Dispassionate

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short.  From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." 

"Dispassion." This is a word that many of my Eastern Orthodox authors use to describe what our goal should be in this world. It is a place where our complete satisfaction is in being united with God. It means that my sole "passion" should be God himself. 

In my study of Eastern Orthodoxy I have also been doing some deep research into the book of Genesis again. From another angle I'm trying to understand the clear teaching of who I am in the sight of God and what I have been created to be. 

One of the teachings of the Orthodox Church is that man is composed of three parts ("tripartite"):  body, soul, and spirit. Man was designed to be governed by the highest part of his composition, the eye of the soul, the mind of the soul, the spirit. This is different than our common reason or intellect. It is the way of seeing all of creation through the Creator's eyes, to understand it through His eyes. It is a Christian worldview and it keeps an ungodly attachment to earthly things from taking place. 

The sin of mankind was that they chose to be "like" God through the lower part of their being. They chose to be "god" through their base intellect, reason, and their lower earthly passions. Eve saw and it was pleasing; it was desirable and...they ate. They didn't view the tree through spiritual eyes. The point of the tree of knowledge and evil was to allow them to see that a tree is not the source for true knowledge but the Creator God who put it there. The tree was not there to meet their needs but to display their reliance on God for such knowledge. 

From the Fall onward humanity now struggles to be what God designed them to be, to see in the way that God sees. They seek but only through base reason and understanding. They desire but only through selfish passions. Think with me about how much of your energy is based on consuming that which does not satisfy or brings short term satisfaction. How many during the Great Depression and even during our recent Great Recession took their lives because they lost their "stuff".  How many are consumed with alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, video games, the stock market, etc...because it is the only reasonable path to satisfaction. Perhaps a reminder from the great theologian, Mick Jagger, would help us. "I can't get no....satisfaction." 

I have been led to memorize 2 Corinthians 5:16 of late. "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." 

My prayer is that God would continue to restore my mind - not my rational capabilities, but my ability to see things the way that God created me to see them - through His eyes and for His glory. 

Since I have been meditating and rehearsing this verse in practical ways, I have found myself becoming more and more detached from the things of this world. I am becoming less consumed by worldly events and how they will affect me, and I am looking at my world through the eyes of Christ. I am looking at people differently as well. People are not objects of consumerism or passionate lust. They are not created for my sinful pleasure or usage. And my heart grieves for those whom this world still has in its grips. I believe that many who name the name of Jesus should examine themselves in this area even as it pertains to the person of Jesus. Am I passionate about Him or is He simply another object to use for my own personal desire. I am asking the Holy Spirit to give me the gift of wisdom and knowledge to understand my own heart and the times for His glory and honor. 

How can I be used to reach others for Jesus? How will God use my passion for his word and His Word in this dying and decaying world? How am I at present being transformed into the likeness of Jesus so as to present to others a different path, the only Way? 

I must admit that I do not have a clear answer to this question yet. For now God has me in a local church where I get the privilege of teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God to those who willfully come, a place where I can work out my own salvation with trembling and fear. To that task I wholeheartedly run but realizing that other spiritual tributaries have not yet been disclosed. 

I am reading Randy Alcorn's new work (a comic Book) called "Eternity." And it is a beautiful reminder that this world is not my home; I'm just passing through." To think of Lazarus running into the arms of Father Abraham...to know that in this world he was simply a diseased beggar but in the next he was a guest of the King...

May we be passionate about being dispassionate regarding the things of this world and let us set our hope on things to come. By the way...I'm not suggesting that we "check out" but that we "check in" and live out our hope of living in the Kingdom where our sole passion is God and that which He is passionate about - His creation. 

Workin' it out

"Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not." 

The words of Fr. Sophrony have been rolling around in my spirit for a number of weeks. 

I've been trying to understand the connection that our repentance has to our becoming the image and likeness of God. 

Fr. Sophrony suggests that our repentance comes on two levels. In the first level we try, in our own strength, to change our thinking and actions and move toward the desires and character of God. This moves us in the right direction but as life will certainly manifest, sin continues to resurrect itself. 

The second level is the grace that God grants us to actually be transformed in the depth of our spirit. The latter provides the needed spiritual healing that brings us into a position of being like Him. 

The quote above is dealing with the first. It tells us to stay in the place where we are constantly being shown the darkness of our hearts. It is a place where not only the blackness of spirit is revealed but it is also the place where the beauty and light of God's holiness is revealed. The more we see and confess who we truly are the more God reveals who He truly is. This is the basis for our humility before God and before man. 

"Keep thy mind in hell and despair not" is a call to all of us who are fed up with this world, who are growing increasingly dissatisfied with what this world has to offer, and who long to be in the presence of God. It is not a morbid death wish. It is the appropriate yearning for a spiritual traveler looking to his final destination. It is a person who has introspectively seen the vileness of his nature and has lifted up his head toward the heavens to his great and wonderful salvation. 

May the present purging of that which is not of God be a reminder of the promise of ultimately being made in His likeness, not detached from this world but looking at it from the place of Jesus. When we finally get beyond our imperfections we begin to see the depravity of humanity from His perspective, and instead of desiring to escape it, we weep for it. We take on the true likeness of Jesus and commit to serving a humanity that needs to "keep their minds in hell, and yet not despair." 

In the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, "...may God grant repentance [to all of us] leading [us] to a knowledge of the truth, and that [we] will come to [our] senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken [us]captive to do his will."