Sharing God (Part 2)
/In
, I examined the
challenges of persecution and how we address it,
in light of my own experience with those I love in the "New Age" or "Universe" movement, as the Church often refers to it. I spoke about Love, as it pertains to Christ, and touched on the appeal of this new movement to 'the youth' who are leaving the Church.
Here, I delve into the
similarities and differences
between the teachings of Christianity and the "New Age or "Universe" movement, and some considerations for how we can be
living examples of the Love of God in Christ,
through the Holy Spirit. Examples to 'the young people' and the world at large.
Source:
lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2014/11/sharing-god-part-2.html
Christ and the "New Age" Movement
So many in the Church have risen up forcefully against the "New Age" or "Universe" movement. I can understand why. Still, we should pay attention.
Similarities
Here are some of their beliefs that we share:
Love yourself. It's the only way you can love someone else. (Matthew 22:34-40 ESV)
The world needs us to be all that we were made to be. (Matthew 25:14-30 ESV)
Love is what everyone needs. Everything good comes from this. (again, Matthew 22:34-40 ESV)
Be generous. Give when you can. (Matthew 25:31-40 ESV)
Bless and you will be blessed. There's good in everyone. (Romans 12:14-21 MSG)
Differences
Here are a few places where we greatly differ:
There is no right or wrong
There is no absolute truth
There is no God. 'God' is each of us and the collective us.
We can see where things begin to go awry in the absence of God in Christ.
The enemy always uses a little truth to make the lies credible
and our enemy is no fool. He's done a phenomenal job, right?
What's missing?
The one thing that we all seem to miss when we raise this 'discussion' is
Salvation.
We know this is a matter of Life or Death.
We know this is precisely why the enemy has built in the element of "no right or wrong":
People were not designed to bear guilt, shame, feeling 'wrong' all the time. It's why we get sick.
Christ died to free us from all of that, reconcile us to God once and for all, so we can be whole.
"New Age" has to include all religions, which don't all free us, but they still have to 'free us'.
To do that, either everyone has to be 'good' or nothing is. So "New Age" just eliminates it.
As we should know by now, however,
ignoring something doesn't mean it no longer exists.
"Right and wrong" or "good and evil" is no different. Subconsciously, we all know this.
Eventually, Christian or "New Age", we all have to face it.
Freedom to Simply Be
To Christians, it seems ridiculous that someone would pass up Christ's sacrifice in favor of ignoring the existence of "good and evil", but if we move past our fear of questioning, we'll see that
right after Jesus tore the curtain to give us direct access to God, we let a few members of the Church build it right back up, again.
We almost immediately gave up our "freedom to simply be" exactly who we are before God, so that He could heal our hurts and release us to freely Love.
We too have been deceived.
The "New Age" or "Universe" movement has given that back, or has given the appearance of it.
Like the Church, however, you have it "as long as you agree with us".
Hence the persecution of the Christian philosophy. (I can only speak of my experience, but perhaps others feel it as well.)
The point is that
all human organization suffers from the politics of fear, control and manipulation.
How do we resolve that? As Christians, we have to
allow people to "get there when they get there".
No more, "you have to..." and quoting the Bible as a form of control to make those around us conform to our ideas of who God is.
We have to celebrate diversity,
share the word, starting in Christian community, and simply let people learn, respond and grow as they will. In all the parables,
God in Christ is always the only one allowed to "separate the weeds from the wheat".
It is only in relationship, through example,
that we open the door for Christ's Love and Salvation (not our Words, but the Holy Spirit, Himself) to reach anyone.
Did you come to know God because you were told, or because you had your own personal encounter with God and God's Love?
Don't force it. Let others enjoy the God-given freedom to Simply Be.
Are you free to Simply Be?
The root cause of our behavior as Christians is our own perspective of ourselves.
Do you love yourself as Christ loves you and has called you to love others? Do you really? So many of us believe it's
vanity or pride
to enjoy ourselves -
our physique, our features, our brains, our passions, our spirit (do you know your spirit?), our emotions, our unique person.
So much so that we dare not look to closely at ourselves. Well, then...
how on earth are you supposed to know what to take to God for healing if we don't know ourselves? (Hint:
It's not by what others tell us.) That's not personal, intimate relationship with God. If you are "not supposed to" stop to love and enjoy yourself,
how are you supposed to love others as you love yourself?
Aah. Do you see?
That's exactly what we're doing.
We're harsh self-critics, and so that's how we love the world. Are you willing to change that?
Speak Love.
It's the language we all speak, or are learning to speak.
Share Christ simply by being, but first, you have to learn to Be.
Only then, will He flow naturally in your conversation. How does He flow naturally? It's situational. You'll have to take the time to know yourself first.
Not the "photocopied Christian self"
most of us know, but
the individual Christian self
that God has called You to be in this world.
Know how YOU hear God,
so you'll hear Him in each situation, as you respond. Know your unique passions, call, purpose, so you know exactly how you fit into Christian community, and the larger global community.
Persecution by the Church against You
As I write this, I recommend that you go back to
, which addresses
how to deal with persecution in Love.
We have to first learn how to
love those "at home" before we can go out and love the world.
In much the same way as we have to learn to love ourselves before we can go out and love others.
We speak of persecution in the world, but I invite you to consider another kind of persecution.
Boundaries destroyed. Perspectives obliterated. Voices silenced. Based on good intentions,
but founded on fear, groupthink (
) and a limited perspective of Love,
we the Church (knowingly and unknowingly) have forced diversity out.
The very diversity that Christ built into the individual beings that should make up the complete and healthy body of Christ, a body that truly reflects every single aspect of possibility that is us, in the image of God, we've shut it down. Today, the very small part of the body of Christ thrives in our Church(es) is represented by a small representation of the character of God. With good intentions,
the small 'majority'
are men of a certain age who've been domineering enough to
bend the will of those who could have represented the rest of the character of Christ.
Those men and the women who agree with those men.
This is not a call to attack them. It is, however, a call to step out of bondage and seek God yourself.
Your Journey of Freedom to Simply Be
I'd like to invite you on a true journey of freedom.
A journey of self-exploration in your being, rather than in rigid fear and logic. I challenge you to explore this world that God put us in.
You were born exactly when you were supposed to be born, into the right generation.
You are exactly where you were meant to be at this time (
), in your spirit, body and soul (i.e. your mind, your will, your emotions).
This will be your platform for future inspiration. You'll be surprised.
I invite you to step out empowered by the love, faith, hope and joy of Christ,
not driven by fear of being wrong or deceived. Read the Word, know God in Christ, but KNOW God in Christ, in the fullness of who He really is. He made everything on this planet - spiritual and physical - and we cannot have dominion over what we do not know or understand.
Explore with God in Christ as your guide.
The world has, perhaps, followed the Spiritual things of God in Christ that we have avoided for fear of encountering demons and demonic deception. If so, then they have benefited from
where the revival of God in Christ has taken them and desired to take us
- on a walk of self-discovery so that we are more effective in Loving as God in Christ loves. It is time to wake up, Church. Open your eyes to what God is doing all around us.
Let Him do that in us, too. Walk in the fullness of Christ.
Already Redeemed. Already Free to Simply Be
This is what God wants for all the world (
)
"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool"
. You see,
we are already free to be.
We just have to know it, walk in it and share it by
Simply Being.
I pray, quite simply,
that today you begin the journey to find, know, love you, in Christ and, thereby, to know and love others, truly, on a deeper level. Amen.
Thanks for reading.
Are you on this journey? Share your encouraging experience!
