The Cruciform Soul

Deliberate Limitation

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:57:18 -0400

The Incarnation is the Deliberate Limitation of God. How so? – Christianity, which is the Ultimate Fulfillment and thus superseding reality of Judaism, agrees with the latter that “clouds and thick darkness” surround Him – that His thoughts are not ours – in John’s Gospel we read: “No one has ever seen God.” All of these facts [as testified to in Scripture] testify to the Reality that God is so, completely, infinitely BEYOND even our highest conceptions of Him. Any words we use, images that we employ to explain God – are going to fall short of the mark, and inevitably so. – What, then, is there to be done? For if relation to the Uncreated Creator is, to quote Tillich, the “ultimate concern” of man, how can the gap be bridged? The infinite difference between God [the Ultimate] and Man [the Immediate] is further agitated – yes, worsened – by man’s complete estrangement from all that is beautiful and good through the indwelling power of sin, irrevocably established in his soul. It is no longer an issue simply of relating finite to infinite – for some kind of relation was present between Adam and Yahweh, even though it can be supposed that even in that perfect, pre-sin union there were limitations because of God’s Absolute and Limitless Nature – no! The issue moved beyond that now, because man is alienated from God and by extension from man – he is trapped, imprisoned, cut off and isolated from everyone, especially the One –

So now, what can be done? Man’s conceptions and understandings of God are limited from the outset, apart from sin – but are further distorted and rendered useless because of lawlessness. Is there any possible way for man to understand the Almighty – even, perhaps [it might be too much to hope!] enter into a living, vital relationship with Him.

It is here, when all hope seems to fade, when chaos and despair sink in and overtake everything – here the Incarnation proves itself to be the only hope, the absolute hope, the Ultimate answer to EVERYTHING.

But how is the Incarnation “deliberate limitation”? Simply put: God, the Infinite, the Uncreated, the Absolute, conforms Himself to the image of Man. He reduces Himself, becomes a man, and thereby addresses the problem on both levels. First He reveals Himself to men on a level that Man can comprehend – He makes the image of the invisible God visible, speaks the words of God in terms that even the simplest, most “uneducated” individual can grasp [even though, of course, because these are the words of ALMIGHTY GOD, there are worlds of depth and richness in them, as the serious scholar or disciple will discover as he begins to study] – but more than that He destroys the power of indwelling sin in the lives of all who repose their confidence upon Him – those who believe. Thus God reduces Himself to Man’s level for a time, deliberately limits Himself for a season, and raises up Man and Creation from the depths of ontological blight, carrying them with Him in His healing hands as He ascends to Paradise.

Thus the Apostle Paul, proclaiming the truth joyfully under the influence of the Holy Spirit, can say – “We have the mind of Christ.” We cannot entirely understand God, nor will we ever be able – but through His Mercy, by sending His Son into the world, into space and time, He has opened the door for us to draw near and behold His Limitless Glory with unveiled faces.

The Rescuer doesn't need to be Rescued

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:57:30 -0400

it seems that these days, everybody must rescue Jesus from somebody. the liberal theologians have to rescue Him from “dogmatic yet outdated theology” and “religious fundamentalism” - so they rape the Scriptures and reduce Him to a flowery, pansy pseudo-God whose only injunction is a weak and watery “love one another.” the staunch, take-America-back-for-God republicans have to rescue Him from the democrats – so they transform Him into one of their own, a white middle class man who lives in the suburbs and has no qualms whatsoever with material opulence. the historians have to rescue Him from the trappings of Christianity – so they make Him, at best, a charismatic Rabbi who established a consistent ethical system which has been metamorphosed [unfortunately, they say] into another religion – at worst, a legend or fabrication invented by the devious authors of the Gospels.

meanwhile, in the midst of all of this, “He who sits in the heavens - - - laughs.”

Quote #7

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:44:15 -0500

It is essential to practise the walk of the feet in the light of the vision.

~ Oswald Chambers

Two Rivers

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:48:08 -0500

it seems that there are constantly two rivers which flow thru one’s life – one of joy, the other of sorrow. there seems to be so much in the world which is worthy of rejoicing over – the celebration of life itself, of love, the bonds of friendship, those moments in which the beauty and awe of Nature seem to abound and speak in the silence, &c. - but then, there is so much sorrow! so much suffering! the triumph of evil men, the horrors of addiction, injustice and discrimination, poverty, &.c. - and it seems that oftentimes this sorrow triumphs over the joy. what is one to do? turn to Christ: that is the only answer to be given. for on the one hand He was the man of sorrows - “acquainted with much grief” - weeping over the hardheartedness of Jerusalem, mourning at the graveside of His friend; going so far as to say: “blessed are those who mourn” - who see the needs and feel the burdens of their fellow man. and yet at the same time He is the ultimate, constant source of joy: for He, and He alone, has “overcome the world.”

Nietzsche Was Half-Right

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:46:18 -0500

“without hope and without God in the world.” outside of Christianity, the ideas of nihilism do indeed ring true. without a Redeemer – without any kind of spiritual foundation upon which he can stand – man is simply another cog in the endlessly churning machine, spiralling downward in the darkness, trampling his way through the crowds of tens of thousands towards the mouth of hell, towards oblivion. there is no true order, no true restraint – the government, the expectations of society, the fleeting notions of familial piety or nationalistic honor – cannot keep a man from resisting the impulses of his corrupted flesh. he is undone; he is ruined – and there is no peace, no order or sense to anything – until Christ breaks through the darkness, through the barriers, and shines upon him as he awakes.

definition

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:49:47 -0500

faith is active surrender of the total person to the Person of Christ.

The Blessings of the Kingdom

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:34:43 -0500

i have decided, in addition to my other posts, to start putting up portions of my book The Blessings of the Kingdom, as i finish them. i hope to have a chapter or two written each week for the next few weeks. hopefully this will work.

here is the introduction.

thank you for reading.

From the outset of proclaiming the Eternal Standard of the Kingdom which He has come to establish, Jesus Christ turns men’s conceptions regarding righteousness upside down. As is often the case in the Gospels, we see Him here presenting something so revolutionary, so shockingly ‘new’ that it seems as if we must be misunderstanding Him – and so we have it, the vast amount of interpretations and exegesis dedicated to explaining the ‘true’ meaning of the Beatitudes, and thus effectually doing away with the power and force of what is proclaimed in these simple words.

Interestingly enough, when we look at both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we observe that the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by both evangelists, is the first major teaching of Jesus. In both Gospels, before we reach this passage, we see Christ moving among the people, performing miracles, perhaps speaking for a short time here and there – but here He begins to teach in an expansive fashion for the first time. The fact that both authors include this as the first major teaching block of Jesus is clearly because they want these words of Christ, these proclamations to be carefully considered and regarded as one of the motifs of His teaching. Let us keep this in mind as we turn to the text and begin to examine it.

I see no legitimate objection to regarding Matthew and Luke’s account as being two records of the same event. Most people argue that, since in Matthew Jesus is teaching on a mountain, and in Luke on a plain, there is no way that this is one situation being told from two different perspectives. However, anyone who understands that the first century mindset was not concerned with meticulous precision in its presentation [contrary to our Western understanding of how facts should be disseminated] will understand that it is perfectly legitimate to see this as being one event. Is it not possible that the mountain upon which Christ taught was adjacent to a plain, and that at some point He descended further into the crowd as He taught?

The other objection, the one most often mentioned, is that the Beatitudes themselves in both accounts differ slightly from one another, but that these differences are significant enough to regard the records as being exclusive to each other rather than complimentary. Here, I am arguing the exact opposite – that Matthew and Luke are, indeed, referring to the same blessing with their written record of Jesus’ words. The differences can be accounted for easily – if we are humbly willing to acknowledge what Christ actually means with these blessings and woes which He pronounces.

Indeed, it is my contention that, for the most part, both authors [especially Matthew] have been severely misunderstood. Theologians and scholars of every background and conviction have been studying the Beatitudes for years, but it seems as if they have been unwilling to acknowledge what is being clearly spelled out in both Gospels. Even Luke, who is [arguably] clearer and more succinct than Matthew, or at least easier to understand for those unfamiliar with the Jewish mindset, has been misinterpreted, the meaning and intent of his record placed into an exegetical category where it does not belong.

I do not want to arrogantly presume that I am the only one who has ever discovered the meaning of the Beatitudes, that I am finally unlocking a door which has been inaccessible for the past two thousand years. I humbly acknowledge, in the first place, that any knowledge I have gained, any understanding or insight which I have received regarding the Beatitudes has come from God Himself, from the Holy Spirit within who teaches and instructs as we are willing and able to hear. In light of this, I wholeheartedly believe that anyone else can come to the same conclusions which I have – and will, providing he or she is humbly sincere enough to seek out the answers, no matter what consequences they may bring with them.

There have also been other disciples of Christ who have reached the same conclusions as I have. Perhaps they have not interpreted the Beatitudes in the same fashion, but they have rightly understood the vast importance which Christ places upon stewardship, mercifulness and one’s relation to the things of this world. In this sense, they have said the same thing I am saying here, though perhaps from a different angle. Whatever the case, I am indebted to those who have gone before me and seen the Truth clearly, and in turn explained it to others with a spirit of humility and honesty.

On a last note, I am making it my goal as the author not to approach these passages of the Word as a theologian or a scholar, but as a disciple. One of the greatest dangers in delving deep into the study of Scripture is that the actual process of study, of examining and reflecting and exegeting, can become the end instead of the means to the end, with the result that we deceive ourselves into thinking that we have done the will of God – simply because we have understood it. But this is not the case. Understanding, in and of itself, is far from enough. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly explains that the only one who has truly understood what He has said is the one who puts it into practice – who obeys in faith. Therefore, I admonish you as the reader, just as I admonish myself as the author, to humbly and prayerfully read what is being written here, and to approach the piercing Light of the Word with one intention only – to submit to it, in order to bring glory to the name of the Father through Christ in all things. In the end, it is not the theologians who comprehend, or the scholars who eloquently explain, who enter the Kingdom of Heaven – from first to last, it is the disciples of Christ, who take up their crosses and follow Him wherever He leads.

Deliverer

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 07:56:55 -0500

If Christ had left us to our own devices

We would have had our spines torn out through our mouths

If we had been abandoned to drown in our vices

We would have been damned to the fire by now

good intentions are not enough

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:33:52 -0500

in this dark hour, what we need most are men whose ways of thinking are entirely shaped by the Word of God. for convenience, and a desire to cling to the relative comfort and ease offered by the world, has poisoned the minds of even the best and well-intentioned of people; and so Christ and His demands for absolute loyalty have been shirked and are now forgotten, even considered to be foreign and alien in the churches. “surely Jesus does not want me to do that!” they reason, when told of the necessity of self-denial and the actual forsaking of all earthly ties. O, but He does! and if your thoughts were transformed through a renewal of the mind by the power of Scripture, then you would understand – even more, you would obey! there would be no desire to justify yourself, to excuse yourself, to get out from underneath the terrible responsibility of suffering for the Lord – for you would know that there is no other way, and any other way that claims to be Christianity is a sham religion. it may look beautiful, and it may sound lovely, but it is cheap and plastic and will not stand against the scrutiny of Almighty God.

Question:

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:17:34 -0500

5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

Do we?

Prayer #1

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:33:00 -0500

in You alone I have rest. when everything else fades to the background, when I am alone, in the silence – Yours is the voice I hear speaking to me, offering words which lead to life – the only words which lead to life, in a world where every other path diverges from Truth and only results in death.

draw me closer to You. break me, batter me, empty me - - - strip away all the desires which are not of You, those wayward ambitions and selfish passions which will only destroy me from the inside out. I want to burn brighter and brighter for You, until I am consumed in the fire and rendered useless to this world.

from first to last, I can only praise Your name, for You are faithful when I am not, strong when I am weak, full of grace when I am overcome by bitterness. You calm the storms within and without. You laid - - - and continue to lay - - - Your life down for me. how could I give You anything less than everything? So take it, all of it, and use it for Your glory. without reservations, I consecrate myself to You. crucify the fear in me and teach me how to believe as I ought, and i’ll seek to bring to Your name the glory it deserves - - - by my life and my death.

Quote #6

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:23:32 -0500

If there is no God, then all that exists is time and chance acting on matter. If this is true then the difference between your thoughts and mine correspond to the difference between shaking up a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. You simply fizz atheistically and I fizz theistically. This means that you do not hold to atheism because it is true , but rather because of a series of chemical reactions… … Morality, tragedy, and sorrow are equally evanescent. They are all empty sensations created by the chemical reactions of the brain, in turn created by too much pizza the night before. If there is no God, then all abstractions are chemical epiphenomena, like swamp gas over fetid water. This means that we have no reason for assigning truth and falsity to the chemical fizz we call reasoning or right and wrong to the irrational reaction we call morality. If no God, mankind is a set of bi-pedal carbon units of mostly water. And nothing else.

~ Douglas Wilson

Cyclops

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:32:10 -0500

everywhere there is a storm, a confusion: philosophers and scientists debating one another about the existence of God and the creation of the world, theologians and scholars writing impassioned treatises about the meaning of texts and the interpretation of certain scriptures; politicans and leaders taking up arms to implement reform and policies of change. but see! there, in the midst of the pandemonium, in the eye of the storm, is the Christian - - - he fixes his eyes upon Jesus only, and runs this race with only one goal: to bring glory to the name of His Father, unperturbed by the empty, meaningless motions of the world.

Parables by K. - #1

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:16:01 -0500

If two men were to eat nuts together, and the one liked only the shell, the other only the kernel, one may say that they match one another well. What the world rejects, casts away, despises, namely, the sacrificed man, the kernel —- precisely upon that God sets the greatest store, and treasures it with greater zeal than does the world that which it loves with the greatest passion.

Zechariah and Mary

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:13:52 -0500

God save us from the questions that spring forth from arrogance and doubt! rather, let us ask the questions of faith – not to disprove, but to understand; not to excuse ourselves from the responsibility of surrendering to what we know, but to grasp the task at hand so that we can surrender thru the faith quickened within by the Spirit.

Book Update #1

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:40:21 -0500

I am finished with the introduction and first chapter of my book, The Blessings of the Kingdom: An Examination of the Matthean and Lucan Beatitudes. If anyone is interested in obtaining what I’ve written thus far, please email me at didymus1024@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to send it along.

Quote #5

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:50:59 -0500

Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of eighteen and thirty five. But watch out if you are in a lifeboat and there are others who are younger, bigger, or smarter.

~ William Murray

let us turn into mirrors [or, the art of taking up arms and beating one's body down by the way of the cross]

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 12:25:00 -0500

in a sense, this being the first post of the new year, i guess you could say that what i am about to say is a new year’s resolution of sorts. but it’s not. i do believe that as we have arrived at a new year, it is good to renew our resolve and refresh our commitment to certain practices or disciplines which we have either neglected or never begun to practice at all.

but what i want to say is not only applicable to me. this goes for you as well, whoever you are reading this [i love you]. i encourage you to make this your foremost goal and aim as i am.

i believe that now is the time to really begin pursuing the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. it is time that we indifferently toss aside all of our other ambitions and desires, weak and temporal as they are, and put our hands to the plow. we need RIGHT NOW to make it our goal to become more and more like Jesus with each passing day, no matter what the cost, so that when December 31 of 2011 rolls around, we can look back and see a notable difference in the way that we live our lives.

so it is with determination and a refreshed heart that i declare my goal- to become more like Jesus. i want to be a mirror- to reflect Jesus in my life in the most complete way i can. i want people to be able to look at me and see the Light of the World burning in my heart. i want to take up arms now and fight. i confess it, for the most part i have been a fatalist- unwilling to move forward with resolve and pursue that holiness “without which no man will see the Lord.” i’ve been quick to tell everyone that Jesus is the Bread of Life without myself going to Him and trusting in Him to satisfy me to the depths of my soul. i think- i know- it’s time for that to end now.

so i ask you to join me in this pursuit of righteousness. i encourage you the same to take up your cross now and follow Jesus, to make it your one and only goal to walk in Love even as Love Himself has loved us. what greater joy is there but to be more like Christ? what greater gift is there than the gift of community, bound by the Holy Spirit, fueled by brotherly love? so let’s throw all this other nonsense to the wind. let’s stop worrying about whether or not we’re artsy or relevant or intellectual and worry about whether or not we look like the One we call our Savior. Perhaps it is most appropriate to quote our brother Paul here- let’s make it our goal to “always [carry] about in our body the putting to death of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifest in us. For we, alive though we are, are always surrendering ourselves to death, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” So let’s beat our bodies down and abide in the branch now. We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world- that is who we are in Christ and we need to start living like it in every way possible.

Ready?

Now.

A Word for the New Year

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:56:00 -0500

As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive
thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God
of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable
things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will
never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a
constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but
let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.
Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the
Irresistible Future with Him.

~ Oswald Chambers

Portrait of a man who finally stopped playing tug of war - - -

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:23:01 -0500

he has wasted years of his life staring into space, caught in a seemingly endless spiral of actionless reflection that bore no fruit. over and over Grace was extended to him; the severity of mercy cut thru the clouds of confusion so many times and pointed him in the right direction, showed him that, for all of his endless intellectual adventures, his dedication to the Eternal was still largely imagined, aesthetically pleasing – yes – but carrying no weight as far as his Master was concerned.

how many times did You speak to him, graciously granting his request to break past the cacophony of a noise filled and repetitious life, answering with Your unwavering faithfulness the request to be something so much more than a mediocre admirer who speculated on the nature of the Consuming Fire from afar, but never quite rose to the challenge of following into the Unknown of Truth - ? yet for all of that he has hesitated. after ten thousand answers, he still has posed the same ten thousand questions, wrecked and ruined the opportunities You have given him ten thousand times.

and slowly as a result his heart has hardened, and callouses have formed on the surface of his soul, hiding the pulsing, throbbing desperation beneath – the desperation to burn bright with the glory of the One who was nailed to a tree to dispense Life.

but You have spoken again. today. - the day of salvation, the moment of the point of convergence between Heaven and earth, between the Eternal and temporality – has occurred. this he cannot deny. Yours is a Love that will not let him go, and today once more it has grappled him, overpowered him in such a way that he is almost sent spiralling out of orbit with the joy of revelation.

but what to do with a day such as this? many days like it have come and gone, fading into the ashes of past regrets and failures that pile high like mountains, that stand like accusing judges before him, robbing him of hope, loudly declaring: “you cannot, you will not make it. you are not good enough. you are not strong enough. give up now before you convince yourself that victory, that boldness, that wholehearted dedication is possible. you have no worth. you are useless. face the facts and accept them, blind yourself with fatalism to the absolute Unrealism of what your Master is asking you to do. give up.” and indeed for a moment he is tempted to listen to the voices. for a moment he falters, as he places his hand upon the handle of the sword to draw it from its sheath and quench its thirst with the blood of his enemies. for a moment he hesitates, uncertain - - - beginning to fade into paralyzing reflection again - - -

but You! You are infinitely stronger than those voices. Your blood washes away the mountains of regret, Your Spirit descends and falls on him like a fire from heaven, consuming the sacrifical offering of his heart which he has placed on the altar before the Throne of Grace. in that moment, at the point of convergence, he sees clearly what he has known all along, since the day when Your first spoke and told him to follow. he sees it clearly again and the symphony of triumph arises and fills the air around him, the trees of the forest clap their hands for joy and the rocks sing praises to the glory of the Almighty. he sees you clearly again - - - perhaps, more clearly than ever before. and he knows what must be done.

the past must now become the past, forever abandoned as he forgets it to strive for what lies ahead. he determinedly resolves now that he will not be stopped, that he will not be hindered, no matter how violently the war against him is raged, no matter how difficult the constricted path becomes. You have taken him up in Your arms and healed his wounds and he knows that, possessed by Your Spirit, all things are possible – victory is not simply an ideal or a fleeting spiritual dream, it is a reality. a reality! so he surrenders to You now. he stops running, stops playing tug of war, stops posing an endless amount of excuses and difficulties that he knows You have destroyed anyway. he lays down to die to receive Your life. he takes up the Cross to become more like You. as he should have done long ago, so he does now. he is ready. and You are with him. for this, he gives praise to Your name.