Two Covenants

Is it primarily something we do, or something we experience? Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to , or even into the thing that has them. They... are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry (CS Lewis). "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (Jn 15:4). Christianity is having a problem with relevance? Read on if you want answers. Humans were originally connected with God through a love/grace based relationship. That relationship was changed when man chose to DISTRUST God. That resulted in separation. Thats what distrust does. Mans goodness is not intrinsic, it is based on our seeing ourselves as loved and secure. This creates a safe place that then inspires, or produces the fruit of peace, joy and love which then motivate good actions. In other words, our goodness is based on our seeing Gods goodness and feeling safe in His care. We must, however, take the time to connect with Gods love as that fuels all else. Being connected to God should create a very positive perspective IF WE SEE HIM CORRECTLY. It also creates a place of safety because God can take care of our needs. Conversely, separation from God results in the obvious alternative. Our needs are now our responsibility. Seeking to deal with our needs, in that context, results in a selfish perspective, the foundation for sin. Sin is the result of being disconnected from God and seeing the provision for our needs as our responsibility. That disconnection also results in our feeling needy and vulnerable. We seek to deal with that feeling by various means seeking to satisfy our needs and prop up our self image. This causes us to be ...Read More