Wednesday, February 15, 2017

FORWARD TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

FORWARD TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY In nature nothing detests itself except man. Man detests himself even to the point of desecration of himself; suicide of himself, or of others, as well as himself. Never before our era has flesh not loved itself. Such self-hatred reproof, self-renunciation is abnegation, rebuke of one's Creator. Sometimes, cabals, gangs, tribes of self-haters find it convenient to unite to expedite their mutual destruction, death being but an incident of life to those who devalue the spiritual life. They attack what is nearby, close at hand, disguised as their victims, the better to destroy, kill, steal, or bully. They abhor the life that others adore, thus, by this evil mindedness acquire advantages over those without such. Far too often, evil is not contested. Then, the field of human endeavor is abandoned to "wicked," worldly ones by those who deem themselves the sole righteous ones of God. Made of softer stuff by training, these are less strident, less self-assertive, less self-assured. Thus, evil exploits, pillages, enslaves the ones who abdicate, who cede without a fight, who delimit their hopes, defer their expectations, and await the coming of what never left! More perverse than Satan is the man who so disregards life or his own life: "'Skin for skin!' Satan replied. A man will give all that he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." Job 2:4-5 "What manner of man is this," Mt.8:27, indeed? Either man, now? All manner of mankind exist, persist, subsist, as do all manner of anything else, everything else, under the sun, without exception. "Is" is also is not. Everything has a shadow in the light. One possible solution to the evil that besets the souls of some men, and the cowardice that besets the souls of other men, is to increase spiritual strength of their meat and drink. Stronger meat merits stronger drink. Hebrews 5:14-6:1 reads: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity , not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and faith in God." Elementary school is over for those who are mature, there being no need to lay another foundation on one that has already been lain in Jesus Christ. Rather, new curricula, new teaching, new skills and new understandings are in order. Men now fly, x-ray, laser, tweet; do all manner of things that were previously unimaginable to men. "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, understood as a child, but when I became a man, I set childish ways aside." 1 Cor. 13:11. I have said all of that just to say this: New bodily coverings for our loins are needed after elementary school, due to natural growth; so too are longer coverings needed for our legs in bed. New food, new drink of strength and power, also, must be made. A new paradigm for a new day is required for all mankind. Humans' spirituality dynamic must be broadened to meet, accommodate new natural dynamics. We occupy one planet with one star and one moon; everything is on one. We too are one, therefore, despite our perceived, apparent differences, on the outside, our inner similarities, reproductive redundancies, fungible human features, and natures, reign over all history, multiplicity, prolixity. Amen 🙏🏿.