Key Scripture – “God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” – Colossians 1:27
Key Thought – “The unconditional love of God revealed in the truth of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can really heal the world “
Many people equate the journey to awaken their hearts with changing. It is as if we need to add something to our lives to make us fulfilled. And this changing is never complete, like an old house that needs renovation, we see ourselves as a work in progress, which needs constant attention and when if we don’t maintain it we are convinced it will start to deteriorate and eventual fall into ruin. But true awakening is not in a process, but a new life founded and established in your heart by Jesus Christ.
The earthly reality has tried to convince us that to be spiritual we have to do spiritual things. The point we so often miss is that turning out thoughts onto doing things like prayer, fasting and confessions cannot transform our heart. Spiritual performance pervades modern thinking and brings our innermost being into self-effort that eventually opens up avenues of condemnation.
Paul the Apostle describes this heart transformation as a mystery, which was hidden from past ages and generations but has finally been revealed and has been manifested to all who are willing to believe, He describes this in his letter to the Colossians, “God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”
God the source of all things, the fountain of all knowledge and the creator of the spiritual realm, enlightens the universe with his desire and will to share his divine plan with everything and everyone. It is here in the heart of God that gives to us his eternal intention which exposes our hearts personal development and seems almost too good to be true.
The thing is, however many Bible verses you might know or devotionals that you might read, unless you receive the truth of this mystery, given in unconditional love, you will be just fooling yourself. So often, searching in other places only creates a deeper sense of separation. For example, many, many times I have started with read the bible in one-year devotional study. This spiritual discipline seemed just what i needed, I started off happy reading my ‘4’ verses a day. I took every opportunity to make sure I kept on track. But the pressures of work and family encroached on my life, so the bible reading began to slip. The days and weeks passed by and I found myself further and further behind and I eventually I gave up as and I was greeted by a wave of condemnation that became an increasing judgement that made me doubt my salvation and made me feel unloved by the God who gave me unconditional love.
It was clear to me that I thought of God’s love towards me based upon my performance to please him. Behind a spiritual facade, was a heart that wanted to please but didn’t know how to please.
Not only had a placed my performance on a pedestal; but I had placed Gods love to me in the gutter. Unfortunately, I was left stranded on an island that I had created.
It took the grace of God to penetrate the wall of condemnation by jumping from a place of doing to a place of embracing the mystery. Only by diving deep into the mystery of Christ was the spell of separation broken. Only by embracing the truth of God revealed in Christ was my heart transformed. It doesn’t matter whether you are sat under a vaulted ceiling of a magnificent cathedral or stand waiting in the hustle and bustle of a supermarket checkout line, every circumstance provides the opportunity to awaken ourselves to the eternal realty.
The journey of the mystery of God alive inside is found in Christ. So often we look to God to fix the world before we realise that Christ alive inside our hearts, is the hope of glory. We believe that praying for God to do something will make the world a better place. But the truth is that God has already done something, He answered our prayers by sending Christ to become the answer. No amount of effort on our part will make God move, because he has already moved in Christ. If you have not embraced Christ, then how can you fully embrace the unconditional love of God? The unconditional love of God revealed in the truth of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can really heal the world, not more self-effort or more determination to make right triumph over wrong. If you truly being to experience the radiating glory of God, you will find that it begins to make you complete and whole.
God has given the gift of Christ and this gift is now revealed in us. It is Christ in us that makes us rich, it is Christ in us that gives us glory, and it is Christ in us the wonderful gift given freely, Christ is the gift given on God’s initiative from his heart of love and kindness towards us. If you believe God doesn’t love you, you will behave in ways that are unloving towards yourself and so you will experience the world as an unloving place. If you If you believe that God is angry and vengeful, you will always try to get it right so that you protect yourself from his wrath and you will experience life as a punishing place. Your core beliefs, about yourself, others, the world, life and God create your reality. And humanities collective beliefs create the reality we live in. Today’s world is dominated by what we imagine of ourselves, what we create, and what we project. The divisions and barriers we encounter in the world are simply a reflection of the disconnection within our hearts.
Only by turning to the fulfilment of God’s plan for us can our hearts be transformed. And the key to this transformation is the grace of God given to us in Christ is a heart of love in communion and in perfect harmony with him. Our heart needs a revolution that is birthed in deep and intimate relationship that can radiate to light the darkness that surrounds us. When each of us unpacks and receives the gift that God has given to us in Christ.
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Thank you for visiting my blog. Please do not feel you have to comment. I enjoyed writing, listening to God and sharing his toughts. I hope you enjoyed reading, and may God who is able to make all grace, every favour and earthly blessing come to you in abundance, do far above all you can ask or think, according to the power that works within you. Be blessed.