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“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.” Dallas Willard The Great Omission * * * * Jesus left there and as he passed on He saw a man called Matthew sitting at his desk in the tax-collector’s office. “Follow Me!” He said to him—and the man got to his feet and followed Him. (Mt. 9:9)
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“God’s high freedom in Jesus Christ is His freedom for LOVE. The divine capacity which operates and exhibits itself in that superiority and subordination is manifestly also God’s capacity to bend downwards, to attach Himself to another and this other to Himself, to be together with him. This takes place in that irreversible sequence, but in it is completely real. In that sequence there arises and continues in Jesus Christ the highest communion of God with man. God’s deity is thus no prison in which He can exist only in and for Himself. It is rather His freedom to be in and for Himself but also with and for us, to assert but also to sacrifice Himself, to be wholly exalted but also completely humble, not only almighty but also almighty mercy, not only Lord but also servant, not only judge but also Himself the judged, not only man’s eternal king but also his brother in time. And all that without in the slightest forfeiting His deity! All that, rather, in the highest proof and proclamation of His deity! He who DOES and manifestly CAN do all that, He and no other is the living God.” Karl Barth
The Humanity of God We are not meant to remain as children at the mercy of every chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of men who are expert in the crafty presentation of lies. But we are meant to hold firmly to the truth in love, and to grow up in every way into Christ, the head. For it is from the head that the whole body, as a harmonious structure knit together by the joints with which it is provided, grows by the proper functioning of individual parts to its full maturity in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)
Two thoughts here to start our week. Many of you have heard me reference this before, but, to the point of harmony, I want you to read the very best thing I’ve ever seen on the subject. A.W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God, writes: ‘Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the “us” of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish “I.” Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.’ Yes! As you and I are bringing our every day’s gaze unto the face of Jesus, we become a “harmonious structure knit together.” The members all answer to the one “Head,” Jesus himself. Then something else you, perhaps, heard me reference before. When I think about the difference between continuing to be spiritual “children at the mercy of every chance wind” versus those who are “coming into their own” (Rom. 8:19), I think of a simple thing one of my dear friends said to me 10 or 12 years ago, while we were having breakfast. I asked him: How do you describe the difference between spiritual maturity and just staying stuck where we are? And he quite quickly replied: “On the day of a battle, a young child in the household will be hidden away in a cupboard, for his safekeeping; a full-grown son will be told to go get his armor.” Yes! Friends, let us “hold firmly to the truth in love,” ever growing up, every attaining to our Lord, ever after our “full maturity in love.” Let us want to learn to learn to BE HIM! To make ourselves as FULLY AVAILABLE to this world as He Himself always was! “Christ Jesus said: 'I am the Vine, ye are the branches.' In other words: 'I, the living One who have so completely given myself to you, am the Vine. You cannot trust me too much. I am the Almighty Worker, full of a divine life and power.' You are the branches of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there is in your heart the consciousness that you are not a strong, healthy, fruit-bearing branch, not closely linked with Jesus, not living in Him as you should be—then listen to Him say: 'I am the Vine, I will receive you, I will draw you to myself, I will bless you, I will strengthen you, I will fill you with my Spirit. I, the Vine, have taken you to be my branches, I have given myself utterly to you; children, give yourselves utterly to me. I have surrendered myself as God absolutely to you; I became man and died for you that I might be entirely yours. Come and surrender yourselves entirely to be mine.'” Andrew Murray
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