The Pursuit of God

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kindgom of heaven. - Matt. 5:3

Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply "things." They were made for man's uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him.

But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul.

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and "things" were allowed to enter. Within the human heart "things" have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.

This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble. There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets "things" with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns "my" and "mine" look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God's gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.

Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when He said to His disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Breaking this truth into fragments for our better understanding, it would seem that there is within each of us an enemy which we tolerate at our peril. Jesus called it "life" and "self," or as we would say, the selflife. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness: the words "gain" and "profit" suggest this. To allow this enemy to live is in the end to lose everything. To repudiate it and give up all for Christ's sake is to lose nothing at last, but to preserve everything unto life eternal. And possibly also a hint is given here as to the only effective way to destroy this foe: it is by the Cross. "Let him take up his cross and follow me."

The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the "poor in spirit." They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem; that is what the word "poor" as Christ used it actually means. These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Let me exhort you to take this seriously. It is not to be understood as mere Bible teaching to be stored away in the mind along with an inert mass of other doctrines. It is a marker on the road to greener pastures, a path chiseled against the steep sides of the mount of God. We dare not try to by-pass it if we would follow on in this holy pursuit. We must ascend a step at a time. If we refuse one step we bring our progress to an end.

As is frequently true, this New Testament principle of spiritual life finds its best illustration in the Old Testament. In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have a dramatic picture of the surrendered life as well as an excellent commentary on the first Beatitude.

Abraham was old when Isaac was born, old enough indeed to have been his grandfather, and the child became at once the delight and idol of his heart. From that moment when he first stooped to take the tiny form awkwardly in his arms he was an eager love slave of his son. God went out of His way to comment on the strength of this affection. And it is not hard to understand. The baby represented everything sacred to his father's heart: the promises of God, the covenants, the hopes of the years and the long messianic dream. As he watched him grow from babyhood to young manhood the heart of the old man was knit closer and closer with the life of his son, till at last the relationship bordered upon the perilous. It was then that God stepped in to save both father and son from the consequences of an uncleansed love.

"Take now thy son," said God to Abraham, "thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." The sacred writer spares us a close-up of the agony that night on the slopes near Beersheba when the aged man had it out with his God, but respectful imagination may view in awe the bent form and convulsive wrestling alone under the stars. Possibly not again until a Greater than Abraham wrestled in the Garden of Gethsemane did such mortal pain visit a human soul. If only the man himself might have been allowed to die. That would have been easier a thousand times, for he was old now, and to die would have been no great ordeal for one who had walked so long with God. Besides, it would have been a last sweet pleasure to let his dimming vision rest upon the figure of his stalwart son who would live to carry on the Abrahamic line and fulfill in himself the promises of God made long before in Ur of the Chaldees.

How should he slay the lad! Even if he could get the consent of his wounded and protesting heart, how could he reconcile the act with the promise, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called"? This was Abraham's trial by fire, and he did not fail in the crucible. While the stars still shone like sharp white points above the tent where the sleeping Isaac lay, and long before the gray dawn had begun to lighten the east, the old saint had made up his mind. He would offer his son as God had directed him to do, and then trust God to raise him from the dead. This, says the writer to the Hebrews, was the solution his aching heart found sometime in the dark night, and he rose "early in the morning" to carry out the plan. It is beautiful to see that, while he erred as to God's method, he had correctly sensed the secret of His great heart. And the solution accords well with the New Testament Scripture, "Whosoever will lose for my sake shall find."

God let the suffering old man go through with it up to the point where He knew there would be no retreat, and then forbade him to lay a hand upon the boy. To the wondering patriarch He now says in effect, "It's all right, Abraham. I never intended that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there. I wanted to correct the perversion that existed in your love. Now you may have the boy, sound and well. Take him and go back to your tent. Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou bast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me."

Then heaven opened and a voice was heard saying to him, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou bast done this thing, and bast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is `upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou bast obeyed my voice.

The old man of God lifted his head to respond to the Voice, and stood there on the mount strong and pure and grand, a man marked out by the Lord for special treatment, a friend and favorite of the Most High. Now he was a man wholly surrendered, a man utterly obedient, a man who possessed nothing. He had concentrated his all in the person of his dear son, and God had taken it from him. God could have begun out on the margin of Abraham's life and worked inward to the center; He chose rather to cut quickly to the heart and have it over in one sharp act of separation. In dealing thus He practiced an economy of means and time. It hurt cruelly, but it was effective.

I have said that Abraham possessed nothing. Yet was not this poor man rich? Everything he had owned before was his still to enjoy: sheep, camels, herds, and goods of every sort. He had also his wife and his friends, and best of all he had his son Isaac safe by his side. He had everything, but he possessed nothing. There is the spiritual secret. There is the sweet theology of the heart which can be learned only in the school of renunciation. The books on systematic theology overlook this, but the wise will understand.

After that bitter and blessed experience I think the words "my" and "mine" never had again the same meaning for Abraham. The sense of possession which they connote was gone from his heart. Things had been cast out forever. They had now become external to the man. His inner heart was free from them. The world said, "Abraham is rich," but the aged patriarch only smiled. He could not explain it to them, but he knew that he owned nothing, that his real treasures were inward and eternal.

There can be no doubt that this possessive clinging to things is one of the most harmful habits in the life. Because it is so natural it is rarely recognized for the evil that it is; but its outworkings are tragic.

We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.

Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God's loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own. We have no more right to claim credit for special abilities than for blue eyes or strong muscles. "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what bast thou that thou didst not receive?"

The Christian who is alive enough to know himself even slightly will recognize the symptoms of this possession malady, and will grieve to find them in his own heart. If the longing after God is strong enough within him he will want to do something about the matter. Now, what should he do?

First of all he should put away all defense and make no attempt to excuse himself either in his own eyes or before the Lord. Whoever defends himself will have himself for his defense, and he will have no other; but let him come defenseless before the Lord and he will have for his defender no less than God Himself. Let the inquiring Christian trample under foot every slippery trick of his deceitful heart and insist upon frank and open relations with the Lord.

Then he should remember that this is holy business. No careless or casual dealings will suffice. Let him come to God in full determination to be heard. Let him insist that God accept his all, that He take E things out of his heart and Himself reign there in power. It may be he will need to become specific, to name things and people by their names one by one. If he will become drastic enough he can shorten the time of his travail from years to minutes and enter the good land long before his slower brethren who coddle their feelings and insist upon caution in their dealings with God.

Let us never forget that such a truth as this cannot be learned by rote as one would learn the facts of physical science. They must be experienced before we can really know them. We must in our hearts live through Abraham's harsh and bitter experiences if we would know the blessedness which follows them. The ancient curse will not go out painlessly; the tough old miser within us will not lie down and die obedient to our command. He must be torn out of our heart like a plant from the soil; he must be extracted in agony and blood like a tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from our soul by violence as Christ expelled the money changers from the temple. And we shall need to steel ourselves against his piteous begging, and to recognize it as springing out of self-pity, one of the most reprehensible sins of the human heart.

If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy we must go this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of God He will sooner or later bring us to this test. Abraham's testing was, at the time, not known to him as such, yet if he had taken some course other than the one he did, the whole history of the Old Testament would have been different. God would have found His man, no doubt, but the loss to Abraham would have been tragic beyond the telling. So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us; just one and an alternative, but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make.

Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but 1 do come. Please root from my heart all those things which 1 have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter avid dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I have yet, to see or hear Hawking produce the first intelligent thought.. more than average..
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EXAMPLES;

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. -Stephen Hawking

I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.-Stephen Hawking

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. -Stephen Hawking

I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would provide an inexhaustible supply of energy, without pollution or global warming. -Stephen Hawking
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thats overlooking the things he has said I consider STUCK ON STUPID.... nobodys perfect..
but some are a little less than perfect..

GOD- who has no name(or needs one), is not human, is neither he or she- but is an IT, is not linear or temporal, but is merely a human concept.. or idea.. FOR..

Can the painting describe the artist?..
the machine the mechanic?,
or the lamb chop the Chef?...

Can the Lover bottle and sell Love?... Or
can all language become obsolete?..

Can GOD be generic. a generic God?.. Because there are indeed many designer Gods..

The Artistic Master-Piece is enough to just be.. on display..
it need not decide what or whom painted it..
OR worship the artist..
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Gratitude and forgiveness however is another matter entirely..

in this spirit I offer this for your blessing and entertainment.. (FOLLOWING)

Sorry for not replying sooner. I was not trying to imply that anyone was a moron.

I was asked what type of proof I will accept and IO am not trying to dodge the question, but I am just not sure.

I see that some of you have appealed to personal feelings and movements/incidents in your own life. I asked how that is different than the LDS that say they believe the Book Of Mormon.

I see that some of you have appealed to Thomas Aquinas and Anselm. Yet on other threads I lurk on the Catholics are called pagan.

When I look at the Christian idea of the Trinity I have to wonder how that is different than the story of Zeus, Apollo and his twin sister Artemis.

On the other hand if as Aristotle claimed the Universe has always existed there would be no need for god.< P>This coincides with some scientists that have claimed that the universe is expanding and will begin to contract when it reaches it's elastic limit. At that time it will contract to a singularity and the cycle will begin again.

I see so many contradictions in the religious, philosophical and scientific "proofs" that I know I will need to study this closely.

I want to assure you that I am not like some of the atheists who will engage in endless debate only to pull out the trump card of "God doesn't exist." I classify myself as an agnostic at this point I am unwilling to say that god either exists or does not exist. And to paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart as to the proof I will accept I will know it when I see it.

THEN; you got your legend, story, tale, of Judas Whom saw "God" up close and could care less..

Or Peter with the "tale" he denied GOD three times..
Seeing GOD might not be the proof some want or need..

1 Corinthians 13:2
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

I say; What you love... AND... despise is who you are..

Bonus:https://www.dropbox.com/s/7typspsreskn7w3/YourLove.avi?dl=0

On the other hand if as Aristotle claimed the Universe has always existed there would be no need for god.

Scientific evidence has ruled that option out.

Einstein's calculations in his general theory of relativity indicated a beginning to the universe, a concept he rejected. To avoid that, he added what was called a cosmological constant, which he later rescinded.

Hubble's red shift observations were instrumental in that as they were the proof needed to show that the universe had a beginning.

Some scientists have gone on to posit alternate universes, multiverses, alternate dimensions, but without solid evidence for them.

They seem to be little more than Einstein's cosmological constant, basically an effort to prove that there is no need for a designer, or god, or God.

And to paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart as to the proof I will accept I will know it when I see it.

You will. And I would lay money on the fact that it's not going to be a *feeling* or *burning in your bosom* or some other vague, unsubstantial *feeling*.

I know to many people there is not much difference between *feeling* and *experience* and sometimes, the lines can be blurred, but when you have an experiential encounter with God, you WILL know it and likely it won't be the warm fuzzies.

Perhaps you missed this part of my previous post: This coincides with some scientists that have claimed that the universe is expanding and will begin to contract when it reaches it's elastic limit. At that time it will contract to a singularity and the cycle will begin again.

In other words creation would begin again. An entirely new "Universe" made out of the old universe.

I am not saying any of this is correct, but it is an interesting idea.

Tuche’.. and so is the Wizard of Oz.. and Logans Run..

and Animal Farm and The Ugly Duckling of Hans Christian Anderson..

Usually what is... “IS” and what isn’t.... “Isn’t”..
but sometimes what isn’t, is, and what is, Isn’t..

makes the Bible and the U.S. Constitution very useful..
Whether they Are or Aren’t is a mute point..

This coincides with some scientists that have claimed that the universe is expanding and will begin to contract when it reaches it's elastic limit. At that time it will contract to a singularity and the cycle will begin again.

IMO, I don't see that as the same thing. I see a difference between the universe always existing and a cyclical sort of thing.

And yet, Scripture posits that very sort of thing, although not a matter of cycles.....

2 Peter 3:8-13 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Interesting concepts for fishermen from 2,000 years ago. Kind of makes you wonder how they conceived of it.

Unless they were told.

But you have already displayed confused reasoning with regard to the reality of thoughts, so we are asking into which context you want this 'proof' to fit. There is the very strict frame of Physics reference, there is the less rigorous frame of behavior reference, and there is the supposed nebulous spiritual frame of reference.

To illustrate, check out what Jesus told Phillip in John's Gospel, Chapter fourteen, regarding the inability of the disciple to be 'shown the father God'. That was, for all practical purposes a Physics lesson, explaining that dimensionally God is so much greater than His created Universe that the complete vision of The Father is an impossibility for Phillip. What Jesus offers to Phillip is the most Phillip can 'know' of God, of God's nature.

If you seek a proof in the reference frame of a Physics experiment or equation, you will never have such a solution to hang your faith upon. However, the Bible informs us that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Does it make sense to you to keep seeking that which is impossible to find, while rejecting the reward that is achievable/receivable?

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