Deeper Levels & Understanding

Ephesians 3:16-19, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”

Jim Spivey’s post today caused me pause, and inspired me to step back and take a different look at my current transformation. He quoted E. Stanley Jones’ Abundant Living where it was said, “In Texas, surface oil was used for a long time, and then the supply became meager.  Finally, someone dared to go down 5,000 feet and struck new levels of oil, which brought forth gushers.  Now, almost all the oil is tapped way below those low levels.  When we go down to deeper levels within us and tap resources that have been 'laid up' for us in Divine Providence, then we shall be artesian and overflowing - gushers of God's wisdom, power, and grace.  Then we, like Melva, will be ready for anything. . . .

Often we try to do things that are way beyond our surface-level resources, hence we worry, strain, and overwork the problem.  We must tap new (but ever-present) resources at much deeper levels to experience breakthroughs."

If you are one of the few who keep up with the posts here on a daily basis and see the chronological conformity to Christ' image that is occurring in my life, then you know that I continue in the same financial challenges (thought to a lesser degree) that I have for the past eleven years. Nothing more seems to spur me into prayer, reflection, and relationship with God as financial need. And for that reason my spirit rejoices in it, though a big part of me kicks and screams at the seemingly torture. All said God is currently speaking three terms as it relates to prosperity. They are materialism (overcoming it), community (loving, appreciating, and genuine concern for those around me), and redemption.

Now as much as Rabbi Lapin says money is spiritual, and as much as I want to make my issues earth shattering, the truth is that the need is physical and therefore primarily an issue of what the Bible calls the flesh. So I have to ask myself in light of the oil well analogy, am I looking deep enough? Are finances simply once again the oil well, the mechanism, which causes me to drill deeper to the resource that is Christ?

The answer to that is simply yes. Finances are the oil well. Materialism restrained, community, and redemption are the pipe that will carry me to the deeper level of truly knowing Christ. And it all is God continuing to grow me.

I have a third book that I am writing. It is called Growing in Christ and is based on the first chapter of 2 Peter. There Peter describes the stages of spiritual growth. Interestingly enough the stages begin with knowing Christ (objectively) and end with knowing Christ (subjectively). Along the way as we approach the stage of agape love a person discovers and grows in godliness which is really where I was when this blog began. Godliness being very closing associated with kingdom awareness and kingdom mindedness. But between godliness and love is brotherly kindness.

This is where I am today. This is the oil God is having me drill to tap into. Can you see that? Where would brotherly kindness be exhibited? In community? What would be a great example of brotherly kindness? Gifts? What would prevent brotherly kindness? Selfishness and materialism? What does all the body of Christ share in common besides Jesus? Redemption perhaps?

And so all deeper levels and understanding begin on the surface. The well, the pipe, the people all work in concert to get deep to God. Wouldn't it be nice to just have oil bubble to the surface and so much effort be spent indulging pleasures? But God never intended it to be that way. He allows those oil wells of financial trouble, relationship issues, and health problems to compel us to go deeper. To compel us to “… comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…”