No Frown On Father's Face

The involvedness and the fullness of what we receive through the simplicity of saying yes to God’s offer of becoming His child and a living member of his family is not just a life long journey of continued discover and celebration, but something I believe is going to be but the first baby steps that long continue as we step into eternity.

There never has nor will there ever be any sign of disgust, frustration, impatience on the Father’s part regarding us who have been re-birthed out of the intensity of His love, you will never witness at any time a frown on His face! We are an infinite treasure that never ceases to bring a smile to his heart in light of our discovering the wealth that is ours in his son Christ Jesus.

This salvation he has provided for us was never intended to be something, although perfectly completed and finished by making us one in and with him in our spirit, a place whereby we choose to settle and simply wait to be called yonder.
It is out of this vast inexhaustible place of perfection and completeness that becomes the very impetus of making us eye witnesses to this same salvation invading our entire soul, mind will and emotions.
As it were the power and kindness of his unconditional love opens up the arteries of our inner being to let that love flow and as it does, brings along with it all that we stand in need of, full maturation.

I am convinced that without some knowing, some measure of the experiential reality of the Father’s total and unconditional love for us, the demolition that He has to undertake within our lives will demoralize us.
We are All blinded to the existing default under tow of self-reliance within Sin that still exists within our flesh, and it this nefarious parasite which desires to keep us locked into a performance based approach to life and living.
On finishing these thoughts I want to conclude with what my friend Art has said and I quote him here, “It is by regeneration in our spirit that we’ve already received everything that Christ is to us, including peace. Christ does not give peace; “Christ Himself is made unto us peace, rest, wisdom, and sanctification (holiness)” (1Cor 1:30). He Himself, as peace, indwells our spirit.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me (in union with me) ye might (may) have peace (Greek. eirene, meaning “rest”). In the world ye shall (will) have tribulation (Gk. thlipsis – “pressure”)” (John 16:33).

We enjoy Christ as our peace and rest by abiding, not in the world, but in Him who is always there, abiding in our spirit. The “ye,” in John 16:33 above, which is called to abide in Him is the “ye” of our soul-self, our self. We have a part in living by His life, we are called to abide in our inherent union we have with Him in our spirit. Thus our soul self is called to “walk in the spirit,” that is to remain in union with Him and subservient to Him in our spirit.

Since Christ now indwells the believer’s spirit (2Tim 4:22, Rom 8:8-9) and Paul says Christ is “all” (Col 3:11b), then the believer has no need of anything more. In the light of these facts one might ask, “So then, why don’t I live overcomingly, with His peace and rest?”

An admission of recognized failure to live overcomingly with rest and peace is necessary and usually produced by the situation we may be suffering; it is “good” for us. It is good because the suffering exposes us and reveals to us the gap between our rock solid “standing” or position “in Christ,” and that of our present feeble “state of being.” Recognizing the failure of “our way” is a necessary Christian crisis and a blessed realization that we must have if we are to let go of self-reliance and choose to live by relying upon His love, grace, and life within us.

Rich