A Place to Belong
A
place to belong is a place where we
can be made fit for the Kingdom, a place where help can
be applied to our malady, a place where we cannot hide
from God with excuses for our egoism, but where we must
face our malady and admit it, a place where we prepare to
face the Judge, a Judge who understood and loved us while
we were yet in our sins, the only Judge that will ultimately
matter. This Judge said, “Come to Me all you that
travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
He didn’t come for the righteous anyway, but only
for those who admit their malady, the agony of realized
egocentricity, the discovery of the subtle power of pride
in our lives.
A place to belong is a place where we
can honestly face the sickness of our pride, a place where
we, as plants, as the lily, can grow by the heat of the
sun and the drench of the showers (i.e., grace). We grow
up into Him, who is the Head (our provider), through the
tensions and sufferings and tragedies that come into our
lives. But unlike plants or the lily (which we are to consider
how they grow), we only grow in free choices. That is, we
grow only by making the decisions to choose the cross in
the experiences in our daily lives as we live before the
Lord of the earth. The lily has no real choice. The lilies
grow in the place where God has put them, automatically.
We do not grow spiritually as such, but the lily is a type.
The remedy of our inhumanity is found in the true humanity
of our Master Yahshua. He will gather us and deliver
us. And the only way to experience this is in His community
(the Body of Messiah). Only there, where He is,
can we cut loose from all to serve Him for His sake alone,
and live for others as ourself. In this place we die to
ourselves, not only to the sin in us, but we die to the
world and our flesh — our great ambitions, hopes,
and desires. Only here we can let loose and soar, leaving
behind love for family, the Western civilization, and the
future of all civilization. We love God for His sake
alone.
Most love God for their own sakes — for their own
family, their jobs. But these have to be given up when we
come to this PLACE. One cannot belong here
and belong to the world at the same time. All things must
be given up as ends and as reasons for our love of God.
We must die to self and be buried with Messiah. Here
is the only PLACE where we must cut loose
and, quite simply and totally, love God for His sake alone.
We are looking for a city with foundations, detached from
the abnormal society around us.
Here we do not need to fear that we are caring too much
or loving too much or hoping too much, because in caring,
loving, and hoping for God’s sake nothing is finally
lost or defeated or killed. Seen in the true context
of true WORSHIP, this is not a hard saying, but a glorious
one.
Here is a place where sin is judged not
merely as something we have done but something we have felt:
bitterness, lust, resentment, self-pity, ingratitude, hatred,
lack of self control. The sin we can now confess is not
merely that we are thoughtless and do not love our spouse
or brothers as we should, but that we are in a situation
of being separated from the very ground of our being, from
God, being in union, yes, but not communion. We are
in a situation called sin, self life, because we want to
do our own will rather than the will of God, and we only
truly turn to Him when we have come to a dead end in our
lives, some tragedy, frustration, suffering, or some crisis.
In this PLACE, forgiveness is always
available and very near to us — as near as our heart
is to our mouth.
Malachi 1:11; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Luke 13:25 –
a town like Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10)
1 Timothy 2:8, NASB
Malice — a desire to harm others or
to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite. Malignity
— wishing evil to others; the quality of being disposed
to evil; intense ill will. Calumny — a false
statement maliciously made to injure another’s reputation;
an evil disposition that has to be dealt with. Malady
— sickness, disease, defect, deep-seated disorder,
corruption, moral disorder.
2 Corinthians 5:15
Matthew 11:28
Jesus. See the article “What’s
in a Name?” for further explanation.
Mark 3:31-35; Acts 2:40; John 12:25-26
Luke 14:33
Romans 6:2-5
Matthew 16:24; 10:37-39; Luke 14:33
Ephesians 5:2,14; 1 John 1:6; Revelation 3:20-21;
Matthew 7:21
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