Jun 10, 2022

Transforming Love #4 (#850)

Believe

Knowing what's true is not enough to carry us into the winds of the Spirit-led life. It's not the knowing of truth that makes a difference, but us believing what's true enough to live by it. That takes us learning to believe his truth. In the fourth installment of this transformation series Kyle and Wayne talk about faith, trust, and belief, not in the religious definition of trying to convince ourselves something is true or by pretending but learning to wrap our hearts around what God is showing us so that we can live to what's true. A religious view of belief or faith is just another work we have to muster in our own strength. However, true faith, or trust, is something God wants to win us into as we grow in his love.

Podcast Notes:
The Jake Colsen Book Club (Note: the time is wrong during the podcast. At that time it was 10:00 am PDT, but we have changed it to 10:30 for this Sunday.)

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Hi Wayne and Kyle

As you were sharing today, it resonated with what I am experiencing today. Recently I came across a concept about transformation that made a significant shift in how I see my life in Christ. As part of a deeper work God has been doing in me, I came across the following quote from Christian Danish philospher Soren Kierkegaard:

“Philosophy is perfectly right in saying that life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the clause – that life must be lived forward. The more one thinks through the clause, the more one concludes that life in temporality never becomes properly understandable, simply because never at one time does one get the perfect response to take a stance backward.”

As I pursued the meaning of this quote, I found the following commentary: “You do not start out understanding everything, nor do you overcome to understand everything. In between is life as lived where understanding changes. It is only in the encounter with that which is NOT understood that we develop.”

My past has brought me here, to an awareness and understanding of myself and God. I CANNOT think or understand differently in this moment. But my perspective and understanding will change again as I move forward. What I experience will adjust once again how I reflect back and think, and then once again informs me in how I move forward.

Or more simply put: I am alive, and therefore still becoming.

This is never ending. There is no final destination in our growth and understanding. While we are alive here , or in eternity. There is no distant knowledge line that needs crossing.

As a person who felt for a long time that I fell short of “the standard”, that I was not loveable or acceptable, the way the church presented our need to be changed into the image of Christ, implied to me that there was a place of acceptability, a point where I had arrived and all was good, finally. Perhaps the Paul’s analogy of running the race also contributes to this thinking. There is a constant demand that we need to be better, to improve, to change. The result is a life of constant striving, and I don’t think this sort of striving is of God. After all, can we really change ourselves? How can we change without the Spirit doing it in us? And can we demand that the Spirit hurry it up so we can feel better?

The wonder of being in Christ is that we no longer need to strive to attain a certain level or standard, but rather we get to live in the wonder of exploring how deep, how high and how wide is the love of God. His Spirit works in us to will and to do, we respond, we stand in awe. We live in complete freedom to learn more … the pace of learning will vary. Some epiphanies take years to develop before coming into full bloom. But the enlightenment that comes is not the end. There is more. There is always more.

There is no solidness of certainty in living. Christ is the Rock, but there is no end to God. Essentially we live in a constant state of flux, of knowing more, of becoming more. So if we are swimming in the bottomless, endless sea of God’s love, why do we seek to find bottom so we can feel secure?

4 Comments

Sarah Kistner says:
6/11/2022 at 9:26 am ,
Love it! Really in book “So you don’t want to go to church anymore”….I thought I read it before but WOW! And it’s not just about CHURCH, it’s about living life…. of course! I could get into all kinds of things but too much to type. Love the book and love the podcasts and I’m liking the book club. Can’t wait until we get into the middle of the book. So much today and how “we want everything exposed!!!! ” Whew do I need help! Away with that attitude! My Precious Lord and Father know what they are doing. Getting to trust them more and more and I love it! Thank you for your help.
LilaJean says:
6/12/2022 at 9:28 pm ,
I love word studies. And someone once explained to me that meaning of the English word “sin” is much broader than the biblical languages b/c those languages, especially the Greek, use at least three different words–all translated as “sin.” The meaning area of “missing the mark” differs from the area of “deliberately crossing the line–rebelling” and both differ from the “twisting the law to suit my convenience–iniquity.” There’s a gradual descent involved but the end is utter destruction . I’m thankful for the faithful companions along the pilgrim’s progress that can impede that descent. Ever onward and ever upward!
John L says:
6/15/2022 at 4:34 pm ,
Hi Wayne and Kyle
As you were sharing today, it resonated with what I am experiencing today. Recently I came across a concept about transformation that made a significant shift in how I see my life in Christ. As part of a deeper work God has been doing in me, I came across the following quote from Christian Danish philospher Soren Kierkegaard:
“Philosophy is perfectly right in saying that life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the clause – that life must be lived forward. The more one thinks through the clause, the more one concludes that life in temporality never becomes properly understandable, simply because never at one time does one get the perfect response to take a stance backward.”
As I pursued the meaning of this quote, I found the following commentary: “You do not start out understanding everything, nor do you overcome to understand everything. In between is life as lived where understanding changes. It is only in the encounter with that which is NOT understood that we develop.”
My past has brought me here, to an awareness and understanding of myself and God. I CANNOT think or understand differently in this moment. But my perspective and understanding will change again as I move forward. What I experience will adjust once again how I reflect back and think, and then once again informs me in how I move forward.
Or more simply put: I am alive, and therefore still becoming.
This is never ending. There is no final destination in our growth and understanding. While we are alive here , or in eternity. There is no distant knowledge line that needs crossing.
As a person who felt for a long time that I fell short of “the standard”, that I was not loveable or acceptable, the way the church presented our need to be changed into the image of Christ, implied to me that there was a place of acceptability, a point where I had arrived and all was good, finally. Perhaps the Paul’s analogy of running the race also contributes to this thinking. There is a constant demand that we need to be better, to improve, to change. The result is a life of constant striving, and I don’t think this sort of striving is of God. After all, can we really change ourselves? How can we change without the Spirit doing it in us? And can we demand that the Spirit hurry it up so we can feel better?
The wonder of being in Christ is that we no longer need to strive to attain a certain level or standard, but rather we get to live in the wonder of exploring how deep, how high and how wide is the love of God. His Spirit works in us to will and to do, we respond, we stand in awe. We live in complete freedom to learn more … the pace of learning will vary. Some epiphanies take years to develop before coming into full bloom. But the enlightenment that comes is not the end. There is more. There is always more.
There is no solidness of certainty in living. Christ is the Rock, but there is no end to God. Essentially we live in a constant state of flux, of knowing more, of becoming more. So if we are swimming in the bottomless, endless sea of God’s love, why do we seek to find bottom so we can feel secure?
Wayne Jacobsen says:
6/16/2022 at 3:20 pm ,
I love that last question and I assume we’d all answer it very differently, but the answer would tell us a lot about how we view ourselves and how we view God’s engagement with us.

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