Self-Mutilation

Last week on the God Journey pod cast Wayne and Brad were discussing, “Troublesome Scriptures”, and its part of that I want to address, share the following thoughts.
The following scriptures in particular were some of those seen as troublesome. Was Jesus really describing ‘self-mutilation’ or as Wayne suggested, figurative language pointing to a far more serious form of dis-figuration?

Any fool can cut their right hand off, as well as gouge out their right eye, but in doing so I think sooner or later the sad conclusion they will arrive at is, the problem was far deeper and rooted within their flesh. Even in their maimed dis figurations, those inner inclinations were still very much in tact.

There is only one self that the Father of our spirit intends to display the wonder of His son in and through, but that transformation can be badly marred by listening and agreeing to the lies that we believe are in fact the truth.
The internal gouging, disfiguring, self-mutilation that is purposed by the father of lies within our flesh is keep the world from seeing the reality of the many forth coming sons being birthed as result of Jesus being the ‘first born’ of many sons.

We need to be as real as we know how to be with our Father.
Here is an example that hopefully will shed further light on my previous thoughts. We are told to “put on the new self” what does that look like?
If the best we have ever experienced is an unabated deep hunger every time we go to a restaurant, and while there we look at not only the description of the contents of a cheese burger deluxe, but the mouth water picture as well, is it any wonder when we leave without ordering what all of that pointed to, we go away hungrier than when we came in.

Our Father is not trying to torment us with just a pretty book; heck some even have wonderful pictures in it, the Bible.
He is inviting us to cry out to Him to make as real as only He can do, what it means to have His life fully formed in us as us.

There is a surgery that we are under going; it is with this One who has fully died only to become fully alive in order to fully form Christ in us! This ongoing and deeply necessary surgery is only going to cut away that which is trying to keep us from a deepened knowledge of the Truth. It will be this true knowledge of the Truth that will bring this self-mutilation to a halt.

Though He slays me, yet I will trust in HIM!

Rich