In 1947, Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 attempting to broach the sound barrier. Yet between subsonic and supersonic he experienced shock waves and severe turbulence, to which he would either throttle back from or accelerate forward into. Would the shuttering of his aircraft cause it to come apart, or would he experience what was beyond this barrier? Once Mach 1 (speed of sound) was surpassed, Yeager experienced an amazing tranquility and flew faster than any human before.
Can you imagine speaking with Jesus face to face, or even just sitting with a group listening to His teachings? I have no doubts that you or i would do anything or travel anywhere to partake in such an event.
Yet in the New Testament, time and time again, we see people turning away dejected after such an experience.
What truth was conveyed which would provoke such a reaction?
Why did Jesus say, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."? - Matthew 19:24
What did the crowd finally understand which motivated them to "Turn back and no longer follow Him." - John 6:66?
And will motivate those still to come, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first." - 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Understanding that we are the "Rich Man."
Being made spiritually alive is merely the BEGINNING of a process called Sanctification.
Once born again, we are to follow the example Jesus lived for us and be TRANSFORMED in thought and deed into the likeness of our Teacher. He, from the time of conception, demonstrated utter selflessness, devoting His life to loving God through loving His children. Having stepped down from His throne, Jesus laid down every moment of life for the sake of those who needed Him... Pure Love Incarnate.
But why are we content with only trimming off the overt sins in our life, and continuing on like we lived before... pursuing and improving MY standard of living?
What STAGNATES our transformation into His image, and makes us content with "this far, and no further"?
Prior to being born again, we naturally live in pursuit of self-desires and self-ambitions.
But what Jesus showed was a lifestyle beyond SELF; a way of denying a focus on self, and instead, prioritizing our love for others.
This RADICAL CONCEPT was thought to be impossible to live by...
How can someone survive without looking out for me, my, and mine, first and foremost?
How can i be happy without building and maintaining what i've acquired?
These questions seem so antithetical to basic logic and reason that they're not even considered.
Sure, we include a benevolent aspect to our existence, we'll devote time to a cause or money to a need, but an all-out "denial of self", and living a completely "others focused" life (Luke 9:23)?
It would be as those who speculated, "No one could survive traveling past the speed of sound."
Breaking the Sound Barrier...
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. - Hebrews 10:32-33
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. - Hebrews 10:39
As born-again believers answer the call to "Follow Him" and begin setting out to "Seek first His Kingdom", the World buffets us into a hasty retreat. Health or prosperity is threatened, and our options are to either throttle back and take care of self, or to accelerate through and experience His tranquility as we see a life of joy, faith, love, and eternity.
WHAT'S THAT LOOK LIKE....
God ENGAGES our understanding as a loving parent does with their young child.
Seeing the Apple helps us to learn the letter "A". All throughout the Old Testament we see examples and prototypes to prepare our minds for Transformation.
What was the Exodus from Egypt an example of?
The journey of SANCTIFICATION, from Self to Christlikeness.
God's chosen people were in bondage to Egypt and were crying out in their sufferings.
God sent a deliverer to lead them out of captivity and to a Promised Land.
Between point A and point B, lay a journey... a transition from Egypt to God.
God provided everything; cloud by day, fire by night, and every need of sustenance.
God's people were being sanctified from "self" and into reliance on their God.
Trials and fear caused most to desire turning back.
The journey lasted much longer than it had to.
Only when those who feared fell silent, did a new generation enter into the Promise Land.
Focus on God brought blessing and peace, focus on self brought struggle and correction.
Sound familiar???
Our journey is from a bondage of loving self in this World, to a more excellent way of Christ-like sacrificial love, seeking His Kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:31).
Sanctification is the cleansing of "self" from our thoughts and desires. Our bodily existence becomes a living sacrifice to our Redeemer. If we love Him, we will keep His command to love one another, SACRIFICIALLY just as Jesus loved us. If we love Him, we will feed His sheep.
Yet, just as the Israelites were TESTED in the matters of "self", we too may desire returning the good things we enjoyed under bondage, forgetting the weight it inflicted.
But if we preserve through the turbulent trials, we will experience the true joy for which we created... A peace which surpasses all understanding, in Christ Jesus.
"I have been crucified with Christ, and i no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life i am now living in the flesh, i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." -Galatians 2:20
Transforming from Saul of Tarsus into Paul the Apostle...
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2
It is nearly impossible for those with possessions and wealth to jettison self-reliance and to "live by faith" in God alone. Trusting that God will provide for our needs (as He promised) while we deny self (greeds) and instead serve Him by loving one another sacrificially as Christ loved us.
Never forget... that we are the "rich man".
Do we throttle back and protect what each of us have, or do we advance forward to what God has planned for those who love Him? (1 Corinthians 2:9)
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