THE UNKNOWN BLESSING
The true blessing of God far transcends health and wealth in this
world. It involves, first and foremost, the privilege of experiencing the
fullness of the purifying Presence and power of the Spirit of the living
Christ, which when genuinely known, causes His followers to be filled with
love, discern the holy, spurn the unholy, abhor that which is evil, and thus
keep themselves “unspotted from the world”. James 1:27
“Strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded
in love.
To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16-19, Emphasis added
As long as the believer lives in the blessing of this “fullness” the
ruling power of the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life” remains broken. The “love of the Father” melts away cravings for
the “things that are in the world”, restores balance in reference to
material possessions, and breaks the power of the omnipresent consumerist
spirit to convert our every want into a need.
This virulent “spirit of the age” is the direct opposite of the
self-giving Spirit of Christ and leads to one of the deadliest isms to
infect an already terminal culture: Narcissism. (Excessive self-love,
extreme egoism.)
The world, quickly followed as usual by the Church, is currently
infatuated with the individual’s need for higher self-esteem. But the truth
is, the higher we esteem our sinful-selves the less we are able to love
others. The wisdom of God says:
“in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
How absurdly unwholesome is that by today’s standards?
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in very
nature God. took upon him the nature of a servant.”
Philippians 2:3, 5, 7.
When the eternal Christ “emptied Himself. being made in the likeness
of men”, that chosen emptiness, (that total, consistent submission to the
will of His Father), was filled with the fullness of the Godhead; all the
majestic beauty of perfect personhood: (no need for higher self-esteem
there), the living incarnation of divine love, joy and peace. The Savior not
only spoke the words of eternal life, but His life modeled perfectly
the “how to” of the perfect life.
“The Son can do nothing of Himself”.
“I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment
is just, because I seek not Mine own will”.
“I receive not honor from men”.
“I came down from haven, not to do Mine own will”.
“I do nothing of Myself”.
“I seek not Mine own glory”.
“The words that I speak unto you, I speak not from Myself”
John 5:19, 30, 41, 6:38, 8:28, 50, 14:10.
As with Christ so with us, God’s fullness comes only to our
emptiness. And though we know only too well that in this life we can never
attain His perfection, Coach Lombardi’s words are true, whether in sports or
in the spirit, “If we aim for perfection, we may attain excellence”.