Asking What If Questions and What Manner of Love Do we Have?

Disclaimer:

What If?

Most Christian religions, when speaking of salvation and eternity teach something along the lines of the following: God created the angels, they sinned and God threw 1/3 including Lucifer out of heaven down to earth and they became the devil and his demons. Then God said “hey I’ve got this great love and I’m going to make man” and He made him perfectly but man listened to the devil instead of God and so God sent Adam and Eve out of paradise and all mankind with them and from that moment we were all destined to wind up in hell.

Ah but God loved mankind so much that He said, “you know what I’m going to do, I’m going to give them another chance, I’m going to send my son Jesus to die for them and whoever can receive Him gets to be saved and the rest (most of mankind) will go to hell forever and ever.” In the end of time Jesus is going to come back and establish His Kingdom and all the evil people will be cast into hell along with the antichrist and false prophet who are the henchmen of Satan but the “saved” people get to dwell in perfect joy and peace for eternity.

This, of course, is a very terse explanation of basic salvation approximating doctrine taught by many religions. Indeed all religions seek to instill an identity of their own understanding within their followers. Now when you analyze it, what identity does religion give us?

It tells us we are sinners, it tells us we are lacking, it tells us we are failures, it tells us most are not going to make it, it tells us that love is conditional (God will love you if you listen, God will punish you if you don’t), it tells us to live in fear, it instills in us an escape mentality. So it’s easy to see how our original “God identity” can be smothered and replaced by a false identity.

The letter killeth but the Spirit gives life. That tells us that the same word that gives life can also kill depending on whether it is understood by the carnal mind or by a spiritually enlightened mind. The Bible is inspired but our interpretation is not necessarily inspired and herein lays the problem; all religions tend to make their interpretation, inspiration.

So let’s attempt to look at God and man and salvation and the Bible from a different vantage point and a vantage point that would have scriptural foundation. Instead of making declarative statements let’s just ask some what if questions and see what conclusion they render in us.

• What if we were always with God and our existence preceded our earthly birth? Eph 1:4; Jer 1:5

• What if there are time periods (ages) associated with the unfolding of God’s plan? Eph. 3:8-11; Mt 12:32; Eph 2:7; Lk 1:33; Rev 14:11; 1 Tim. 2:6; Eph. 1:10; Heb. 9:26; etc. (Olam, the Greek word for age is often translated various ways including forever and world)

• What if God’s will and plan is to save all mankind? 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet 3:8-10

• What if hell is not confined solely to a future place of punishment but is the present place of suffering because of our ignorance or ignorant actions? Ps 16:10; Lk 12:58; Mt 5:25; Rev 2:10

• What if heaven is not limited to some future place of paradise but an ever present reality that we can access at anytime? Jn 17:11; Mt 18:10; Eph 2:6

• What if Jesus didn’t come to seek and save the lost but to seek and save that which was lost? Mt 18:10-12; Lk 19:10-13

• What if in the age before this present age, Tit 2:12; Mt 10:30; 1 Tim 6:17; we not only existed but participated in those events? Rev 12:1-4; Dan 12:3; Mt 13:43

• What if God’s plan is not so much about saving us from an eternal hell as it is about waking us up to our true identity (by getting the word that is not God out of us) as a means for an invisible God, who dwells in heaven, to manifest Himself in the material dimension or the earth? 1 Tim 6:16; Mt 6:9; 2 Cor 6:16; Jer 32:38; Rev 21:23

• What if the temple God is building and going to build is not the temple of religious minds (the letter of the word) made with hands over in Jerusalem that the antichrist will dwell in but is literally us (the spirit of the word)? Mk 14:58; 1 Cor 3:16; Rev 7:15

• What if the antichrist is not someone who is about to come and build a temple in Jerusalem and deceive people that he is God but what if the antichrist is that carnal spirit that is already here and resides in the temple right between our ears. 2 Jn 1:7; 1 Jn 2:18; 2 Thes 2:4; What might this have to do with our perceived identity?

• What if the whole book of Revelation is something that is occurring right within our mind as it did to the Apostle John? Rev 1:1-2.

• What if for the kingdom that is already in us to manifest into the world it can only come through the manifestation or perfecting of Jesus’ Body? 1 Cor 12:27; Heb 10:5,19,20; Eph 2:15-17; Eph 5:30;

• What if our eternal destiny is not sitting on a cloud enjoying eternity as it passes by but as the Apostle Paul spoke in 1 Cor 15:28?

• What if all the bible stories of first and second born (Cain and Able; Esau and Jacob etc.) were metaphors our true identities (the word of God) being oppressed by our false identity (the word that is not God)?

• What if 1 Cor 15:49; And as we have borne the image (identity) of the earthy, we shall also bear the image (identity) of the heavenly, is a description of our true salvation and transformation into our true purpose?

The “What If’s” listed above are just a few possibilities that if explored may lead us to our greater and original, unique identity. We are each unique in the natural how much more in the spiritual? The let there be light pronouncement of the first day upon the earth that was without form and void and in darkness (our present condition) is the calling of God out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

To wake up is simply and awareness to desire to see and search out the greater truth of God. I believe the dawn is stirring in us. The darkness of fear will give way unto the light of love as God completes in us the first day of creation. And let us be wise O God that we understand we cannot do it alone but must be assembled in one accord (unity) in one place (the heavens).

What Manner of Love?

We each have indispensable pieces and are of equal value. The manifestation of the sons of God, (which we are) is the manifestation of His Spirit through us and way the Spirit manifests through us depends on “what manner of love” we have.

We all know that we should love people. The bible gives us clear directives on that point. In Mathew 26:36-40; Jesus simplifies all the teaching of the Old Testament and indeed of the New Testament as well, into one strait forward and uncomplicated statement; love the lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind…and love your neighbor as yourself. This is what Jesus did and what He told us to do.

Seems simple enough so why do we have such a hard time doing it? Why is it that Christians who truly love God can go for years, indeed for their entire life and never fully fulfill this command of Jesus? We all want and need to love; we all want and need to be loved. The question is not one of need or desire but one of empowerment to accomplish this. We need a method that will bring this to pass.

In 1 John 3:1; the writer asks us to consider, what manner of love the Father has given unto us. The use of the word manner tells us that love’s expression comes in different ways or in different measures.

There are different kinds of love. The love of a spouse, the love of country, the love of a friend, the love of a child, the love of a pet, the love of family, the love of the lost, etc. But Jesus does not stop with these but challenges us and mildly provokes us with this statement; But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.

“Yah right Jesus, easy for you to say, almost impossible for us to do.” Let us consider what manner of love we have. How do we love and who do we allow ourselves to love and from whom do we withhold our love?

Can we truly say that we love those who adamantly disagree with us; those that mean us no good? Those that are willing to blow up innocent people? Those with whom we have no agreement when it comes to politics, religion or values? Those who disrespect us? Those that use us for their own selfish interests and then discard us like a piece of trash? Those that do their best verbally and in other ways to publicly belittle and devalue our worth? Those that have caused harm to the ones closest to us and to those we love deeply?

Does my manner of love allow for the possibility that I can love even these types of people? Jesus in Mathew chapter five went on to say that being perfect as our Father is dependent on this type of love. But honestly, do we pursue this type of love or does it all seem like a fantasy, nice to talk about but impractical to apply? Do we politely shake our head in agreement when we read these types of verses but inwardly think to ourselves, “it ain’t gonna happen.”

The truth is I probably find a certain satisfaction in not loving some types of people. I probably feel justified in not changing my heart toward those who would purposely cause me or those I love harm. I almost certainly feel more comfortable in keeping them at a distance and maybe even feel better about myself when I compare myself with their glaring failures. At times it may even feel good to demean and unfairly or perhaps, at times, even fairly judge people like; Lindsey Lohan, George Bush, President Obama, the Unibomber, the Pope, uncaring fellow workers, unkind neighbors, people I have never met and truly don’t even know and maybe even people in my own family or church family.

Jesus has called us to something much higher. He expects more from us and has given His life for us that we may obtain the Father’s manner of love. This year we are in the first day of God’s re-creation. At the heart of this first day is the discovery of our true and original identity. Our ability to love others unconditionally—with the manner of love of our Father is linked to our discovery of this identity. This discovery will not come in an instant but in a process of discovery.

In upcoming articles I will be discussing the coming days of God’s re-creation, discovering our unique original identity, that has been lost, and developing the manner of love that can manifest the Kingdom of God in its fullness. Peace, Roger