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Monday, February 24, 2014

Release The Primal Fire Within, Part One

Hetty Green, called the witch of wall street, died in 1914 as the richest woman in the world with an estate worth between $100 and $200 million dollars (that’s a lot of money now, but much, much more then). Though wealthy beyond belief, she lived like a pauper. She would eat cold oatmeal because she refused to pay the expense to heat the water. She would rarely pay the expense to clean her clothes so she was always dressed in worn and dark clothing looking like she came off the streets. When her son injured his leg, she took so long looking for a free clinic for his care that eventually he lost his leg due to infection. 

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.

For those who have accepted the grace of God in Christ, our Lord has already invested all that He has in us. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). All that we need to live godly in Christ Jesus is already ours (2 Peter 1:3). We lack nothing. Realize what is already within you  (Christ). . . and let it leak out naturally in your words and actions. Stop living life as if you just need a little bit more. There isn't more, you already have more than enough in Christ. You are spiritually wealthy.

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.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

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?

Neil Cole said...

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.