"God so loved the world that He gave . . . " John iii. 16.
Abandonment never produces the consciousness of its own effort, because the whole life is taken up with the One to Whom we abandon. Beware of talking about abandonment if you know nothing about it, and you will never know anything about it until you have realized that John 3:16 means that God gave Himself absolutely. In our abandonment we give ourselves over to God just as God gave Himself for us, without any calculation. The consequence of abandonment never enters into our outlook because our life is taken up with Him. When you lose your life (the soul life defined by the flesh) you will find eternal Life i.e. the soul life defined by Holy Spirit.
Just think, you GET TO do the will of God. You have what it takes to know, want, and do the will of God. Your walk in the Spirit began when you knew God’s work for you and you agreed with God that His Son Jesus the Christ was all you needed. (John 6:29) You received the Truth. Not money, education, friends in high places, or power and not even good works spanned that gulf of inner fear, guilt, and shame. Jesus was your entrance to eternal life. He is also the road and the truth. Where you began your walk with God before mankind is where you remain. That is His will in action. In losing your reputation and gaining His, you gain that Person who expresses life in the here and now and forevermore. (I John 1:12) When we know we can have an ice cream cone or a hot dog, we have a choice. But they have to exist before we can choose one over the other.
We are told that we have everything for life and godliness through Christ Jesus in the here and now. (2 Pet 1:3) If we know definitively what these (everything for) are we can choose one over another at this time and the other over this the next time. Here is a short list of some of the things from which we can choose. (Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control) Gal 5:23-24 What a joy it is that we don’t have to create these attributes from a bankrupt soul attached to the flesh but only choose them from a soul attached to Christ’s Spirit. All these things are His and He through us is ready to express any of these when appropriate. Remembering Christ in us IS these attributes with which He expresses Himself through us, all we have to do is talk to Him about them (pray) and decide with Him which of these He is up to, right now. Without struggle, we, concerning these Spiritual attributes, can both desire and choose something which already exists. In the end we always choose Christ, but specifically. What do we do after choosing? Act! Let’s drive this home. I joined to the flesh have no patience. I joined to Spirit HAVE patience. He is my patience. Me: Jesus, am I doing you as patience? He: No I’m doing LOVE. Want to join me? Me: Okay! He: Choose Me as love for the other you are with. Me: Then what? He: Let me do you as love. Me: Okay. Dean Chicquette I love how Papa shows up in human forms.
Behind masks or not. Too fearful to touch or not. Looking at a new beginning overshadowed by the cavernous end of what was. Shaking in their boots or running alongside a friend or stranger in need. In riches or poverty, ready to care at their expense. Today I needed a hug. Yes in the flesh as well as by phone or text. I got them…they reminded me that love in any form is still God. Thank you one and all. Thank you Papa. When I was eight, I thought a WWII cardboard tank replica with a ‘periscope’ would complete me. It didn’t. It went the way of all cardboard.
At 10 I thought a plastic replica of a 1933 Marmon Indianapolis race car would complete me. It rubbed away as did my sense of completion when I drug it behind my father’s 1954 Ford Wagon. It, not my dad’s car, was reduced to nothing. At 12 I thought a kiss from Sue would complete me. What a mess! As life progressed I recognized a pattern. I sensed a void in my inner self and concluded I was empty. I began gathering things, people, thoughts, or ‘special events' trying to fill it. No surprise, these failed. Then I turned to Jesus and said, “If you are there, you can have me, but I am stopping any effort to complete myself so you will love me. Bam! He showed up, waked up, entered in, took over, and in a moment I was complete only to find out an everlasting truth. Every time I try to complete myself the One who has already completed me seems distant. My trying to make myself better is but an outgrowth of believing, ever so subtile, that He isn’t enough. But when I rest in His completing me I live the truth and discover I can love others. |