2 Corinthians 5:16, “Therefore
from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh…”
Finally it feels that the
Holy Spirit is moving inside me to focus on the third of these three words that
have been my focus for weeks. Individually any of the words could be a lesson
within themselves for any Christian at any level, but for me they are working collectively
to teach me brother kindness as depicted in 2 Peter 1. Also knowing that the
brotherly kindness Peter spoke of leads to unconditional love; something that I
found in short supply within my soul, and what does exist is there for a
limited few.
But what is redemption? We
know as Christians that it means to be forgiven of sins. It means to be
liberated from the eternal consequence of sin, namely spiritual death and its
punishment of hell. But for me at this moment the focus of redemption is not
the release of debt, or the restoration of relationship it represents but rather
the universal and pure nature of it that extends to anyone and everyone who
will believe on Jesus the Christ. Redemption as paid for by Christ is blind
like justice; it is without prejudice or bias. In fact redemption is perhaps
only concerned with the soul of mankind, and completely unconcerned with
whatever the flesh can create sinful or otherwise.
As such there is a place, if
we are to ultimately walk in agape unconditional love that we to have to view
others, to view everyone with redemptive colored glasses, not recognizing one
another according to some outwardly trait, or as Paul calls it, “according to
the flesh.” And if we cannot see other from the spirit, then at least we (I)
need to be constrained by the love of God in our (my) judgments. Of this
thought process and scripture T. Austin Sparks writes, “The first and primary
thing is the absolute necessity for knowing one another after the Spirit. ‘The
love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that one died for all
(universality), therefore all died; and He died for all, that they which live
should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him’; ‘Henceforth know we no
man after the flesh.’ That means that as far as we can see, we have not made
what we are by nature the final basis of our relationships, of our
expectations, of our judgments, of our appraisals, of our valuations. It does
not mean that we are oblivious of one another’s human nature. It does not mean
that what we are in the flesh never strikes us; that we are to be totally
insensible to the defects of one another’s nature. No! We shall always be sensitive.
It is probably true that the more spiritual we are, the more sensitive we
become to what we are by nature and to what others are by nature…”
And as we are in the world,
trying desperately to not be of the world, we are constrained by the love of
God while heading the direction of viewing and recognizing others by the spirit,
and not just the outside.
I do not know what practical
experience the Holy Spirit has in store for me as He ingrains this lesson of
redemption onto my soul, but I do know that with materialism He has said to me
my fist is clinching things that do not matter. Giving unclenches the fist that
grabs onto anything but God. Now redemption and it universality is opening up
to help me “stop evaluating others from a human point of view” so that I may
give to them in brotherly kindness, and eventually love as Christ loved. If
this were not enough Henri Nouwen murmurates these thoughts with, “Jesus is
given to the world. (those destine for redemption) He was chosen, blessed, and
broken to be given. Jesus' life and
death were a life and death for others.
The Beloved Son of God, chosen from all eternity, was broken on the cross
so that this one life could multiply and become food for people of all places
and all times.
As God's beloved children we
have to believe that our little lives, when lived as God's chosen and blessed
children, are broken to be given to others.
We too have to become bread for the world. When we live our brokenness under the
blessing, our lives will continue to bear fruit from generation to generation...”
I look forward to the lessons
as I know it leads to better understanding of godly brotherly kindness and
love.
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