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The Long View

Recently my wife and I had a chance to drive on the part of the Blue Ridge Parkway that passes through North Carolina. When we set out, the weather was clear. The first few overlooks provided us with beautiful views of the valleys below. But as our trip progressed, we began to encounter fog. It became so thick that at times it was difficult to see the next car ahead. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped. The higher the elevation, of course, the worse it became. 

We arrived at the parking area near Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. We made the short hike to the summit. There was a raised, circular platform that permitted views in all directions. For us, however, the fog allowed no view in any direction. I had hoped to see the sun set from that vantage point, but the sun never broke through the clouds.

Maybe I will have a chance to revisit that spot when conditions are more favorable. Nevertheless, the experience did give me an opportunity to reflect on my disappointment. I had set out with an expectation that not only would we reach our desired destination but that spectacular scenery awaited us there. 

I’m familiar with the saying, “An expectation is just a disappointment waiting to happen.” I think that’s true, but I have a different point. Those of us who have set out on the way of transformation can have expectations, too. Like the approval of others or agreement among our family members, as a reward for cooperating with God’s plan for our lives. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that God’s transforming work in us is not primarily for us but for Him—not about my getting what I want but about His getting what He wants. Certainly transformation benefits us, but it’s mainly about advancing His eternal purpose.

That’s the distant scene that the fog can’t obscure, because we see it by faith.

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Seeing Christ in Nature

Occasionally I have an opportunity to do some nature photography. We know that all creation, including the earth, suffered when man rebelled against God. In spite of that, nothing can remove His fingerprints from the natural order. Here I am sharing a few photos that illustrate this point.

This image is a small detail from a much larger waterfall, taken near Chimney Rock in North Carolina. Because the water appears to be flowing from the rock, it reminds me of God’s provision for the Children of Israel as they passed through the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Water is a necessity for life. God provided for His people in the wilderness. Through Christ, God continues to provide every necessity for His people today.

This second image comes from a pond, not far from where I live. The water lilies in the background speak to me of life. The wilted flowers in the foreground testify to faded glory and death. But the seeds in each of them point to new life. Jesus said that, unless a seed falls into the earth and dies, it cannot bear fruit. His own death and burial planted a seed that rose up at his resurrection, and the fruitfulness of resurrection life continues to this day.

I made the last of these images at sunrise, also not far from my home. It depicts a field on which corn is growing. The clouds overhead almost have the appearance of an outstretched hand. It speaks to me of Jesus Christ’s guidance and protection over us while we are in the process of spiritual growth. I hope that, by sharing these pictures, I have encouraged you while we experience the rigors of God’s transforming work. Also, I hope that you’ll be alert for Jesus making himself visible in your own surroundings.

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Proclaiming Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit

Confessing and proclaiming can be effective forms of prayer. Who is to do the proclaiming? We can, as individuals or as a group. Who is the audience? Jesus himself. Other believers. Unbelieving humanity. The invisible forces of God’s enemy that enslave and oppress humanity in the world system. 

And what are we to proclaim? We can base our confessions and proclamations on Psalms and other scriptures, on hymns, and on our own experiences. For example, we might proclaim to Jesus, “You, O Christ, are all I want. More than all in You I find.” The apostle John proclaimed Jesus to fellow believers. He opened his first letter with this statement: 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

All the epistles of Paul, Peter and John are essentially proclamations of Jesus Christ to the believers who formed the early church. The book that we know by the name “Revelation” is, according to its first verse, an “Apokalypsis [unveiling] of Jesus Christ.”  The scriptures also record proclamations directed to unbelievers. Examples include Peter’s address to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost, and the message Stephen delivered to the religious leaders of the Jews that led to his martyrdom.

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit inspires every true proclamation. As Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “…no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” Here are examples of proclamations that we might make to Jesus in prayer:

Jesus, you are my Savior. You have redeemed me, and all humanity, from the earth. You have, by your blood, provided a complete salvation. It liberates everyone who comes to you from sin and death. It enables everyone who receives you to stand in the Father’s presence. It gathers us into the household of God as children and heirs with you. It places us in the current of God’s eternal purpose, the divine intention to sum up everything in you! You have accomplished all of this. It is so magnificent that I cannot comprehend it. Nevertheless, I humbly commit myself to you. 

Jesus, you are Lord! The earth is yours, and all that is in it. You were involved in every detail of its creation. You are its rightful King. We have cast in our lot with you. You have given us your own life and received us as sisters and brothers. We represent you in this world. Today is a day that you have made; we rejoice as we walk in it with you. 

Jesus, your life is active on the earth today in my fellow believers who are faithful to you. I thank you for revealing yourself to me through their faithfulness. I am open to having you use me in the same way, for the benefit of others.

Our Father has given us a voice. He can inspire us, through the Spirit of Truth, to proclaim the truth regarding His Son. This can take the form of prayer, song, declaration, the written word, social media, and other channels. But first, let us perform a reality check. May there be consistency between what we proclaim and the way we live! The Father’s intention is that the Son will get glory. Our expression of Jesus Christ must come from His life in us. 

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Currents

In the process of God transforming us into the image of His Son, most of the time our focus is on the immediate—a decision, an illness, a crisis. But sometimes He presents opportunities to see a bigger picture of the path that we are following. Lately I’ve been thinking about the external forces that propel us along through our lives.

The current of this world

The apostle Paul uses a river and its current as a metaphor for the system of the world. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2). The course of this world is the current in a long, meandering river that has many tributaries and carries the dead toward their destruction. They would be powerless to resist, even if they were aware. This was our condition before God in mercy rescued us: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

The current of God’s Will

I recently came across a recorded message of T. Austin-Sparks regarding the will of God. Usually, my concern is on the will of God for me. But this was different. Its focus was on God’s overall will in creation, directed toward the accomplishment of His eternal purpose (a term used by Paul in the letter to the Ephesians), also known as His ultimate intention. We can call this the “Will of God” with a capital W. Throughout history this Will of God runs as another current.

I am paraphrasing from that presentation: “The significance of Christianity is that humans can get caught up in the purpose of God. Paul had been ‘apprehended’ by Christ! In the book of Acts we see a tremendous forward movement of Christ. And we have been caught up in something—taken hold of. ‘And the men that held Jesus mocked him’ (Luke 22:63, KJV): the word ‘held’ suggests an irresistible grip, and it is the same word that Paul used to mean that he had been gripped by an irresistible force and carried by it. We can get caught up in the eternal going of the eternal God in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Mastered. Carried as by an irresistible current. This is a law of [spiritual] progress.” 

It goes on to say, “Vision is essential to progress. Something has opened our spiritual eyes that has revolutionized our spiritual life. Pray for genuine vision that will set us firmly in the grip of God’s current, that will keep us going on the path of transformation. ‘The power that worketh in us.’ The Holy Spirit has put a dynamic in us, and we have seen, and it will keep coming back to us to set us back on our feet when we fall. The spiritual knowledge that we have by revelation through the Holy Spirit provides us with a sense of purpose; if it were not for that we would not survive. We must have this vision to keep going in the eternal goings of God in Jesus Christ. A sense of vocation, mastering purpose. The spiritual motivation to keep looking to Jesus—vision—who started the work and will finish it. It did not begin with us, and it will not end with us. Am I a Christian of that sort? Have I come to see Jesus, and my eternal destiny as bound up in Him? Then I will be a Christian who goes on, carried by the mighty divine imperative. The God of Purpose lays hold of us, picks us up and carries us on.”

Here is a link to the entire presentation: 

YouTube audio recording of T. Austin-Sparks, The Will of God in Relation to His People (part 3 of 3)

Love and the current of God’s Will

The current of God’s will operates through love. When Paul writes that “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14) he uses the Greek verb synechei,   which means “to bring into continuity or coherence.” The love of Christ channels and propels us. It carries us along in continuity and coherence with the big picture of God’s plan. As Jesus told Peter, “When you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). As we pass from spiritual immaturity to spiritual maturity, more and more we find ourselves allowing our Lord to arrange our lives according to His love.

I wanted to share all of this because I found it inspiring. My prayer is that all of us who have started out in this blessed process of transformation will continue to look to Christ Jesus, to reach out to Him and surrender to the operation of His love in our lives.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a might ocean
In its fullness over me,
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Your love;
Leading onward, leading homeward
To my glorious rest above.
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (verse 1), S. Trevor Francis 

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To Confess and Proclaim

This past week I was struck by three different sources with a unified and valuable message. 

The first source is one of Watchman Nee’s less well-known books entitled, What Shall This Man Do? Here are excerpts from chapter 4, from the section entitled “Upon This Rock.”

Hear Him at Caesarea Philippi, as He addresses Simon Peter in these remarkable terms: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18)…. What did Jesus imply? Thou art Petros, a stone—one who is to be builded with others into the basic structure of My church (see Eph. 2:20; Rev. 21:19)—and on this Rock I will build. What then is the church? It is a structure of living stones founded upon a rock. And what is the rock? Here it is that we need to be very clear. It is a confession based upon a revelation of a Person.

Jesus, who never seemed to care what men said or thought about Him, had suddenly put the question to His disciples: “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Then, turning from the views and speculations of others, He went a step further: “Who say ye that I am?” His challenge drew forth spontaneously from Peter the historic confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Thus it is true to say that the church is built upon a confession, for to “say” is to confess, not merely to hazard an opinion. Moreover it was no empty confession such as might today be based on study or deduction or “point of view.” As Jesus made clear, Peter’s confession was called forth by a God-given revelation. “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” And further, it was a revelation of the true character and meaning of Jesus, and not merely of facts about Him—not merely, that is, of what the Gospels tell us He did, but of what and who He is. As to His person, He is the Son of the living God; as to His office and ministry, He is the Christ. All this was contained in Peter’s words….

Thus the Rock defines the limits of the church. They extend wherever such a confession goes up to God from the heart—there and no further. For remember, this was not a general confession; it sprang from revelation. And not from a general revelation either, but one that concerned a Man, the Son of man. Nothing gives God greater satisfaction than confession of Himself. Jesus often said, “I am.” He loves to hear us say, “Thou art.” We do it far too little. “Thou art Lord!” When everything goes wrong and all is confusion, don’t pray, but confess that Jesus is Lord. Today, when the world is in turmoil, stand and proclaim that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He loves to hear us say what we know. The church is not only founded on revelation but on confession—on our speaking out what we know of God. The church today is Christ’s voice set down here upon the earth. 

If God has not opened our eyes to see that death is the power, the weapon, of the gates of hell, we shall scarcely know the value of speaking out. But when suddenly, in some hitherto unforeseen circumstance, we find to our alarm that apparently faith does not work, prayer does not work, we shall learn the need to proclaim Christ, and in doing so shall discover what it was God was waiting for. “Thou art Lord. Thou art Victor. Thou art King.” The best prayer of all is not “I want” but “Thou art.” By the revelation given to us, let us speak. In prayer meetings, at the Breaking of Bread, alone before the Lord, in the midst of the thronging world, or in the dark hour of need, learn to proclaim, “Thou art.” This is the church’s voice, God’s voice in the earth, the voice that, above all else, hell fears.

Here are the points I’d like to emphasize from that long quote. What God has revealed to us, we too can confess within ourselves and out loud. By doing so we satisfy God. Nothing gives God greater satisfaction than confession of Himself! We also declare our membership in the universal Church and claim the ground on which we are standing for His Kingdom.

The next source is an episode on the Tent and Altar YouTube channel (“Praying the Psalms,” 7/11/2021). In this podcast, Carrie Walters talks about how the Lord put it on her heart to pray for the city of St. Louis, where she currently lives. A change in the route she uses to get to work takes her through disadvantaged neighborhoods. As she drives through, she prays psalms that have been set to music. The video highlights Psalm 99, but many of the psalms declare the nature and providence of God. Although Carrie does not pray with individual residents of the city, by proclaiming God and His sovereignty she carries His life into places where He might not otherwise be welcome. The reality is that many places are in darkness because of the oppression of invisible principalities and powers. Bringing light into those places can provide people with relief from that oppressive darkness. It can reveal to them that they are defined by Him rather than by their visible circumstances. 

The third source is the opening of the first letter that the apostle John wrote: 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3

There is a time to hear and see, and even to touch and handle, the Word of Life. Then, when that life is real to us, will be the time to confess and proclaim it. This will lead us into a deeper fellowship with God. Also, as we confess and proclaim His life, we will establish and strengthen bonds of fellowship with each other.

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Friends

Luke recorded the words of Jesus: 

“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Luke 7:33-35)

Matthew wrote of the encounter of Judas with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:

And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. (Matthew 26:49-50)

Shortly before going to the cross Jesus told his disciples: 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:12-16)

Jesus is friend to outcasts and sinners, and to disciples. He is even friend to enemies and those who betray him: not only to Judas, but also to Peter! And to all of the disciples who forsook him in the hour of greatest need, as he knew they would (Mathew 26:31). 

Jesus is my friend, too. No matter how unworthy I know myself to be, he is my friend. He was my friend when I was living in the old creation, and he is my friend now that I live in the new creation. The worthiness is in him, not in me. The love originates in him, not in me. The life flows from the vine to its branches. I have standing in the presence of God because I abide in Jesus Christ, and He lives in me. 

If I permit the life of Christ to operate freely in me, will I not be friend to all?

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Seeing it Through

Soon after I published my last post, I came across this passage from a book by T. Austin-Sparks. It confirms and goes beyond what I was trying to say:

In the end it will be the End that judges our Christian life. And so it is the Holy Spirit’s work, His interest, concern, energy and activity; not only to bring people to the door and to get them inside the door, but to make them know that that door is but the opening of a Way, on the other side of the door everything lies. It is not the door alone, but it is what lies beyond the door, and that is this renewal, this making anew after the image of Him that created. The End governs: it is Christ in all that He signifies and means and stands for. It is that vast All that He is. “Christ is All, and in all” is the last clause. It is Christ in that fullness, which is more than our salvation, more than our initial salvation. The door is essential, but it is what it leads to that justifies going in it at all.

Christ Himself, when He was here, never failed to let people know that when they entered that door, or that straight and narrow way, they were in for trouble…. Now that may sound like a very terrible thing to say, especially to you young Christians who are not far inside the door, but be perfectly clear about it; the Lord Jesus never deceived anybody about this, never at all. He let people know that to “follow Him,” as He put it at that time, involved them in difficulty and suffering and persecution and trial and a lifelong thing. There is a cost here, a great cost. And we shall discover that while there are the compensations, for there are undoubtedly the compensations in this life, and the mighty compensations for eternity, this is a way which is not easy for the natural man by any means. This work of the Holy Spirit is drastic, exacting, and very trying to the flesh. Make no mistake about it; it will take all the energy that the Holy Spirit Himself has to accomplish this work. It really will. So the Lord Jesus has not left us in any doubt about this. (From God’s Supreme Interest in Man)

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way of our transformation and the End of our journey. The work of the Holy Spirit is to increase the measure of Christ in us. The life of Christ is incompatible with our fallen nature. As He increases, the influence of the old nature fades. This is transformation, and the Spirit is willing to spend whatever effort it takes to accomplish it. May we find encouragement in the assurance that all three Persons of the Trinity are intent on seeing us through.

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Learning Christ

As individual followers of Christ, we grow spiritually just as children grow physically, intellectually and emotionally. Little children are on the steepest part of the learning curve but at the same time they are the most limited in terms of participating in their own education. They learn primarily by observation. So also do we learn Christ. When we commit our lives to Him, we begin the life of the new creation. We are like infants toward Him. We learn who He is by spending time with Him and His people—people who display His life. That’s how we get to know His Father, too. As Jesus pointed out to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

You might object, saying that we are learning by experience in addition to observation. It seems to me, however, that experience is observation, as we live with the aftermath of a decision. There is a saying among surgeons: “Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.” Of course, the sooner the consequence follows on the decision, the easier it is for us to make the connection between the two.

For my own part, I am coming to see how little I know Jesus Christ and His ways. I try to walk, only to stumble and fall. I recognize in myself a lack of His characteristics. But I keep getting up and going back to Him. I have decided that I want to know Him, and not merely know about Him. The knowledge that counts is the knowledge that enlarges and solidifies His life in me.

This fragment of a verse from Isaiah 30:15 has been before me: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” These are the words of the Lord, originally addressed to the people of Israel, but now applicable to us. He asks us to keep turning to Him, to rest in Him, to calmly place our trust in Him—exclusively. These are the conditions under which we learn Christ. Then His life can grow in us in an organic way. Not all at once, but as a process that requires only our continuing consent. 

I am coming to understand that I can’t know Him apart from Him. That is, I can’t know Him apart from spending time in His presence, following Him and paying attention to Him. He alone has the words that give life. The work that He wants to do, in me and in you, is His work and the objective also is His. He is the end of the work of transformation, when His life is fully formed in us.

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In These Things I Delight

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”Jeremiah 9:23-24

Our God is a God of delight. When He pronounced the “very good” over the visible creation, it was an expression of pleasure. He was declaring that the earth, in this condition, was a place that was in accord with His intention. A place in which He could find rest. What will He not do, to get the desire of His heart? After the fall of man, God spent centuries nurturing a people through Abraham and Moses. This newly formed nation was to represent Him in the earth, “…that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory” (Jeremiah 13:11). He gave them a law by which to live, a law that reveals His character. He lived among them while they were faithful. Then He was God of heaven and earth. They were His resting place and His delight. But that condition did not persist.

What sacrifice will He not make to find His delight and again take His rest? God had taken counsel within Himself. From eternity, the Father has delighted in the Son. The Father determined to establish a new race of people in His own Son. Jesus Christ the Son came to earth as the Father’s representative human. He lived by the life of the Father. Not only did Jesus display the Father’s life, but he also began to form a new nation that he called the Kingdom of God. This new humanity would learn to live by his life, just as he had lived by the Father’s life. And we become part of that new nation, by pledging our allegiance to Jesus Christ as King.

The Father first publicly announced His delight in the man Jesus to a small crowd who had assembled at the Jordan River. There John the Baptist and his followers were baptizing people unto repentance from sins. When Jesus presented himself for baptism, John was taken aback—he recognized that here was one who had no sin. But Jesus insisted that John baptize him, saying that it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness has to do with God exercising His rights in us. Jesus took the baptism in obedience, demonstrating his complete surrender to the Father. Then the Father declared, in an audible voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Greek word that is translated “well pleased” (eudokesa) comes from the same root as the word for “delighted” (eudokesen). 

Jesus spent a little more than three years in ministry, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and training his disciples. He addressed them as his “little flock,” and taught them not to be preoccupied with the living conditions in which they found themselves, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure [eudokesen] to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). As that time drew to a close, he took three of those disciples, ascended a mountain, and was transfigured before them. On this occasion the Father again audibly announced, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased [eudokesa]…” (Matthew 17:5).

After his sacrificial death, Jesus arose again from the dead. He spent forty more days with his disciples, continuing to train them in the ways of the Kingdom. As that time drew to a close he again ascended, this time to the right hand of the Father. From that exalted position, he poured out the Holy Spirit on his followers. They had assembled in obedience to his instruction. This was the beginning of the Church, empowered by the indwelling Spirit of God. God had succeeded in forming a new race of humans in His beloved Son. Finally, God again had a place in which He could delight and take His rest—not a physical location but an assembly of people with whom He could live and among whom He could move (2 Corinthians 6:16). 

Ever since, it has been God’s delight to reveal His Son in humans. As Paul noted, God “was pleased [eudokesen] to reveal His Son in me” (Galatians 1:16). Nick Vasiliades, in his wonderful book Loved (Period) wrote, “The moment you were born from above, a new creation in Christ, He took delight in you. Even without a single good deed under your belt yet, He became pleased in you. After all, the Father took great pains to place you into Jesus Christ.” 

The process of transformation is difficult. Through all of it we can rest assured that God looks on us with delight because when He looks at us He sees in us the life of His Son: steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. All of the things that give Him delight are ours in Christ.

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Affirmations: Summary

https://frankviola.org/2019/02/07/6affirmations/

“The Bible talks an awful lot about ‘renewing’ our minds. Affirmations like these are part of that renewal process. And no matter how seasoned a person is in the kingdom, we’re never beyond being reminded of who we are and where our allegiance lies” (Frank Viola). When we make affirmations, we assert that they are statements of truth. We also renew our conviction that they apply to us. In that way, when we affirm these truths, they also affirm us. They are a means of learning to live by the life of Christ while letting go of the confidence that we have in our natural abilities. 

All of these affirmations together are an expression of trust. We trust that, in spite of all the adversity that surrounds us, our Lord is with us and in His presence there is joy. We trust Him enough to commit each day into His hands. This trust frees us from expectations, which set us up for disappointment. We trust that the events of the day will be tailor-made by God to accomplish His eternal purpose. That purpose includes our personal transformation. Today, each person and every challenge that we encounter is for good, both His and ours. Trust enables us to respond to those people and challenges, not out of our own nature but out of the life of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we trust that He has emancipated us from the oppressive world system that surrounds us. We look beyond that system to the reality of His kingdom. 

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:4). The poor in spirit keep placing their trust in God rather than themselves. They are willing to loosen their grip, to surrender themselves repeatedly to the love of God. In so doing they shake loose from the power of sins, from the dominion of the soul and from the world system. 

Then they go further, surrendering that liberty to the love of God. They become His spiritually mature sons and daughters. We see the outcome in the prophet Daniel’s remark, “… that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Daniel 4:17). Of course, Jesus is truly the lowliest of men, but the poor in spirit have joined his company. God can safely give these people authority over His Kingdom. 

And we have taken at least the first steps on this journey. We are learning that, in Christ, sin and death have no claim on us. That our old, self-centered nature has no claim on us. That the imperatives of everyday life have no claim on us. That the only claims that we need to recognize are those of Jesus Christ. 

How does this work out in practice? It will be different for each of us. But I have found, at the beginning of the second letter of the apostle Peter, some hints about how to make progress. 

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.   (2 Peter 1:1b-8)

Everything here is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. Our faith, and grace itself, and peace, and all things that pertain to life and godliness—all of it comes to us by His power. It doesn’t depend on us whatsoever. And then there are the promises, which He has already granted to us, leading up to our transformation: joining in partnership with the divine nature! 

After Peter says all of that, he invites us  to “make every effort.” If it’s all a gift and an inevitability, what is the need for effort on our part? In my youth I learned a proverb that somehow didn’t make it into the Bible: “a man will sit with his mouth open for a long time before a roast duck flies in.” If we are growing into mature sons and daughters we can’t expect always to be spoon-fed. Jesus invited his disciples to ask, seek and knock (Luke 11:9). He also said that the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it (Luke 16:16). In the passage above, Peter refers to faith, virtue (also known as moral excellence), knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love—all of which truly are gifts. They are, in fact, characteristics of Jesus. For our part, we can let them grow in us. And we can supplement them by reaching out for more.

This is where we see the value of affirmations. They remind us of who we are in Christ Jesus. They give us an opportunity to ponder anew our allegiance to Him. And they keep the way clear for Him to make, more and more, His promises a reality. 

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