Abandoning the Tool Shed and Leaving All the Tools Behind.

It has been said that with intensively laborious effort we are to strive after holiness. We are to seek after perfection using all of the tools within reach of the tool shed next to us. If we use the right tool at the right time, that is, if we can find the right tool at the right time, we might hope to take one more step up this dysfunctional ladder that leads to perfection by fixing the step right above us, resulting in one stride nearer to that one area we are explicitly told that we cannot reach, even while using all of the right tools in the tool shed at once, at the right time, in the appropriate manner. If we accidentally grab the wrong tool, we rightfully accuse the tool for our own lack of reaching perfection. If we happen to grab the right tool, or the tool that we are convinced to be the right tool, and the tool again [to our own astonishment] fails us, we instead blame the tool shed for our inability to reach this standard of ultimate perfection. We "ought to" rigorously pursue the unobtainable, and when we fail to reach the apex of this incomprehensibly impossible pursuit, we slip down from the lowest point of the ladder to the base of the ground [which to our surprise wasn't as far down as we had thought] and feel a superb sense of overwhelming frustration and anger at the current position of helplessness and abasement that we find ourselves in. When we hit rock bottom, we are forced to see that no tool or tool shed could ever elevate us to the height of the top of this unpleasantly tall ladder, for the top of the ladder is simply too high, the only way to the top has too many steps to remodel or fix with our inadequate tools, and we are incapable of accomplishing this eminent achievement with all of the determination and idolization that could ever be mustered, tried, or admired with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. After the cloud of frustration has cleared away and every method of human pride has been tested and has both miserably and irrefutably failed, we are then susceptible to a small bit of humility to enter into the core part of our inner being. It is all now too clear: The only way to the top of this ladder is through another possibility that was formerly unseen, one possibility that has the potential to lift us up to the top without much goodwill, without any laborious effort at all. It is when we see this possibility that the door behind the base of the ladder is opened and we are given the opportunity to walk down the short hallway and step into the elevator that effortlessly rises to the height of the top of the ladder outside. This process is the stepping stone into a new way of life. We must realize that the Christian life is a life lived not in the flesh, not in a life domineered by the law, but through the outpouring of the Spirit which empowers us with a supremely boundless life. We ought to not strive harder, we ought to not try fancy new tools with the same basic function as the former, we ought not to draw from an old, outdated tool shed, but we OUGHT TO cease striving and know that Jesus Christ is God and let His Spirit reign in our lives. If only we allow it to happen...if only we rid ourselves of all pride and do away with the old way of living...the old way of habitually thinking...we would then reach the epitome of present joy and peace of mind, and would truly partake in the easy yoke, where there is true and immediate rest for the soul.

--Psalm 46:10--



burton 261e

Playing By the Rules Won't Cut it.

One of the most difficult things to comprehend as a Christian is the simple fact that when you seem to do everything by the book, follow every principle or guideline that exists, and attempt to obey all of the rules, you still find yourself sick, unfulfilled, and still somehow missing the mark (Note: A surprisingly short self-checkup is needed to notice this if you are currently unaware of it's deep manifestation). After scanning through every list, principle, or rule possible, you realize that all of that is not only not enough, but it isn't even the point at all. You can't possibly measure up to those things and even if you could you wouldn't be following them with the right motives to drive the action. And that's when the world as you so surely thought you had "figured out" may come crashing down. It is then that you realize the only reason that you are a Christian is because He first called you child, because He suffered for you, and because He is fighting for you. And that's precisely when Christianity begins to make sense. It begins at the cross, it suffers with the cross, and it lives in light of the cross. He promised that He would send us His Spirit. He did. He promised us a life of abundance. It is here, and it can be experienced now. All that is required of us is a redeemed and willing ear that is ready to listen to the whispering call of the Father. This life was never meant to be lived out by playing off the instructions of an owner's manual. What's abundant about a to-do and not-to-do list? This life is meant to be lived out by conversing with the Maker of the game.


-burton 261E