Post by rmcdra on May 16, 2015 0:38:51 GMT -5
21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” - Mark 4:21-25
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. - Romans 6:4-7
But I answered and said to him, "Lord, do not mention to us the cross and death, for they are far from you."
The Lord answered and said, "Verily, I say unto you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my cross, theirs is the kingdom of God. Therefore, become seekers for death, like the dead who seek for life; for that which they seek is revealed to them. And what is there to trouble them? As for you, when you examine death, it will teach you election. Verily, I say unto you, none of those who fear death will be saved; for the kingdom belongs to those who put themselves to death. Become better than I; make yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit!" - The Apocryphon of James
Fear is part of being human. It is our self-preservation instinct at work. It is the instinct that keeps us alive. Like all instincts, this is one that can certainly work against us. It can keep us from exploring and making connections. When we are afraid, we run away from the light. We run toward the darkness so that we cannot be seen. But at the same time we cannot see either. We have put ourselves under a shadow. This shadow not only keeps us from seeing, but becomes all that we see. In my life, I know that fear can color what I see. I know that it can change loving words into hateful statements. It can make kind gestures appear to be cruel actions. It can even change us into the very monsters that we fear.
All things must eventually come to light. For that which casts shadows will eventually decay and break down. Metals rust, rocks weather, cloth rots, and trees die. So it is with fear. The shadow that fear casts breaks down when you let the light within you shine. When you bring that light out, fear has no power over you and you can see what hides in the darkness. Is it really a monster or is it something you've created? Without bringing your light out, you'll never know which is which. So how do we bring that light out? How do we find that light? Christ set the example for us in showing that we must be confident and place our faith in what we believe to be true, so that we can know what is true. We must be willing to die to ourselves if we want to see what we really are. By testing what you think you know of yourself is how you come to know yourself. You cannot be afraid of crucifying who you think you are. That same instinct that keeps us alive is the same instinct that will keep us from living. It will protect that image of who we think we are because instincts, like all subjects of matter are incapable of distinguishing what is real and what is not. When the image is crucified what remains is what is true. What created the image in the first place. When we crucify ourselves we are no longer subject to fear, for fear has no power over those who are already dead.
To live under fear is to reject life. To defeat fear means to confront it. It means to come from out of the shadows and assess the situation. It means to seek “death” and not be afraid of dying. To live in fear is to already be “dead”. To live in confidence, to seek the “cross”, is to be alive. We are asked to be better than Jesus. This means not to live under his shadow either but to live as children of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. If the light we have is not ours to begin with, it is something that can be taken away. While we may lose what we already have, it cannot be taken away. It is time to step out from the shadows and into the light so that our light may shine and others may find their way out of the shadows. Christ is our light and the light of Christ is within us. It can only shine when we choose to remove it from under the basket.
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. - Romans 6:4-7
But I answered and said to him, "Lord, do not mention to us the cross and death, for they are far from you."
The Lord answered and said, "Verily, I say unto you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my cross, theirs is the kingdom of God. Therefore, become seekers for death, like the dead who seek for life; for that which they seek is revealed to them. And what is there to trouble them? As for you, when you examine death, it will teach you election. Verily, I say unto you, none of those who fear death will be saved; for the kingdom belongs to those who put themselves to death. Become better than I; make yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit!" - The Apocryphon of James
Fear is part of being human. It is our self-preservation instinct at work. It is the instinct that keeps us alive. Like all instincts, this is one that can certainly work against us. It can keep us from exploring and making connections. When we are afraid, we run away from the light. We run toward the darkness so that we cannot be seen. But at the same time we cannot see either. We have put ourselves under a shadow. This shadow not only keeps us from seeing, but becomes all that we see. In my life, I know that fear can color what I see. I know that it can change loving words into hateful statements. It can make kind gestures appear to be cruel actions. It can even change us into the very monsters that we fear.
All things must eventually come to light. For that which casts shadows will eventually decay and break down. Metals rust, rocks weather, cloth rots, and trees die. So it is with fear. The shadow that fear casts breaks down when you let the light within you shine. When you bring that light out, fear has no power over you and you can see what hides in the darkness. Is it really a monster or is it something you've created? Without bringing your light out, you'll never know which is which. So how do we bring that light out? How do we find that light? Christ set the example for us in showing that we must be confident and place our faith in what we believe to be true, so that we can know what is true. We must be willing to die to ourselves if we want to see what we really are. By testing what you think you know of yourself is how you come to know yourself. You cannot be afraid of crucifying who you think you are. That same instinct that keeps us alive is the same instinct that will keep us from living. It will protect that image of who we think we are because instincts, like all subjects of matter are incapable of distinguishing what is real and what is not. When the image is crucified what remains is what is true. What created the image in the first place. When we crucify ourselves we are no longer subject to fear, for fear has no power over those who are already dead.
To live under fear is to reject life. To defeat fear means to confront it. It means to come from out of the shadows and assess the situation. It means to seek “death” and not be afraid of dying. To live in fear is to already be “dead”. To live in confidence, to seek the “cross”, is to be alive. We are asked to be better than Jesus. This means not to live under his shadow either but to live as children of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. If the light we have is not ours to begin with, it is something that can be taken away. While we may lose what we already have, it cannot be taken away. It is time to step out from the shadows and into the light so that our light may shine and others may find their way out of the shadows. Christ is our light and the light of Christ is within us. It can only shine when we choose to remove it from under the basket.
