"Your life is hidden with Christ in God..." Maybe the single greatest part of our journey with Jesus is to discover, experience and plumb the depths of the treasure we have within. Spiritual growth and development call us to live from the inside out. As we do we find ourselves moving incrementally from hiding to hidden. This is not a play on words. It is the essence of living simply, securely, safely and successfully!
Hiding is one of the ugliest and scariest parts of the fall of Adam and Eve. They fell from enjoying unhindered fellowship with God to hiding in shame from God! (When hiding from God, which side of the tree do you get on?) Hiding is entrenched in lies believed about God and ourselves. It convinces us to live in the shroud of doubt and shame. And we then become ensnared in the insidious trap of fear and tragically push the advancements of God away. Blinded while hiding we lose sight of the riches God has put in all humanity.
2 Corinthians 4: 7-16 (Mirror Translation)
"We have discovered this treasure where it was hidden all along, in these frail skin-suits made of clay. We (can) take no credit for finding it there! It took the enormous power of God in the achievement of Christ to rescue our minds from the lies it believed. (God invested all that he has in the redeeming of our original value! Our inner life hosts the treasure of the life of our design. Jesus said in John 7:37,38, "If you believe that I am what the scriptures are all about, you will know that you are what I am all about and rivers of living water will gush out of your innermost being!")
He knows you, He understands you better than you understand yourself. He is fully aware of every detail of your life ... and He loves you. He is not uninvolved or unaware. The incarnation is the event in which God demonstrates His union with your humanity, with all its challenges and contradictions ... bringing His peace to you, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. The Angels still make their declaration to mankind; Peace, Good-will be to all men!
God in Jesus demonstrates the integrity of His peace, not by avoiding our problems, but by embracing all of humanity with all of our problems and issues, without loosing His peace. He demonstrates the robustness of His life, not by avoiding death, but by entering into the heart of it, and there in the midst of the greatest contradiction He bursts forth into resurrection life. His resurrection life calls us out of hiding into hidden in Him! And His continuous proclamation remains; Peace be still.
"I am leaving you with a gift -- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 NLB) His love and affection keep us in His gift of peace. Soak in the attached song. Peace will flood your heart!
Living hidden in the peace and love of Jesus, Ron Ross
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