Diffusion

written sometime in '06???

Heard a song today, one that I have listened to many times, but I heard it differently this time. Basically it says that you can look at problems in society, in your church, in your home etc. and without fail trace them back to sources outside yourself, to sources you would not consider to be within your sphere of influence, but in actuality, we are the issue. We, meaning Christians as individuals and as a whole, and our position as children of the king, as His bride, puts just about everything within our sphere of influence.

"We've been blowing up, we're the issue.
we are the fuse and the ammunition."

This really hit me. There are always so many issues. So many take issue with so much, seems like we have gotten really good at picking up on what others are doing to cause problems. I don't remember the last time I went a day without getting an email about issues arising out of conflict between Christians and the amoral society that has been forming throughout the world including the U.S. I don't think I have ever made it through a day with out hearing about issues one has with another. This is the issue; that is the issue. No. "We've been blowing up, we're the issue."

When we surrender our will to God, the only one with the right to take issue is Him. Sure He takes issue with much of what we see today, and He has made His stance clear. He has also made it clear that vengeance is His. "I will repay", He says. This covers everything. The moment we move to enforce justice, we move outside of His love. His plan for us is forgiveness, tenderheartedness. We may get stepped on, but we have put our trust in the God of Justice, knowing that His judgment is much more pure than our own.
If we concern ourselves with things that we are not in a position to change, and not led by the Holy Spirit to change, then all the time spent thinking or acting that issue is fruitless. If we lived in His will as intended, then instead of wasting time trying to fix a broken system, we as individuals submitted to God would as the body of Christ, bring healing to the broken people of that system, and the system would be consumed by the Kingdom of Heaven. Spending our time debating issues and struggling to set things right outside of God's will for us is like fighting over a piece of bread when He has prepared a feast for us. DOING that which is NOT of His will, means we are NOT DOING something that is His will for us to do. As for "sitting by", doing NOTHING is no better than doing SOMETHING against His will, because His will is 'doing'. In doing nothing, you go against His will. Please do not be confused, there may be an occaision that His will concerning a certain topic may require you to DO NOTHING related to that particular circumstance.

Becoming the solution vs. taking issue
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Matthew 6:31-32 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Don't spend time being concerned about your needs and the ongoing situations that affect you. Matthew 6:25 says, "Isn't life about more than just these things?" It moves us toward thinking of something other than our selves. What is that something? Keep reading! Matthew 6:32 adds, "He's gonna take care of you!!" It answers the question, "Who's going to take care of me if I don't?"

6:25 begs me to stop thinking about me and start looking to the needs of others, whether spritual, physical, mental or emotional. If we stop thinking of ourselves [after coming under the power of Christ], we become free to look back at how well we looked out for ourselves [Though we may not have done a very good job in all our trying.], and we become free to look out that well for others. [A problem that I have struggled with is this terrible trick of the enemy: trying to look out for, or meet the needs of others, while under the power of self or by human effort - no dice.] "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Galations 5:14 This commandment is great, because we already know how to do it. We've been loving for years, we have just been loving the wrong person. Now we need to stop loving ourselves, and start loving those around us.

31-32 are much like "Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you." Romans 8:68 kicks it up a notch saying, "For to be carnally minded [to have your mind oriented to flesh or self, i.e. using even good sense or good logic in place of submission to the Holy Spirit] is death [anything other than His plan for you.] but to be spiritually minded [Having your mind & will surrendered to and focused on or better, in union with Christ and His Holy Spirit] is life and peace." [right now amazing peace, and a permanent provision of peace, true peace: completion, wholeness, lacking nothing]

I think it is really neat that these two verses were phrased in a similar fashion so that they might be grouped together, because there is a sweet connection between the two. It is a little difficult to explain because the idea is, in a way, a circular reference. [Have to love God for being circular.] Here it is. Once you do stop thinking of self and 'lose your self' to Christ, once you reach the position of trust in Him where you live without thought for your needs, only with submission to His leading, His answer to that, the peace, the completion [promised in 6:31-33] places you in His will and allows Him to set His plans for others in motion through you. You become [by His plan] His hand, His voice, His love in the lives of others. You find out that the "more than food" and the "more than clothing" that life is about is bringing these and more to those people God has entrusted to you. In Christ and by His Spirit, you are the delivery on God's promise of spritual, physical, mental or emotional [not necessarily in that order] provision to someone else. One verse speaks of needs being met by God, and one speaks to something better than just your needs being met; When you comply with the demands of either [they both say "Take no thought for your own provision..."], you become someone's needs being met by God.