Only One Way

Either you're a little human animal trying to make your own way through life or you're part of the Son of the Maker of the universe living daily the life He has planned for you. But only one of these can be true - the other is a lie that actually does not exist. This is why the first one is so spoiled by uncertainty, insecurity, and emptiness. It's the reason the world is so chaotic and frustrated.

The second is the only possible life - because it is reality - you were, in fact, made inside His Son by your Creator so that He could enjoy His Son's life being lived out through you as you exercise your free will along with His. You have been born into this world to do and be something that God's Son has wanted from before the beginning of the world. There are certain streets that He has always planned to sweep with your hands, certain symphonies that He has always planned to play through someone's hands, and certain words that He has planned to speak through your mouth. Each one of us was carefully planned by the Creator, our Father, and given existence here on earth so that we could willingly do and speak the things He wanted to achieve in this world through His Son in us. That's why you're here !

How Can You Know What to Do?

How can you know what Christ, our Maker's Son, wants to do in you each moment ? Obviously it's not going to be simply "doing what comes naturally" as a little human animal trying to survive in a world full of other humans. We all know the fears that drive us to get enough shelter and clothing, esteem from our peers, and emotional highs because we feel we're on our own here. These natural drives leave us no serenity to even consider what our Creator wants us to do. So, how do you know ?

The simplest first step is one you can guess - begin to get to know your Maker ! Stop being stupid - that's what God said in the Bible - "the fool has said in his heart 'there is no God'". Stop being stupid - sure, there's evidence of evolution, but that or a big bang or a decomposing substance or a black hole doesn't explain who or what created the first piece of matter that evolved into all these other forms. So, let's just face the obvious - somebody must have made that sky up there - somebody must have thought out the structure of the DNA molecule. The first step to getting to know your Maker is to "believe that he is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek after him".

The next step is to express that simple attitude of belief by some act or word or thought. Simply think of your Maker as "up there" - He's really everywhere - beside you, in you, above you, but the important thing is to express to him your respect and gratitude in a thought or word of simple thanks. He has made plenty of moves towards you by creating you and sustaining your life and breath every day, so it's reasonable for you to make some response to him. Behave in accordance with what you believe is true - you've thought and acted previously as if he did not exist - now think and feel in accordance with what you know must be true - He must be able to see you and know what is in your mind. It's reasonable to expect that your Creator knows what your inner attitude to Him is and that your natural response to his existence will mirror the desires of His Son in you.

So this kind of inner and outer behaviour is the most primary and practical way to orientate yourself to the fact that Christ is in you and that your actions and words will reflect His. This kind of attitude adjustment to the perfect ideal could be practiced by a good Muslim, Buddhist, or Confucist all of whose prophets teach that the divine spirit is merciful and truthful, but Christ says that He Himself is actually in each of us and that we are in Him - personally. So it is not simply us adjusting our human attitudes to what we think He would want to do, but behaving in faith that He is within us and will act and think inside us as we behave realistically. It is faith recognizing what is actual -- not faith trying to make something actual.

Faith

The simplest step into realistic life then is to live in God's presence - to govern our thinking and speaking and feeling by the fact that His Son, Jesus Christ, is in us and that we are part of Him. In this way we have a chance of real communion or friendship with our Maker. We certainly would not expect Him to deal with us if we do not believe he's here so the first step in walking with Him in friendship is to respect Him and His presence in us and with us. This is normal respect among beings and is just what is appropriate and right in this instance.

As we begin to live like this, we find a gentle restraint coming into our thinking and speaking so that we are drawn out of the prison of our own personality and character. Little by little we find a different spirit moving us and enlarging our sympathies and attitudes. This is the start of a change in our spirits - the real heart of our lives.