It seems nothing short of astonishing, that we run around like busy little ants each one bent intently on their own little missions and tasks, all the while not letting the words and teachings of Jesus to sink down below the shallow surface and to their true meanings.
Perhaps we are witnessing a deceit so great that it nearly matches the first one in our history as a human race. Jesus worked hard and very directly to instruct men away from this habit of ours to ignore the words of God and the prophets whom He sent. God never intended to separate us from Himself. We humans, from the first to the last, cause this separation by our own actions and reactions.
God put us here and told us clearly that our true place is to be with Him. We are to be creatures that are bound to Him in living experience. Never has He intended to cast us away from Him. But because of the nature of righteousness, sin and waywardness cannot dwell in the same place together with it. Sin and Righteousness are like two magnets of the same polarity; they cannot be forced together but must, by nature, be separate.
Therefore it is us and our turning to our selfish sinful ways which have always separated us from God. But what is this separation? How can you say that we are separate from God when we call ourselves Christians and attend church regularly? Why would you dare to accuse another person who prays to the same God, and try to expose distance when we have our complete dedication to our religions and our pious actions stand as our witnesses?
To answer these questions we must return to our bearing as usual and go first to Jesus. There is no truth anywhere that has any value outside and apart from Him. If you have the finest mind and believe that God gave it to you to use, but do not take things first to Him, then you are guilty of going against His teachings and whatever ideas or conclusions your fine brain may come up with, they are sure to be erroneous and misleading. Jesus is our way and only by Him must we pass. This is how He could say that the weakest were really the strongest and the wise were truly foolish. God´s wisdom and man´s wisdom are not the same and His thoughts are so very far above those of our own.
So what does Jesus say on the matter?
Jesus came to us as a light. He shone for us to guide, to demonstrate and to illuminate things for us so that we may be able to see and move. He became our example and He became the very path we must follow. We would live and move and have our being if we could imitate, if we could take in and digest every morsel of life giving instruction He offered us.
From the very moment Jesus began to instruct us, He showed just how important it was for us to adjust ourselves to the Almighty God. The correct position of the created being was one of complete and unreserved servitude and adoration of the One who created it. This position is not one separated by distance, nor of attitude. Any conceivable restraint or hindrance must be abhorred and effectively throw away so that the two entities can be again in harmony.
Now because of the fall, we have a mighty hurdle to overcome in that it is now not in our nature to turn in this way to our Creator. We are bent and sold to the slavery of self and to the world in which we live. Some may recognize within their soul that the true honor and dedication is in fact God, but we must undergo some sort of regeneration or re-birth to actuate this and restore our intended position.
Therefore it may seem natural that we struggle to do just this or that we may fall short some times. But if you truly desire to correct what is lacking and your heart is set on returning to your Maker and Savior, then you will be willing to follow the path and instruction which is required to do so.
First, you must die. You cannot and should not hope on receiving any promises of the Divine unless you have come to the conclusion that you are willing to pay the price. No, you say, Jesus paid everything that was needed and now it is free for me to take. I am sorry to say that you have been deceived. We are called to Jesus. His call is and always was for us to draw near to Him. We must be willing to walk as He walked, to eat His flesh and drink His blood. These words seem strong and they are. We have to be so committed to Jesus and so single minded and adamant that we arrive at our goal, that we sacrifice our very selves each and every day and in every little way that may cause hindrance.
Jesus made this very clear in His teachings but more importantly in His example. He did nothing nor will ever do anything outside or without God the Father. So perfectly was He united to His Father that He could state that every word, every action and every purpose was always directed to and in complete communion with Him.
In John 14:6 we find Jesus almost shouting this out to us. He has worked so hard for so long to show us the correct adjustment, the correct connection and the correct direction of our souls, and here He just blurts it out to a stubborn and incredulous people. When will we listen and when will we understand that things are not the way we see them with our earthly eyes?
Thomas and the Disciples who had works at Jesus´ side still did not see this and asked Jesus where He was going and for Jesus to show them the place and the path to get there. This was there problem and it is ours too. We look with our worldly eyes. We interpret out of our limited experience. There are some whom have studied more than others. They have spent years cultivating their intelligence and knowledge from books, courses and observation. One would think that they may be able to figure things out. But Jesus made it quite clear. He is the way.
Most of us probably nod our heads in agreement, but then go off to busy themselves with rituals and the social clubs which they call churches of God. Now there is no harm in organized religion if we keep clear our goal. Jesus said that He was the way. He went further and said that no person can get to the Father without first coming to Him. Not only is He the path but He is the enabling factor.
¨Ok¨, you say. ¨You do not have to convince me, I know these things and I have studied too¨. That is great, but if you are anything like me, there is a gulf between, knowing something and correcting it. We can go to church, we can pray profusely, we can be the most active of all the Christians around, but if we do not get past this test, we do not do our Savior justice.
When Jesus says He is the way, He makes Himself indispensable to us for each and every part of everything within our lives. We would have to be so fully into Him as a fish is in the sea. All things must bow to Him, all things must be done for Him, and for sure, all things must be done WITH Him!
This is where you and I fall short. This is where every man has sinned. Even though convinced that Christ is the king and that we own Him everything, we are still creatures who are under the curse of sin. The battle was one and the price paid, this is a fact. But for that to have its´ effect upon us, we must be ¨IN¨ Christ.
So if it is so important, how can we accomplish this? How come you say that we are not already doing it?
Well, to be ¨in¨ Jesus, we must be entirely in tune with Him and in complete communion with Him in every instant. Impossible as it sounds, it is what Jesus asks and He is able to accomplish what we cannot. On our part there must be sufficient desire only and sufficient turning to Him and leaning on Him.
What do we mean by coming to Jesus? To be in communion with another person there must be present some form of interaction. This is where many of us fall short with our dealings with the soul and it´s Shepherd.
A person may say that they are close to another human being. A woman may say for example that she is close to her mother, when in fact they live hundreds of miles apart. You can say too, that they know each other so well that even though the miles separate and the time passes they remain connected in heart. This may be true but to have the kind of communion that Jesus speaks of, there must be so much more. The woman and her mother would need to do an action like picking up the phone and calling, or making a journey so that they could spend some time together. Likewise with our Lord, there must be those correct actions on both parts so that this bonding is effectuated.
It is close to pathetic to use human examples to demonstrate concepts which hold infinitely more weight such as our relationship to our Lord. But unfortunately we are limited to this for now. What we try to do is to ignite a spark inside the soul so that each true seeker goes off to take up the matter with his God. So what we hope to accomplish by these pitiful examples is instigate the drawing nearer of the soul to Jesus Himself.
If we would learn to open our ears and our eyes, we could see what is truly important. Jesus never gave us a set of rules or a map for us to follow. Jesus would never separate Himself with the work of His hands. He has become everything for us. We must learn that He is what He has to offer and He is what He has promised to us. He is the one who loved us and He is the One we owe everything to. Let us begin to draw near to Him. Let us start to understand that when we come closer to Him in living experience and in living communion, we are doing the most important action we could possibly do. Not even the beating of our heart or the filling of our lungs with air is so vital to us as that connection and that bonding with Him.
To love Jesus so, to trust His words this far, is to do His will and obey His words. When will we learn not to make religion such a complicated thing? When will we stop trusting our intellects and strong feeling and convictions and start to take Jesus at His word. When will we see that Jesus is calling you and me to Him? What a great day that will be when we do understand that the closer we are to Him, the more correct our adjustment to all things in this life and everything beyond.
So when anyone or anything accuses us of any other position or adjustment of thought, action or the intentions behind them, let us go where we should always go. Let us dive into that familiar ocean which is our Savior Jesus Christ. Let us consciously turn from anything of ours and pour our entire selves into the communion of the One who loves us and gave His life for us. Let us accept nothing less than His sweet words coming from only His mouth. Let our bonding be real and actual. Let us enjoy each other´s company. For me those moments will be in servitude and adoration, and He in mercy and grace. What precious times spent in that kind of communion? I pray that it is constant and unending
In Christ,
Scott W
Searching For Christ 
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