There is something about life with Christ that should be revelatory.
By that I mean, just as a child we grew to become aware of things we were never aware of before and that changed us, so in Christ we become aware of things we were never aware of before and that should change us.
As with the child analogy, in a lot of cases the change is obvious. The baby wasn’t making clear distinguished words before, now she is. Previously she wasn’t able to string a sentence together, now she can. Before she was unsteady on her feet, now she will run confidently.
Surely the same should be able to be said in some shape or form about our spiritual development individually and collectively. Surely we should be able to look back and see where we were and note where we are and spot the differences and give God thanks for the growth.
There are some cases, however, where that ability to review assess and progress is somewhat short-sighted or altogether stunted. The familiarity of form and the comfort of routine and ritual can make actual spiritual growth hard to decipher.
So when you take a step back from the regularity of day to day life and realise that stagnation is taking place and things need to be done, it can be quite hard. It’s hard because certain things that were well embedded in life’s routines evidently needs to be rooted out, and that is painful.
It’s hard because it means coming to terms with the fact that in some matters, on some issues, the prescribed method is either no longer relevant, or worse still is just plain wrong. That’s why sorry seems to be the hardest word, for in sorry we acknowledge that we are wrong, and who wants to lose face by appearing so vulnerable and potentially incompetent?
It’s hard because repentance is not an easy process, and its harder still when you have built your world around dodgy assumptions and covered it with nice-sounding religious sentiments.
It is hard. It is painful. It is a nuisance. It is inconvenient. It is frustrating. It is essential if we are going to seriously be the fruitful branch that God is expecting to produce fruit.
Acknowledging all of this, it is then interesting if you find yourself in a position where you are invited back. It’s an interesting position because the invitation can be sincere and heart-felt and the need can appear compelling. It’s an interesting position because it can involve relationships and people with whom you’ve formed a great part of life as you’ve known it.
What do you do? After all that painful process of realisation and repentance, do you just go back? Can you ever go back?
What I am convinced about, is that if you have gone through that serious process, the point of it is that you’ll have a better idea of who God is in Jesus Christ. If you have taken on board what is actually the correction of God, the relationship between the two of you will be stronger for it.
As a result you never go back. Not really. You’ve built an intolerance to it. You may very well physically make a return, but your abode and source of spiritual sustenance and growth can never be properly traced there ever again. That is because you have grown and moved on. Though people won’t understand it and some won’t even accept it, that remains the fundamental fact.
More than ever before you know that you are Christ’s and Christ is yours and nothing can ever be the same again and there really can be no turning back. Things are forever different. Things are forever changed.
Also just as you went through that process, you become passionate for people to go through if not the exact same thing, than at least a genuine checking of the heart and seeing where you are with Christ, not based on the man-made traditions and assumptions around you, but by God Himself. You are passionate for it, and excited to see what it results in.
But there can never be a true return to the old.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 