The Gate to Life

Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matt. 7: 13-14).

 

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn. 14:6)

 

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If we do not enter Life/Zoe through the 'narrow gate,' we can take anything we want with us; we are not forced to choose between our own way and the way of the Christ of God.  We can stay on the path to destruction carrying with us all the baggage we cannot let go of:  bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, hatred of others, greed, lust, etc.  But if we want to enter Life itself, the Life that 'came into the world and is the light of men,' we will have to put down all the impure things we want to hold onto in our spirit. 

 

When God created mankind, He 'breathed into his nostrils the breath/ruah of life, and man became a living being (not bios,but zoe:  energy, spirit, truth, enthusiasm, eternal life).  With Adam's distancing himself from God, his bios continued for a time, but his zoe began to diminish and fade.  His body continued; his soul decreased.  With the 'new Adam," Jesus Christ, the spirit in mankind is fully restored:  I came that they may have life/zoe, and have it more abundantly. 

 

When we encounter another person, we encounter at first his/her bios, physical life.  We may be drawn by a smile, a light in the eyes,  or even physical appearance, etc.  But it is not long before we enter into the spirit/ zoe of those we love.  And to really enter another person's spirit and remain there, we may have to surrender something of our own we have been holding onto, for often we cannot carry the baggage we choose into another's home.  How many parents have had to turn their adult children out of their house because the adult child has not been able to let go of unacceptable behavior -- drugs, alcohol, rage, etc -- the things that threaten to destroy everyone around them?

 

When we want to come to the Father, we must pass through the Gate and enter onto the Way -- Jesus Christ.  He is both the Door and the Path and the End -- the Life/Zoe we are seeking.  But to enter the Door, we must put down whatever cannot live in His Spirit, whatever is incompatible with His dwelling place: anger, bitterness, rage, unforgiveness, etc.  None of these things are allowed to enter into the Spirit of Jesus.  So, for the "Pearl of Great Price," we sell all that we have, that we are holding onto, and surrender them at the Doorway, so that we can enter into Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

 

Many people encountered the physical presence of Jesus; very few comparatively entered into His Spirit and drank from it.  The same is true today:  many stand on the outside and judge the Man from Galilee, the son of Joseph, but others put down their judgment from the outside and humbly enter into the Spirit of Jesus.  Then and only then do we have the Eternal Life, the energy, the truth, the Zoe He came to give.

 



 



With God, It's Personal

When a child begins to walk, parents are thrilled beyond measure -- the drive to walk is exactly the same for each child, but each begins in his/her own way:  in his time, according to his/her own personality, fear, and confidence.  No two children approach the task at exactly the same time, the same way.  Most children -- but not all -- will begin by standing, holding onto the furniture, and maybe bouncing up and down, assessing what the next step will be.  Some babies will frown, concentrating on what to do next; some will grin as they see the expression on the parents' faces, knowing that already they have done something wonderful.  One of my brothers, however, did none of these things; my mother feared he was lagging developmentally -- until one day, he just slid off the bed and ran through the house, at about 18 months old. 

My youngest child began walking a little later than the other two -- probably because there was already a three-ring circus going on all around her, amusing her so much that she forgot to walk for awhile.  At any rate, when she stood up, she wanted someone to take her hand and walk her around and around the house.  She was dependent on that support for a long time, and she just loved walking holding the hand of an adult.  Unlike the other two, she did not attempt moving on her own between one source of support and another.  I remember when I was going into the hospital for surgery just at that point in her life; I worried about who would walk her around in my absence.  I need not have worried; my dear father was more than happy to walk her around as many times as she wanted to go.  Eventually, she had the confidence to let go and begin walking on her own. 

Most of the time, parents are the cheerleaders, sitting on the sidelines, saying, "Go! Go! Go!"  Or else, the child is positioned between two supports, and the parents are saying, "Come on, let go, come to Daddy/ Mommy!"  And when the child does let go and move a couple of steps on his/her own, the parents are clapping and cheering, hugging and kissing in encouragement.

That's how God is with us.  The smallest step we take toward him is rewarded with hugs and kisses, smiles and support.  We stand on the precipice for what seems forever, afraid to take the first step toward the abyss of trust -- but once we do, we find ourselves caught up in strong arms, welcomed and supported.  He knows our weakness, and He is there for each step we take.  If we need to hold His hand for months and months, as we learn to walk on our own, He does not mind, but patiently walks with us until we are ready to walk on our own.

And He knows that each one of us starts from a different place.  With God, it's always personal and "Up close."  He never says, "Your brother began walking at a much earlier age; what's wrong with you?"   Whoever we are, wherever we are, He says, "Come to Me; I will catch you."  The woman caught in adultery was caught in His arms; Matthew, the tax-collecter, was welcomed in His arms; John, the young teen, was drawn to His support and strength;  Mary, Martha, Peter, Judas -- all were welcome, and all treated as individuals. 

After Peter denied Jesus in fear and weakness, Jesus did not remove his office or his annointing, but re-instated Peter as the head of a church of sinners:  When you have been strengthened, turn and strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31).  Unless Peter understood in his bones the weakness of man, he was not ready to feed the sheep.  But Peter wanted to know about John, who had remained at the foot of the cross:  "Lord, what about him?"  And Jesus told Peter plainly that it was none of his business what would happen to John --- each one of us is different, and will be treated differently.  Some of us need to remain in prayer until Jesus comes; some need to go to India and preach to the natives.  What each one of us needs to do is to trust God and to go where we are sent. 

Like babies learning to walk, we all need to walk in trust that God is present to catch us, to strengthen us, to reward us as we move forward.  Faith moves forward; fear turns back.  No two of us will make exactly the same journey in the same way -- but there is a remarkable similarity in the testimonies of those who do step out in faith, and their hymn of praise and thanksgiving can be found in every one of the psalms:

The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul....(Ps. 23).

 

I don't know anyone who has ever trusted in God and been disappointed, but I know plenty of people who have refused to trust in God and have eaten the fruit of bitterness all the days of their lives.

The Prayer of Jehoshaphat

North Korea is threatening to 'nuke' America; Iran will not rest until Israel is wiped from the face of the earth.  What are we to do in the face of such determined evil?  Fortunately, we have a pattern in the 2nd Book of Chronicles, with exactly the same situation:

Some men came and told Jehoshaphat [King of Judah], "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, for the other side of the sea.  It is already in Hazazon Tamar (that is, En Gedi.)"  Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.  The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 

 

[Jehoshaphat stood up in the temple and prayed to God, who had given the land to the Israelites, who] have lived in it and built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, "If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.

 

"But now here are the men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.  See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.  O our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." 

 

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord (20:2-12).

 

As they stood there together, waiting upon the Lord, the Spirit came upon one of the men in the assembly, and he spoke to the king and to all the assembly:  This is what the Lord says to you: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God's...you will not have to fight this battle.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you....Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you" (vv. 15-17).

 

Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army....and the Lord gave them cause to rejoice over their enemies...The fear of the Lord came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.  And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

 

There are three essential elements to the prayer of Jehoshaphat:  (1) praise to the God of heaven and earth and remembrance of His past deeds toward Israel, recalling how God had led them safely through the desert to the land of promise;  (2) waiting to hear what the Lord would speak in this particular situation, not just assuming that they knew what to do; and (3) admitting that they did not know what to do, but that their eyes were upon the Lord.

 

I have a friend who is filing for divorce after 45 years of a semi-abusive relationship.  She is finally convinced that nothing will ever change, and that she does not want to live out the rest of her life in this situation.  As she moves forward, her friends are saying, "How will you live?  You don't have a plan; you are too old to get a job....etc."  It is true that she does not have a "plan," so to speak -- but she has sought counsel for years from people who pray and seek the Lord.  And without a single exception, every one of those people have advised her not to remain in this marriage--even bishops and priests have told her that she has no marriage.  Up until now, she has been afraid to leave because she does not know how she will survive.  But having no other options except continued misery, she has decided to move forward, trusting God to sustain her:  I do not know what to do, but my eyes are upon You. 

 

Every situation is different; none of us can really know what to do in some situations where we are continually threatened by evil and oppression.  But Jehoshapat's prayer is wonderful:  I will remember what God has done for me in the past; I will wait upon His answer; I will confess my own ignorance and helplessness in the situation, and my eyes will be upon Him. 

 

This kind of trust cannot fail, for God "hears the cry of the poor," and who is more poor than someone whose enemy has sworn to destroy them?  In Scripture, all pagan worship is based essentially on the idea that something we do will "work:" magic, sacrifice, food for the Deity, reason, mysticism, trances, or giving alms.  In Israel, on the other hand, worship begins with holy reverence (called 'fear of the Lord'), faith that the God of Israel will do in the present what He has done in the past, trust, love -- and waiting upon the Lord to act. 

 

I don't know if either America or Israel is still capable of worship and waiting upon the Lord -- but as individuals, we can all stand and pray the prayer of Jehoshaphat.

 



A 3-Dimensional God

When people are asked about the shape of their faith, most will respond in one of several ways:

• My relationship with God is mostly vertical -- it's between me and Him and it's no one else's business what I believe.  I pray; I go to church; it's all good. 
• My faith is mostly horizontal -- I don't pray much, but all God really expects is for us to live a loving life: kind, compassionate, considerate.
• My faith is mostly internal -- God helps me heal the wounds of my past, cope with the present, deal with pain, and accept myself.

Of course, anyone at all can figure out that while we always have to begin somewhere, we always have to 'go' somewhere also in our faith.  God is not 'one-dimensional,' but three-dimensional.  Jesus made this abundantly clear in the two greatest commandments: " Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole strength," and the second is like the first: " Love your neighbor as yourself."  If we are unable to love ourselves--i.e., heal our wounds, cope with our lives, deal with pain, etc. it is most unlikely that we will be able to love our neighbor. 

If we learn to love God in a vertical relationship -- prayer, praise, thanksgiving, worship, attentiveness to the Holy Spirit guiding us, etc. -- then He will most certainly direct us toward love of neighbor.  Our love for one another is the direct overflow of God's love in us, "shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit."  Jesus was pretty clear about this in his parables of the unjust steward who had been forgiven his debt to the Master but who refused to forgive a fellow servant his debt.

If we begin on the horizontal level by reaching out to serve the needs of others as best we can, the love of God remains in us, strengthening and supporting our own internal healing.  We cope with our own lives even better if we assist others with their lives -- up to a point, that is.  I cannot forget the bitterness of a friend whose mother spent her life serving others outside the family but who neglected her own children at home.  She had a reputation for kindness and compassion in the community, but her own family suffered.   I have to wonder if this kindness was truly directed by the Spirit of God or by some other motives, although it is not for us to judge such things.

My point here is that our relationship with God, if it is true, will always be not 'one - dimensional,' but 3-dimensional if it is true.  We all begin in different places, but should end up in the same place.  The love of God leads us from glory to glory, because ultimately, it is the Spirit of Jesus who lives in us and directs all our actions.  And looking at Jesus, we clearly see His 3-dimensional relationship with the Father.  He often rose early and went off by Himself to pray; everything He said and did was from the Father and to the Father.  He was sustained and fed by the Spirit of His Father --- and the overflow of His life was abundant healing, salvation, mercy, truth, and justice for all those around Him and for the world itself.

A dynamic Christian life is never one-dimensional, although because of temperament and nature, we lean more in one direction than in another.  One of the Medjugore visionaries said, "I can say 15 rosaries, but don't ask me to meditate."  Another one said, "I can meditate all day, but I cannot say the rosary."  And St. Augustine said, "Pray as you can, not as you can't."  That's such good advice!

I don't think we can compare our own spirituality to that of another, nor can we judge another's approach to God.  God Himself is the Author of our faith, and He is able to bring to completion the work He has begun in us.  We need to trust Him to do everything in us that we are unable to do for ourselves.  The Author of the perfect rose is also the author and finisher of our souls.

My Peace I Give...

It is the destiny of every human being to be rooted and grounded in God.  This is what every man and woman on earth is searching for  -- the depths of truth, of justice, of holiness, of goodness and truth, and of beauty indescribable.  We are angry and frustrated when we cannot find that for which we are made, when our way to truth is blocked.

Sin -- our own and other's sins -- deprive us of the goodness we are meant to taste.  The road is cut off; the path is shut down, and we spend our lives wandering in a desert of desolation and unforgiveness.  We cannot find our way home.  We cry in anguish; our wound, according to Isaiah, incurable:

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart afflicted.

From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

there is no soundness--

only wounds and welts

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

or soothed with oil (1:5-6).

 

But into our human condition of sorrow and grief, the Lord speaks:

 

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all you who remain of the house of Israel,

you whom I have uphld since you were conceived,

and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age and gray hairs,

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Is. 46:3-4)

 

And how has He rescued us from an "incurable wound," when our whole head is injured and our whole heart afflicted, when our way home is blocked by the darkness that has descended on every man? 

 

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 

Surely he [himself] took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

 

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all....

 

By knowledge of him, my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities (Is. 53, selections).

 

Jesus Himself has taken up our wounds and griefs; He Himself has entered the darkness of sin and evil and hell itself --- but that is not the end of the story.  Unlike us, who are overcome and cannot rise, who are buried by evil, He has the authority and the power to rise again to a life untouched by evil.  He came not to judge mankind, but to seek and to save what was lost forever.  He took upon his own back the blows that have fallen on us, and upon His own head the crown of thorns that has caused our "wounds and welts."  He entered the darkness that has overcome the whole world, and in the midst of that evil, He spoke a word:  Light, Be! 

 

In Him, the whole unredeemed chaos of our sorrow and grief ceases to exist, and a new creation is come.  Every culture has its stories, myths, fairy tales of redemption:  Orpheus and Eurydice, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc.  The woman / mankind is buried in a deep sleep, slavery, human condition from which she cannot be awakened except by a pure hero who takes on the struggle against the forces of evil, who searches the world over until he finds his beloved, to rescue her from the power of darkness.  And God, too, speaks to His beloved:

 

O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,

I will build you with stones of turquoise,

your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your battlements of rubies,

your gates of sparkling jewels,

and all your walls of precious stones.

All your sons will be taught by the Lord,

and great will be your children's peace (Is. 54:11-13).

 

And what is our part in our redemption?  Only thirst -- only desire: "Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat."  "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live...Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near (Is. 55:3&6). 

 

All we have to do is to come to Him, to draw near to Him, to seek Him; He will do -- has already done -- all the rest.  The night before He died, Jesus said, "My peace I give to you...take heart, I have overcome the world."  There is no place else in the world we will ever find this promised peace, but in Jesus.  

A Living Presence

Brother Lawrence was a lay brother in a Discalced Carmelite Monastery in the 17th century.  Since he had no education, he served a menial role within the monastery, as a cook and a sandal maker.  At first, Brother Lawrence's prayer life was one of low self esteem and fear.  He thought about his own sins and judgment, heaven and hell, etc -- but these thoughts made him sad and weary.  But gradually, Brother Lawrence developed a spirituality that focused entirely not on his own thoughts, but on the practice of the Presence of God.  There he found peace and consolation, instead of continual and consuming anxiety:

When I accepted the fact that I might spend my life suffering from these troubles and anxieties...I found myself changed all at once.  And my soul, until that time always in turmoil, experienced a deep inner peace as if it had found its center and place of rest (Brother Lawrence: Practice of the Presence of God).

 

In the kitchen, cooking the meals, and in the workshop, making sandals, Brother Lawrence found so much joy that he became known as a spiritual master, a mystic.  He gave up all other prayers and devotions in favor of simply remaining in the Presence of God.  He spoke of a continual conversation of the soul with God that gave him so much contentment that sometimes he had to act silly just to contain the joy he had.

 

What simplicity!  I remember once our Pastor saying that he talks things over with God while he is driving:  "What do you think about that?" he asks God.  "He doesn't always answer me right away," said Father Mike.  "Sometimes He has to think about it for awhile."

 

It seems to me that this spirituality is within reach of anyone who wants communion with God.  If we could drop the Thee's and Thou's and just talk to a Friend who is with us in the car or the kitchen while we are driving or cooking, we might be surprised at how "friendly" God really is.  That's what I loved about reading The Shack.  The Father was a Black woman cooking meals for all who came in; the Son was in the carpenter's workshop; and the Spirit was an ethereal Asian woman whose beauty and luminescence could not be directly seen, but only caught out of the corner of one's eye.  But all Three were a constant Presence of Joy in everyday life. 

 

Brother Lawrence's experience is exactly what it is like to step out of our world (of fear and anxiety and pressure to perform) into God's world of rest, joy, beauty, and laughter. Our world consumes us; His restores us and frees our spirits to dance and sing and be giddy -- even silly.  I know which world I want to live in!

 



Father!

I am a God of both intricate detail and overflowing abundance.  When you entrust the details of your life to Me, you are surprised by how thoroughly I answer your petitions.  I take pleasure in hearing your prayers, so feel free to bring Me all your requests.  The more you pray, the more answers you can receive.  Best of all, your faith is strengthened as you see how precisely I respond to your specific prayers. 

 

Because I am infinite in all My ways, you need not fear that I will run out of resources.  Abundance is at the very heart of who I AM.  Come to Me in joyful expectation of receiving all you need ---and sometimes much more!  I delight in showering blessings on My beloved children.  Come to Me with open hands and heart, ready to receive all I have for you.

----from Jesus Calling, March 23

 

Jesus told us that His sheep would hear and recognize His voice when He speaks.  Today, as I read this entry, it caught my attention, though I am a day behind in my reading, I recognized the Voice of God speaking to me.  And the reason I recognized it is that my experience verified the truth of the words on the page.  Once again, the words are 'living,'  not dead words. 

 

When I first began praying in spirit and in truth, I began keeping a prayer journal.  For all my life, I have been praying, but not 'in spirit and in truth."  In fact, I remember once someone telling me that I should ask for healing for my father, who had been legally blind for about 30 years, and who suffered daily from painful blisters on his eyes, blisters that would break and 'weep" constantly.  I remember telling that person that I could not pray for that, because if God did not answer my prayer, then I would lose the little faith I had. 

 

Looking back now, I realize that what I was calling "faith" was no faith at all, because at that time, I did not know God at all.  I had what Scripture calls "a form of religion, but denying its power," even though I knew for certain that God was working in my life.  What I was lacking was the knowledge, or real experience, of a free-flowing exchange between the Father and myself -- the kind of exchange depicted in the words from Jesus Calling above.  That's what I was afraid to believe.

 

But one of the first changes the Holy Spirit effected in me was that He led me to begin writing down my prayers.  The reason this was so important was that previously, I would pray and then immediately forget that I had prayed for something specific.  So when God graciously bent down to hear and answer me, it occurred in a vacuum of memory.  Now, though, I could look back months later and say, "O my God, that is exactly how I prayed!"  My faith began to grow as I saw how my prayers were so specifically answered.  And as my faith grew, I came to know the God Who I was praying to--the One Who Speaks the words above:  I love to hear and answer your specific prayers.

 

That was the God I could not previously believe in--the personal, loving, receptive God who bends low to hear and answer the cries of His children.  This is now what breaks my heart when people say that God is not a "Person."  If He is not a Person, then who are we when we hear and respond to the cries of our own children?  Are we just pure spirits without hearts that break at the suffering of others?  If God is not a Person with a heart that suffers with each of us, then I am not interested in God at all. 

 

But of course, at one time in my life, I did not really know this at a 'gut' level, though I would have assented to the truth at an intellectual level.  It took the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth to me -- the Truth of Who God is, of Who Jesus Christ is on a personal level.  James says this about Scripture:  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth...therefore, humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  This is why we call God "Father," because he brought us to a new birth through the word of truth, and His 'seed' of eternal life is now in us and growing in us.

 

The Book of James says this:  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  This is always what I was afraid to do, before my own experience of 'new birth,' which brought both Scripture and Jesus alive to me as Truth, not just "ideals."  The whole book of James is very specific, in my opinion; it is really a book of solid faith, not just theory.  It is a book worth reading very slowly and prayerfully, seeking the Truth that God Himself wants to give us.

 

I always tell people--including my students -- not to believe anything because I say it, but to seek for themselves whether what I am saying is true or not.  The only way we know something to be true is to try it -- eat it -- for ourselves.  This is what reading the Bible and keeping a journal did for me 35 years ago.  I came to know the Truth for myself, not because it was passed down to me by others.

 

I don't know why so many of us are afraid to take that journey for ourselves, except that the 'god of this world has blinded our minds.' as Scripture says.  But once we turn to Jesus and ask Him for Truth, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16) and we begin to be transformed from 'glory to glory:' For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light to shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6).

 

And the gift of Jesus Christ to us is knowledge of God the Father of heaven and of earth -- His own Father, Whom He loved and loves with all His heart, and Whom he died that we also might know!

 

Someone once told me that it is harder to live for the Truth than to die for it.  Maybe; I don't know about that.  All I do know is that Jesus both lived and died that we might know the Truth, and that the Truth would set us free!