In Christ

"If anyone be in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 

First, my apologies for not consistently writing. I am in the midst of my doctoral dissertation and all other writing assignments have become secondary.

Today I write in response to a thought that I had not previously had or if I did, it has long been forgotten and not ingrained in my soul. 

I have been reading the work of Archimandrite Zacharias (pictured first) called "Christ, Our Way and Our Life."  It is an theological review of the work of Archimandrite Sophrony (pictured underneath).

My doctorate is focused on a alternative evangelism strategy for
this upcoming generation that is based on the Eastern Orthodox central principle of Theosis and the image of God. (I have just lost my readership with this paragraph I'm sure). 

To try and regain your brain...I have been thinking about what it means to truly be made in the image of God and its connection to a person's conversion to Jesus. Thus far in my own journey I have been focusing on what it means to be God. Perhaps that is why I struggle and stumble so much in my own life. It  seems to be an impossibility for me and yet the Scriptures are clear that one day I shall see Him as He is for I will be like Him. I know that this verse speaks of the parousia, the Second Coming of Jesus, but their are other Scriptures, "be ye holy", for example, that compel me to be like Jesus in character in this world. 

For many years I have been looking up toward a potential divinity but this week I was reminded that to be "in Christ," to be like Jesus is also to be like him in his humanity. Jesus was 100 % God and 100% Man.  This was called the "hypostatic union of Christ" by the early church fathers and simply acknowledges the math challenge for those of us trying to figure out how anything can be 200%. But if you think about it what we are really talking about is a person who was perfect in every way. He is perfect as God and yet in humanity he is perfect as well. 

Father Sophrony said that in order to be perfectly converted one must be like Jesus not only in rising to the point of being divine (like Him) but we must also rise to the point where we are totally absorbed in our love for man and for the restoration of creation. 

To be like Jesus I must be totally abandoned and obedient to the Father and ready and willing to sacrifice for the healing and restoration of a broken humanity. It is the fullness of being "in Christ." 

Am I there yet? No. But I'm praying that my journey leads me ever closer. May the Holy Spirit of God that lives within me crucify these earthly passions that distract me from such noble cause and leave me dead to myself and yet fully alive in Jesus. 

Alone again, naturally

"To think that only yesterday I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to well wouldn’t do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much, as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt
Talk about God and His mercy
Or if He really does exist
Why did He desert me in my hour of need
I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally."

Anyone remember Gilbert O'Sullivan?  He wrote a popular song in the 1970's called, "Alone Again, Naturally." This song tells the story of him being jilted at the altar and trying to figure out why. I find it interesting that his perception of the heart-wrenching event was that God left him. 

Our belief system is only as strong as our experiences. If we believe that God is good, then...nothing bad will happen to us. If we believe that God is ever-present, then we will never feel alone. And when the bad things come and the lonely times creep in, we either have to rethink who our God is or...rethink our circumstances in light of who he is. If bad things come and my God is good, then I need to rethink my description of what is bad. It is bad in terms of something not going well, hurtful, or difficult but it may be for my good in the long run. 

I am reminded of the Scripture that says, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" (Lam. 3:38). In this passage Jeremiah reminds us that we should be thankful for any good that comes from the hand of God because we are all sinners deserving the calamity. 

It's hard to rationalize this when you think your doing your best to please Him. But maybe that's the problem. Perhaps equating God's mercy with my works is the wrong equation. "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy..." The judge does what he wants according to his perfect justice and in spite of my understanding of it. It's why it's called "mercy."I'm not getting what I deserve nor what I understand to be justice (in a positive way).

So for all you Gilberts who are trying to figure out why things are going so badly, look for the mercy of God and know that He is with you. God does, indeed, work together  for the good of those who love Him and are called to be conformed into the image of Jesus.

May God have mercy, naturally.