Like royal heirs living like paupers, we often act as if
we’re unaware of the immense power available to us. As bearers of the image of
God, there is far more to who we are than most of us realize. It is time for
the primal fire that is Christ in us to be awakened and released.
Jesus came, died, rose, and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell
us with His power. The true beauty within us is liberated, enhanced, and
empowered by the good news of
redemption and the resulting mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. We
don’t have to gain more spirituality; we simply
need to live out what is already invested in us. If we are “in Christ,” and thus a “new creation” (2
Corinthians 5:17), everything we need is already
within us—young or old, black or white, male or female, rich or poor.
If we are in Christ, we don’t need to try to gain the riches of Christ; we need to realize that
Christ’s full treasure is already within us. Doing
good works, memorizing more Scripture, praying more, and devoting ourselves to
spiritual disciplines will not gain us any more spiritual blessings than we
already have. All we will ever need or want is already found within us, and not
as the result of good works that we can boast about (Ephesians 2:8-10). In
fact, taking the pathway of performance in an
effort to gain godliness will only hinder the
release of the true blessing that is already within us (Gal. 5:1-12). We need to open our
eyes to what we already have, rather than setting our sights on what we think
we need.
We are not spiritual paupers, but spiritually wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. Live like an heir of the kingdom of God...and share the true wealth.
This post is adapted from content in my book Primal Fire.
This post is adapted from content in my book Primal Fire.
2 comments:
Neil, totally agree with you about all this, but curious about your thoughts on spiritual formation. I think someone like Willard would agree with you too, but with the caveat that spiritual disciplines, prayer, etc increase our awareness of Spirit's work in us and in the world. They don't give us more, but help us access the more that's already present. Any thoughts? future post?
Chael, disciplines are like workouts, they keep us ready for the real work. There isn't any more spirituality to gain, but we are not accustomed to living out what is inside of us. Spiritual disciplines help us realize what is within us and help us to let it out. I actually believe that the entire Christian walk is about learning to realize all that we already have within, and disciplines help us discover that. Thanks for asking such a good question.
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