Smithism Christianism

I really wanted to read something specifically about Jesus today for my QT. I love the depth of John, so I started there.

This link has a great in-depth analysis of the Scripture…

http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/John/john_04.htm  

I love the insight that the Word is in thought before the voice speaks it, and then even after the voice speaks, the Word still exists… So it was with John the Baptist – as the “voice of one calling in the desert” – he was the vehicle, and as the Word, Jesus was before him, and after him. The Alpha and the Omega. A thread that has been fascinating me is Scriptures of the utter completeness of Christ in our universe. I am so glad that one of the dimensions of our relationship with God is discovery. We could have been born “knowing” God – and in some ways that is true – but discovering His character, His plan and purpose, His creation, the manifestations of His love – that seems to be the very essence of “life to the full”. At the point which we are not continually discovering God, I believe, that is where life turns hollow.

This is one from May 19th 2009. I was focusing on character - considering setbacks. You can see the influences from the books I’ve been reading, but I am encouraged!

Character is found at the trailing edge of a pause. Character is seized in the tired gap of a decision. Character is imbued not upon the rising grade of resolve, not on the foothill leading out of a valley of deceptive ease, but upon the tenth such foothill, upon the twentieth mountain; the hundredth of such pauses. And yet, in such character is found all the brilliance of Spring in the soul. Pain and burden are but companions to hope and promise. A man who is prodded and pushed is likely to be trampled by that which drives him - but a led man, a called man, though he may stumble has a guide at every step. At the heart of character is the calling to do good. Whoever does not turn back then, and who does not give up inherits the journey and is transformed to the core of his being.

From birth, we embark on a quest of establishing self-identity.   Our first words indicate a demarcation from anyone else in the words “no” and “mine”.  We learn to write our name.  We discover and develop our strengths. We are taught to feed ourselves, dress ourselves and in all other ways take care of and serve ourselves.

 Then along comes Jesus and his teaching that if we are to follow Him, we must deny ourselves daily (Luke 9:23).  Huh?  Why did God build in us such a strong sense of ‘self’ only to require the denial of it on a daily basis in order to live in accordance to His will?

 It may be worth noting a difference between self and individualism.  One can be unique in their identity without being self-focused or self-consumed.  Could that be the point of the Scripture: to understand where the investment of will is?  Do I invest the essence of my life to fulfill the will of God, or do I expend myself for my self’s sake?  It seems to go without saying that a self-consumed life greatly limits purpose beyond that life.

 Could it be then, that somehow, the existence of self is somehow directly tied to purpose?  That might explain why we as humans innately search for purpose.  If that is the case, then it is still not clear then why, if self is tied to purpose, Jesus teaches us to deny it daily.

 I believe there is another dimension involved, to which I alluded earlier – and that is will.  Without self-awareness, can there be any free will?  Without this strong sense of self would we have anything more to offer beyond that of a simple tool like say a wrench, or a dish-towel?  Could it be that this wild and powerful force in our lives we call our self then might not be a detraction from the will of God, but absolutely necessary in order to fulfill the will of God?

 Consider a computer screen. It is made up of thousands upon thousands of individual light-emitting points called pixels. They respond to instructions to emit one color or another, to maintain that color, or to change to another color. However, without any programming, they do nothing at all. A program can be written for them to display a picture, and it will be exactly as programmed.  At best, they will only ever light up, go dark, display this color or that. 

 Now imagine each one of us as a pixel, each with it’s own self will. If each pixel were to choose for itself what color it will emit and when, the multiplied effect among all the pixels would preclude any kind of coherent picture.  There could be random swaths of this color or that color for a fleeting moment, but nothing discernable.  So where does the ‘big picture’ come from then?  The Lord, of course.  When I deny myself (still as a pixel here) and display from the full palette afforded my by God, and I display what He wants, when He wants it, and for how long, then my ‘self’ upon being denied, glorifies God in a way that by my own will I could never do.  This would be like someone sitting in front of a computer and the pixels all deciding to submit to the will of the viewer, and by doing so, all coordinate with one another to create something truly miraculous. 

So then, If I choose to be self-ish, I am only lost in a sea of random meaninglessness. I may seek to proudly display my favorite color, or I may react to the colors of those nearby, but beyond that I can’t even know what I should or could be doing….my purpose is unclear.  It is impossible to, by looking only at myself and my circumstances determine what that purpose is.  By denying myself, however, in order to follow Jesus, I have joined something far greater than myself in scope and direction and am able to acheive something that tanscends even my singularly designed purpose! 

 So then, God’s design in the creation of us proves once again to be perfect!