Outer Darkness?

[aron]

Originally Posted by A little brother

...while Jesus is all in all, let's not neglect there is a "you" in

"And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.",

no matter how small and insignificant this "you" is in front of our great God.

I see differently: the only person who fulfilled this law down to the proverbial "jot and title" was Jesus. The rest of us may indeed love, for an hour or two, but eventually we go back to being ourselves: unlovely, unlovable, and unloving. Jesus alone is the Way.

The rest of us may succeed in part, but we fail in part. And to fail in part, before God, is to fail. Only Jesus crossed the finish line. The rest of us fell.

Now, of course as disciples we must follow Jesus. Those who were dead in sins and offenses hear His voice and live; we rise to walk in newness of life. Of course that last sentence has a "we" in it. But I posit that the "we" only has validity inasmuch as its constituents realize "it's no longer I but Christ".

As soon as the "we" (or "I") begins to assume in our consciousness an ontological significance in and of itself, it becomes a gilded harlot. . . or, Lot's wife who turned back to gaze on what God had condemned.

The trick is to focus unyeildingly on Him. Then the love will flow: not ours but His.

The performance-oriented "we enjoy Christ" rubric is a decisive step down the slippery slope because now "we" is the subject of conscious attention and activity, while "Christ" is merely an object to be shuffled about. . .either waved or ignored, depending on the perceived need of the moment.