Romans 6:5, “For
if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, so that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life.”
I have this
murmuration occurring around me at the moment. On the one hand Pastor Chris
Saye of Ecclesia Church posted on Facebook, “’(You) shall know them by their fruits’
(Matt 7:20) isn’t permission to slip to judge sincerity of others faith – it’s
a warning about false prophets. Context Matters.” On the other hand Jim Spivey reposts
the pendulum photo of this post.
What do
these have to do with one another you might ask?
They have to
do with one another because I think where we are in the pendulum swing of our
flesh reflects into our spiritual beliefs or excuses.
Let me
expound. Why would we judge when Jesus clearly said do not judge?
The ego
centered self causes us to justify ourselves with this scripture. We justify
our position by quoting this scripture as proof we are “fruit inspectors,” when
reality is we are only to use it as a tool in who influences us, versus going
around condemning anyone.
Likewise the
wounded self would use the scripture to justify the pain in their life. They
might take on the judgment of themselves because there is no perceived fruit in
their life, or because they continue to struggle in their sins.
Spiritual
reality is the truth lies in the arms of Christ. But the only way to get to
truth is to crucify both the wounded self, and the ego centered self.
Do you want
to know what the cross Christ spoke of is about… this is it. This is the death
of self. It is a spiritual exercise not a physical one. For that matter being a
spiritual exercise it is not even a mental one, but one of the soul and
character.
Think about
other areas of our spiritual relationship to Christ that are similarly
affected.
Do you see
the devil around every turn trying to destroy you? This is the wounded self.
Do you see yourself
as this powerful overcomer of the devil? That you wealth, or fame, or power is
because you have in some way earned it? This is your ego self.
If you are
in Christ you see that Satan is already defeated. You see that he is not omnipotent
and not on a personal vendetta against you though he is real and at work
starting many many chain reactions around the world.
Here is
another classic scripture. In Matthew 8:24-26 Jesus is asleep when the boat
encounters a storm. The disciples wake up Jesus and He first rebukes them, then
calms the storm. How would you respond? Why do you think Christ rebuked them?
Why do you think Christ calmed the storm?
If you think
the devil was out to kill them then you are interpreting out of ego. If you
would be scared (and who wouldn’t) in the situation you are operating out of
wounded self. If you think Christ rebuked them because they themselves couldn’t
calm the storm then you are in ego. If you think their “little faith” was their
own inadequacies then you are wounded. If you think Christ calmed the storm to
prove Himself, this is ego. If you think His calming the storm highlights the disciples
and your inability then you are in wounded self.
I believe
that those who are in Christ see it something like this. First they would not
even know the storm was there because they would be asleep like Jesus (united
in His death), trusting their Father to seem the to the very end of their mission.
I think the rebuke of little faith was for not sleeping, and the calming of the
storm was to quiet their little faith. Oh there would be more storms on the
horizon for them to sleep through, but from this one they got relief.
Jesus was
showing us all just how so absolutely other He is from ourselves. How we have
to crucify the swings of self from ego and wounded self and throw ourselves
into the arms of Christ.
I will leave you with a couple more examples.
If you think God needs you or wants you to save the world. - ego
If you think God can't use you at all. - wounded self
If you just want to be with Jesus doing whatever He wants. - In Christ.
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