God’s Daily Grind

It is within the crucible of life, daily living that the fashioning and the forging of the Life of God in Christ is either becoming fully formed within us, or we try to go the path of little or no resistance and settle for having a form of Godliness, knowing all about Him, but experiencing NO power. (Knowing about God’s love and not experiencing it is far to much of a serious issue to dismiss).

In a recent episode on the Oprah Winfrey show, four out of five people quizzed in a CareerBuilder.com survey are unhappy at work—that's 84 percent of the nation's workforce!

It is not enough to simply be re-birthed, but the re-birthing is that which was meant to facilitate what the scriptures point to, Jesus being the first born of many sons.

Before the fall of man within the garden there was effort, but there was no sin, no sweating or strain. All of that suddenly changed when man committed high treason in willful and defiant rebellion by declaring he was in control of his own life. . As Dave Coleman, (Wayne Jacobsen’s friend) so succinctly put it on the most recent pod cast; (Why Religion Doesn’t Work) that sin is simply us wanting to have control.
Funny how pride blinds us, in thinking that we can obtain control over our own lives without seeing the inevitable and devastating consequences that turn our lives into a forgery.

It was into this arena of death and grinding devastation that the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and lived here with us on planet earth. The mortar and pestle of everyday circumstances and situations were used of the Father in the perfecting (forging) of His Son. It says, though he (Jesus) was the Father’s only begotten, yet he was made perfect (fully forged) through that which he suffered, or, he learned obedience through that which he suffered.

I need to touch upon what I said earlier re: the episode on Oprah about 84% of (the nations work force in the USA) people being unhappy at work.

In my opinion there is so much ambiguity regarding, ‘I love my job, I am unhappy with my job, I love my kids, my marriage etc’, without qualifying (elucidating) the adjectives being used, it all becomes a blurred generic smear.
I for one love my job, but to qualify this, it has to be understood that mixed into this love of my job is a grinding, a forging, straining as it were.

In my opinion, simply stating, “I love my job…I am unhappy with my job…I love my kids…I love ice cream…I hate broccoli” etc. isn’t clear. How does the speaker define the words ‘love’, ‘unhappy’ and ‘hate’? One may love one’s job – but intermixed with all that a person’s job entails has to be a certain amount of strain. To elaborate: Jesus said that but for the joy set before him, he endured the shame of the cross. It wasn’t easy sailing, by any stretch. In the same way, when believers declare they love something – it’s important that they qualify the word ‘love’. For example: I love my dog, but when my wife and I have to spend hours de-matting his 10 inch long hair, or clean the yard of his excrement, or suffer the pain of his puppy nails raking down our bare legs in his exuberant excitement of seeing us…the word ‘love’ takes on a bit of a different meaning.

I am seeing that by either omission or intent, without elucidating with as much clarity as possible, (which encompasses both positive and negative, chaffing, grinding factors) regarding, ‘I love my job, marriage, kids, co-workers, the street I live on etc,’ will leave those struggling with the notion that if they are beset with anything less than warm, fuzzy, happy feelings, there must be something radically wrong with them.

It was through Jesus that a door was opened up for all of humanity to clearly see how the Son of God/Son of Man was going to attain perfection…and that it was not going to be achieved by his Father removing the grinding, chaffing, forging circumstances and situations needed to accomplish this perfection.

Rich

Spontaneity, Not Striving

If grace could be looked upon being synonymous with 'rest', then in light of the following scriptures lets delve into potentially an increased clarity.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Spontaneity, Not Striving

When and as the love of the Father becomes experiential, the ability to relinquish and let the Father continue to lead us into a love relationship with Him, we open ourselves up to spontaneous living.

Children do not work at being related to their parents. Children are related to their parents by birth. Striving has no part or place in the natural, healthy relationships between family members.
Striving is a sign of ill health in a relationship. When we are trying to make something happen in our dealings with another person, we strive. We should note here that there is a huge difference between striving and effort.
We will always need to put an effort into the things God calls us to do. Family life, either with our natural (biological) family or with our spiritual family, requires the expenditure of effort. The difference between striving and effort has to do with motivation. The motivation of striving is to make something happen and to bring under our control. Effort is simply the expenditure of energy (dynamos~power~grace) to be instrumental in producing an effect.

We can look to the fruit of our efforts to see if we are striving or merely working. The fruit of striving is burnout while the product of effort is effect.

The power of the father's love freed us from our unrighteousness, now that same grace~power~love of the father is working mightily in us freeing us at a much deeper level of our self-righteousness, bringing forth in us the righteous One, aka, Christ in us AS us.

Apart from the activity of the life of the Word doing the following.."For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." it will be the natural man trying to live for the Lord, resorting to human effort to please him, by striving.
I see it being the inner working of the Word, in and through His love, that we are being defined by that which we were created for, to be loved unconditionally, as well as being released to Be the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Rich