Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
Nee said this as part of his response to a Q&A. The question he was answering was from a sister, who asked "I feel weak physically all the time. This frustrates my spiritual walk. What should I do? How can I know the resurrection power of Christ?"
His answer comes across more as a "you don't need to have such a foolish thought as to want a change of circumstances" with a sprinkle of "just take Christ as life" and a dash of "stop talking about your problems" thrown in.
The subsequent paragraph is a lot of "you must" and "you shouldn't" and "you need to". It's rigid where it needs to be loving. He ends a paragraph by saying, "It would be wonderful if God granted you the grace of a sanguine and healthy body. But if He does not give you a healthy body, and instead leaves you as you are, you should humble yourself before Him. This is the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and it is upon you so that you will learn to express the transcendent life of Christ."
The overriding impression this gives a person is that God is a harsh commander punishing or disciplining her for some unnamed transgression by weakening her. This is simply not true, and this kind of reckless speaking is where many church kids have gotten the idea that God is out to flatten them like a pancake for no reason.
She's not asking or expecting only a perfect environment. She's down and depressed and needs understanding and encouragement, not a slap that her discouragement about her situation is the problem.
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Okay, that's more information on that and it does seem a little condescending. Sorta reminds me of the Nee book title, "The Breaking of the Outer Man for the Release of the Spirit." The part of that which was always off-putting to me was the first part about the "breaking of the outer man." While there is certainly the principal of death and resurrection in the Christian life, I don't know that the Lord is making us focus on the death aspect. And the experience of the cross (death & resurrection) is not something we can pursue and attain apart from Christ. In other words, the cross and all God wants us to experience is brought to us in Christ and by looking to Jesus, the Author & Finisher.
Maybe it was just me, but putting "breaking of the outer man" at the beginning of that title seem to mean God's focus was first and foremost about breaking me utterly. For that reason, I was never able to get into that book and read more than just a few pages, because I had that negative notion about it (right or wrong).
The experience of the cross is not a heavy, burdensome thing, and Jesus tells us as much. Death is a painless thing - just ask dead people
. . . they feel no pain and can provide zero response. In my book, death is something to go through quickly so resurrection happens, therefore why focus much on it?
Anyway, just my opinion, but it just seems the emphasis is off when the loving purpose is really about bringing us into resurrection life, not crushing us. (BTW - many of these books now leave off that part and it's just "The Release of the Spirit.")