The' giving of grace' is a truly a miraculous thing between us humans. Allowing another to be oneself is not human in origin. It is a miracle from God. Now I realize in saying that -that there are evidences of 'tolerating' another but, that is not what I am referring to. Real life exists in the giving of grace to another not in just tolerance. Not that true love isn't tolerant, it just doesn't stop with that. I have had person after person time after time try to convince me that there is some sort of goodness in man. It's not that I don't see the appearances of it, it is just that I know what is really going on. You see when we make a big stink out of the appearance we are stuck in the justifying of ourselves. The world is always going to tell you that it is essentially 'good'. It may not be telling this to you RIGHT NOW but, if you spend any length of time listening you will hear it. Know that it is simply a waste of time to try to convince the world of this...for it will only attempt to isolate a certain 'bad' that it thinks it can make amends for and or already has.[by it's 'goodness']
The hate of the world is always lurking beneath the surface. You wont ever have to go looking for it, for it will find you eventually.[hence the Apostles encouragement not to be surprised I think] The same hatred that rared up against Jesus. Hmm, I used to think I kinda knew what this would look like. You know it is 'supposed' to look like it did when we saw it spelled out with the Pharisees right? I wonder though if we miss the fact that Jesus came to a certain culture at a certain time amongst a certain people. So we simply see it from that perspective. What if He were to visit US in the flesh? LOL How many of us wonder maybe if things would be just fine and that we would all just accept Him openly! Nope! No way! I just don't believe it. I know it SEEMS like it is reality but, it's just not. The world hates Him and that statement of reality is coming from Him not me. Now if I have been joined to Him then guess what? I am hated on account of Him IN ME. It may take a while until someone is able to get down to the bottom of it all but, inevitably this thing that is true will come to be manifest in our experience. Yeah and that is why many of us have been tempted to conform to the world. I mean we sense that hatred. A good friend of mine has been so faithful in Christ to tell me and many others of the bottom line reality of what Paul meant in saying not to judge according to appearances or according to the flesh. For that IS what is going on when the hate gun is firing.
Oh I know we can all have annoying traits and short sights and brokenness but, when it comes right down to it this is not the REAL issue with why others hate us. It isn't even the real reason the world hates and judges itself.[each other] The real reason is all wrapped up in the fleshly impulse to judge according to appearance. Which is yes,... true evil. It was in fact put to death in Christ. Punished. Taken away.
Something else I have found out about the flesh again and again. The flesh DEMANDS to be pleasing. Oh it acts like it could care less if you like, accept or embrace it but, bottom line it will kill to get this lust satisfied. You know what I have been led to? I have been led to the reality that only exists in Christ. See we have acceptance of each other in Christ DESPITE what does or does not happen in the flesh. We could have everything at war according to the flesh but, still have total peace between one another in Christ. Which peace do you see as the living solution to your wars in the flesh? More similarities? More likeness? More fleshly agreement? Nah, for these things can only cause you to do what flesh does and that tis compare. This only leads to the fruit of death.[pride,lust, dissensions etc..] I have been slapped in the face with this reality again and again.[through intense pain and heart brokenness I might add] I find it ironic that the one thing the flesh demands and never seems to get enough of, is the very thing it can never get anyway. There is no FINAL acceptance according to the flesh! It just isn't there! The world offers only an appearance of this acceptance..
I used to think the appearance was 'pretty much the same thing'-but, it's NOT. Total opposite in fact. It's a farse..false..empty..only worthy of removal.
When oh when will those of us in Christ wake up to this??! Are we not still thinking that the world and it's understanding is still good with God? It's not!
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