothing is a Waste

After Mary surprisingly turned up and anointed Jesus with expensive ointment as recorded in John 12 the disciples raised their voices and thought it a waste. Why not rather have sold the ointment and given the money to the poor, they objected.


I personally know very talented and gifted Christians (in reality we all are very talented and gifted) who are either unemployed or just are home and thus from a human perspective seemingly are wasting their lives. Their surroundings might be accusing them of laziness or listlessness. In addition to being subject to those well meaning person’s ideas of a productive life many of them also have to struggle with condemnation or sentiments that are challenging their self-esteem because they somehow seems out of the loop.


This idea of waste also comes into play in regard to ministry. Large parts of Christianity have some preconceived notions when it comes to ministry and how we are to serve in a church or a denomination. When we for some reason fall outside these confines we are regarded as wasting our talents or something in that direction. The main goal in most Christianity is to see people saved. That is a noble goal. However, we have too long seen this as an ordinance and not a promise.


Mary’s offer drew attention to Christ. You have given yourself to Christ as a fragrant ointment, and by that offer you are drawing people to Christ often without you being consciously aware of this most wonderful and astounding fact. That is how a supernatural promise plays out. While you are resting in Him with your unique personality He makes Himself known to the world through you. It isn’t something you can control. He does it perfectly both through your negatives and your positives.


My friend, when you have come to Christ nothing in your life is a waste. Everything you do, don’t do or are is an expensive ointment in God’s eyes. You are a blessing to Him regardless of your circumstances. Don’t listen to those who say your life would be more of a blessing if you just would give yourself to the poor, that is, whatever cause they find worthy or imagine need your support.

Water Separated From Water

When the waters were separated in Genesis 1 the material realm with its qualities was separated from the infinite and eternal spiritual realm. Time, space and distance became prominent realities for a fallen mankind. We perceived ourselves mainly as temporal beings in a temporal realm. Thus death became an enemy, because in a limited temporal realm death denotes an inevitable end.


We were like those proverbial fishes that only know their environment as a three dimensional world of water. Only when the fish sees the light penetrate the surface of its limited world it gets an idea of something beyond its experiences. Or if someone or something ripples the calm surface of the water the fish might come to understand that there is something which it cannot explain on the other side of what it thought was the border of its limited world.


In a finite world everything can be measured, gauged and counted according to the laws of this realm. A Christian keeps score on his sins and his good deeds since he has this faulty notion that the laws of his well known universe also are applicable to the spiritual realm. However, even though he lives in a temporal world he is not of it. He belongs to the waters above the expanse where everything is eternal and infinite. Counting and assessing are completely at odds with a unlimited spiritual world. How are we to count or judge in an infinite eternal dimension? It becomes utterly meaningless. It is impossible. Hence, as Paul stated, we no longer judge according to the flesh.


A new and better covenant is in effect where all those things that we formerly put our trust in are history. They are obsolete. Something better has been revealed through Jesus Christ. The Spirit patiently transfers our consciousnesses from a limited worldview to an eternal sphere where everything must be judged in accordance with this reality, that is, it must be spiritually discerned.


As an eternal infinite being we no longer are subject to the laws of this world as we know it. How are we to assess our lives in this wonderful realm where everything there is, is an eternal now? Since God’s infinite love is encapsulated in every now we encounter, we are liberated beings in an infinite dimension. Everything is merged into this now where we just are. Thus nothing is counted against us. It is utterly impossible to count or keep any scores. That is why there is no condemnation in this realm where life originates and flows as an eternal river of love.


The god of this world operates within the confines of the limited realm. He counts, judges and assesses in accordance with the laws which are operative in a three dimensional world. Every believer who hasn’t abandoned this world’s moralistic and ethic sentiments is thus easily deceived and influenced by his lies. His weapons of condemnation are only effective in relation to a consciousness that is stuck in appearances.


The Spirit is rippling the surface of our known world so that we by faith can take the leap and penetrate the expanse and enter the waters above where we come to know who we truly are as citizens of two worlds. The material world is truly good when it is amalgamated with the truth from above.

The Inner Garden

One evening not long ago the Spirit suddenly said to me with a smile: “Adam was placed in the garden.” He didn’t have to say more. My curiosity was aroused, which He of course was well aware of. Day after day I pondered what He meant by those six each by them self rather innocent words. In human terms I might occasionally come out as quite clever. However, when it comes to spiritual things I am more or less brain-dead. So I simply couldn’t fathom what He meant. When I came to the end of my own reasoning I began to ask if He could be so courteous to reveal His little secret to me. I thought it fair that if He had said A He also should say B. Despite several requests He remained quiet. However, He has taught me over the years to be patient knowing that He will answer in His time, which I of course counted on in this case as well.


Today I asked again wondering if He was ready to share His wisdom with me. It is perhaps more precise to assume that He lingered until I was ready. This is what He said: “Now the garden is placed in you.” Interesting, don’t you think? The first Adam was placed in the garden. That is an outer thing in the same manner as the law is an outer thing. Well, if the garden is in me, everything is now internalized. I am in other words a law in myself. Spontaneously and effortlessly I now meet the standards of the law since they are an integral part of my new nature. If I am not mistaken He also added: “In the outer garden there were two trees. In the inner garden there is only one tree; the tree of life.” Since there is only one tree, a type of Christ, I cannot go wrong. It is utterly impossible for me to repeat Adam’s mistake. I think we can safely and without being in the risk of exaggerating call this eternal security.

True Fasting

One of the words the scriptures use in order to cast some light on our human existence is vessel or a container. I have had some problems with this manner of describing our humanity. However, I have come to learn that this is a wonderful description if properly understood. Most of us appreciate that words just are shadows of how things really are. They are not the thing itself. To be called a container thus merely covers one side of the complexity of our being. The vessel analogy is very valuable and liberating due to the fact that it alludes to a thing that cannot fill itself with the help of its own frail powers.


To assert that a container can fill itself is indeed a ludicrous contradiction. A glass cannot fill itself. Someone outside and greater than the glass pour the liquid into it. However, we are vessels which have an inclination towards wanting to fill ourselves. That’s perhaps the whole point with the vessel analogy. Man embarks on mission impossible and is repeatedly frustrated by his efforts. The law is carefully designed to disclose this fact and to reveal our nothingness as containers.


Legalistic ministries encourage believers to fill themselves with good deeds, right behavior, a successful prayer life, love and all the other things we associate with being a Christian. Since we haven’t fully understood in what way that we are fearfully and wonderfully created we rededicate ourselves to God again and again and promise to do better with His help. Of course, this is a sure path to failure. In fact every attempt to live according to outer regulations is an attempt to fill oneself. There is only one solution to our dilemma; give up, rest, simply live and let Christ fill us with Himself. We are created to contain someone, to be filled by someone and that someone is Christ.


A vital point in this regard is that when we were born again He filled us with Himself. We are already filled, but we do not know it yet. What really happens when we attempt to live the Christian life is that we perpetuate an illusion of separation, that we have a life of our own when the opposite is the actual reality. Hence Christ is revealed in us when we come to the end of our self efforts. Finally, our true standing begins to seep into our consciousnesses and the redemption we have been craving for isn’t a far off reality anymore.


Herein lies the magnificent liberty Jesus promised His disciples. When we discover that He is our life we cease to struggle towards an unattainable goal, and we acknowledge that every moment of failure is a valuable reminder of our nothingness. We are now in a position where we can accept ourselves with everything we are and leave it completely to Him to perfect us in our perfection in us in His time.


If we examine fasting in this light it dawns upon us that fasting is not a physical discipline, but a Spiritual discipline. True fasting is to abstain from any self effort. It is to cease from observing the law or any other outer regulation. It is abandoning the idea that we can fill ourselves with right attitudes, thinking and behavior. It is vacating trying to forcefully cultivate any fruit on this human tree by what we think are cleverly devised methods. The moment we realize this tremendously liberating reality we begin to eat. Our food and drink is Christ. He is the only food we will ever need. He is the one that fills up our spiritual stomachs.

Expectations

There is nothing wrong with you! You might still have some challenges with your thought patterns, but that is everything there is. There is nothing wrong with your soul and body. In fact there never was. There was a time when our limbs were servants of unrighteousness, but that was due to the deceiver who was in us. God held us responsible for our evilness, but His plan was to redeem His people so that the same limbs could be servants of righteousness on account of that Christ is in every man who has accepted His beloved son. When Paul talks about the flesh and is admonishing us concerning the flesh he is referring to the aforementioned thought patterns which impedes us from seeing our union with God and which prevent our gaze from being upwards.


Our greatest adversary is perhaps expectations. Faulty expectations trigger those thought processes which make us think that we have to change or do more. They uphold the illusion that we have a separate self. Those around us have specific expectations regarding how we are to act and behave. When we fail to live up to their standards they usually let us know, and we begin to wonder if they perhaps are right in their assessments of us. In addition we carry with us a lot of expectations concerning ourselves. We find to our great dismay that we often fall short of those expectations, and we thus easily fall prey to condemnation. Have you noticed that Jesus quite often didn’t live up to other’s expectations either? It might seem as He sometimes rebelled against and challenged those expectations. Hence, you shouldn’t be surprised if Christ in you does the exact same thing today. His plan for us and those He has given us far supersedes those usually short sighted expectations. Everything will find its fulfillment in Him in His time.