SEEKING A DWELLING PLACE (PART 2) Jesus Christ, the wondrous Heavenly Guest, often comes among us and desires to enter under the roof our our soul. He appears among us through the unfathomable mystery of Holy Communion. He knocks on every door, longs to come into every home, desires to talk with every heart, wants to make every believing soul joyful and share His heavenly gift. But how do we meet Him? Can He stay in each one of us as He would like to? First, there is a man approaching Holy Communion and inviting The Lord into the hidden room of his heart: Come, Lord Jesus, settle in me! he whispers in his prayers before partaking. Come under my roof, in the home of my soul: Come in, please! I will open the doors of my heart! Settle in me! Can The Lord enter this hospitable invitation or must He draw back? There is an unbearable spiritual stench coming from inside, an odor of debauchery and malice, of greed, idolatry, envy, of pride and selfishness... The Heavenly Guest draws back, He cannot enter such a home, where the man and the demons--these spiritual swine---are co-existing under the same roof. Then there is another exhorting a person to fast and take Communion. He is asking him to accept in his heart Jesus Christ, who is bearing the great and all-saving grace of God. But he does not want to hear about it; the holy heavenly things are unpleasant for they prevent him from living his life the way he wants to. Why does he need Communion? He sets the dogs in his soul against the heavenly Guest and does not let Him approach his gates. Yet another has fasted, prayed, and prepared for Holy Communion, but he has not forgiven the offenses which his neighbors have committed against him. He has not made peace with his enemies. Everything in his life is in disorder. The sins are covering his outward piety like dust and soot. Waste and cobwebs have marred his faith. Fear has confused his feelings. And in this condition he dares to invite the heavenly Guest into the room of his heart! Is he not afraid that he will offend Him instead of pleasing Him with this hospitality? Still another one hears that someone is knocking on the door of his conscience, but until now it has not occurred to him to clean it. There, so many vicious spots have soiled the once-clean windows of the soul. So many habits have piled waste in the secret corners of the heart. The poor man! The parasites of evil, have attached to him, and are drawing the life-force of his spiritual life. If he opens the doors and invites the highest Heavenly Guest into such a condition and disorder, does he think there will be pure and joyful rest? But who could say of his spiritual home that it is in full order and that he can welcome the Heavenly King? We are all, more or less, unworthy of the Redeemer coming from heaven. But here, He is knocking on our doors (Rev.3:20). He Himself longs to come into us, because we are created for Him and without Him we are infinitely nothing. He is coming to bring His heavenly gift to everyone. Is there a way for us to become worthy of His habitation again? With great joy we must say: YES THERE IS! This way is CONFESSION! Through Confession, when it is sincere, deep, and involves disgust with oneself and a desire to start anew, the room of the heart is throughly cleansed from all waste and sinful debris. Through Confession, the demons, those deadly parasites in the heart, are driven out. Through Confession, the windows of the soul are opened for the fragrance and the freshness of Gods grace to come through. Through Confession, all confused thoughts and ideas, all chaotic feelings and desires of the heart are once again put in order. At last, through Confession the soul is adorned so that it becomes fit to accept the most marvelous guest--Jesus Christ! Visit: divinenaturenetwork
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 09:00:34 +0000
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