I believe that for years, the Church of the West, like Isaiah, has perceived herself improperly, and has consequently seen the world in light of her disdain for herself. We have seen evil in ourselves, and have projected these same evils onto the people around us. However, since we are believers the evil is seen as being slightly less evil than it is in when present in those who have yet to respond to the Gospel. We look at the outside world with disdain and disgust, hating their corruption and licentious lifestyles. We preach a message to them that we call “the Gospel”, but nine times out of ten we do so simply to bring a sense of relief to our own hearts. “We don’t truly love these people, but at least we’ve done our duty, and no longer have their blood on our hands”, we think. In my personal journey, I found that once my heart started to become purged and cleansed from a sin consciousness – once the coal was touched to my lips, so to speak - something amazing and truly unforeseen began to take place: I began to see God! I don’t mean that I began to see Him walking down the street in physical form, wearing a track suit, and taking the four living creatures for walks, but I began to perceive Him in places, people and situations that, when sin consciousness ruled my life, I would have thought Him unable to occupy. Like Isaiah, when sin consciousness dominated my life and my thoughts, and when my primary thought of myself was “I’m a man of unclean lips”, I was wholly unable to see the truth that the Seraphs were proclaiming, that the whole earth, and yes, even those places that offended my sometimes weak Christian constitution, was filled with God’s glory. My ideas on where God hung out, and of whom He was willing to hang out with, were very limited, as my God was only allowed to operate within the strict confines of my religious worldview. Certain places and people were untouchable, while others were prime candidates for His presence. Once I ceased viewing the world through the lenses of my own perceived brokenness, and instead began seeing it through the work of Christ, I began to see and experience God in places and in people that I would have formerly thought were off limits to Him. A Quote from Chapter 13, The Myth of Us and Them: Fossils or Feces?, from my *JUST RELEASED* book, Saints in the Arms of a Happy God. To get a copy in paperback or kindle format, follow the link in the comments...
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:16:31 +0000
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